He was notably absent when Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal in England’s Euro opener against Serbia on Sunday.
While the WAGs gathered to support their partners, Dutch beauty Laura Celia Valk was, according to her Instagram account, enjoying a glamorous trip to Paris, about 450 miles from the game in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Indeed, yesterday, on the eve of England’s clash with Denmark, in Frankfurt, Mrs Valk was still in the city of love without Bellingham.
But now, the Mail can reveal the mystery surrounding their ‘romance’, because they don’t appear to be in any relationship. Instead, weeks of rumors were sparked by a publicity stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic executive at clothing company Pretty Little Thing, based in Manchester, where Valk is a model.
In details believed to have been leaked by the company to a leading newspaper, Valk, 25, was said to be “completely in love” and had spent time at his home in the Spanish city where he plays for Real Madrid.
In fact, yesterday, on the eve of the clash between England and Denmark, in Frankfurt, Valk was still in the city of love without Bellingham.
Weeks of rumors were sparked by a publicity stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic executive at clothing company Pretty Little Things, based in Manchester, where Valk is a model.
It was at a glamorous lingerie photo shoot in Madrid that she apparently confided to makeup artists and hairstylists that she and Bellingham, 20, had become close.
In details believed to have been leaked by the company to a leading newspaper, Valk, 25, was said to be “completely in love” and had spent time at his home in the Spanish city where he plays for Real Madrid.
It was also claimed that he had seen him play at Real’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
And although neither party has commented on the reports of a relationship, two months after Valk’s photoshoot, the pair have yet to be seen together and there are claims that Bellingham is still on exclusive dating app Raya.
A source close to Pretty Little Thing said that when bosses found out she knew Jude, a company employee contacted the newspaper.
“It was one of those rumors that grew and there doesn’t seem to be much behind it. But what became evident from the leak is that Pretty Little Thing received a lot of publicity.
‘The story that Laura and Jude were dating spread everywhere, and every time the story was repeated, PLT got a mention. He’s pretty smart, really.
“The world has been waiting to see Laura, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, she seems to be doing her thing in Paris and having a great time too.”
It was during a glamorous lingerie photo shoot in Madrid that she apparently confided to makeup artists and hairstylists that she and Bellingham, 20, had become close.
While the WAGs gathered to support their partners, Dutch beauty Laura Celia Valk was, according to her Instagram account, enjoying a glamorous trip to Paris, about 450 miles from the game in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
And although neither party has commented on the reports of a relationship, two months after Valk’s photoshoot, the pair have yet to be seen together and there are claims that Bellingham is still on exclusive dating app Raya.
Valk regularly shares bikini and lingerie photos with her 370,000 Instagram followers. In addition to modeling, she owns a social media consulting agency and studied creative business at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.
English midfielder Jude was previously linked with R&B singer Rmarni after signing for Raya. He also dated model Asantewa Chitty and American TikTok star Azra Mian.
After moving to Real Madrid last summer in an £85.5million transfer from German side Borussia Dortmund, Bellingham is arguably the most marketable young sportsman in the world.
He already has a partnership with Lucozade and his starring role in the recent Adidas advertisement highlights his fame as a global name.
It was also announced last week that he had signed a lucrative deal with Kim Kardashian’s fashion brand, Skims, joining other big names such as singer Usher, footballer Neymar Jr and NFL star Patrick Mahomes.