😍 For Friendship Day: football’s coolest bromances | OneFootball

As Franz Beckenbauer once so aptly sang: "Good friends can never be parted, good friends are never alone." What applies in life naturally applies in football too.

So, to mark Friendship Day on August 2, we’re taking a look at the best bromances our favorite sport has produced!

Bastian Schweinsteiger & Lukas Podolski

"Poldi and Schweini" are definitely the prime example of close friendships in German professional football. Ever since the 2006 World Cup at the latest, the two superstars have won the hearts of fans everywhere. 

Lionel Messi & Luis Suárez

It’s not just on the pitch that Lionel Messi and his perfect partner from Uruguay have outstanding chemistry. Off the field too, the two South Americans share a deep friendship. So it’s hardly surprising that they now both play for Inter Miami.

📸 Rich Storry - 2026 Getty Images

Francesco Totti & Daniele De Rossi

It feels like the two Roma legends spent their entire careers together. Both in the Giallorossi shirt and in Italy’s azure blue jersey, they celebrated great success. They were always on the same wavelength when it came to humor, too.

Mario Götze & Marco Reus

The same goes for Mario Götze and Marco Reus. The two technically gifted players know each other inside out from their time at BVB and with the German national team. And on a personal level, the vibe just fits.

📸 Lars Baron - 2018 Getty Images

Thibaut Courtois & Eden Hazard

Shared stops in their careers create strong bonds. That’s true of hardly any duo more than this Belgian pair. They always lined up side by side for the national team, Chelsea, and Real Madrid. But their friendship goes back even further.

Jürgen Klopp & David Wagner

Even among fellow coaches, sparks can fly. That’s especially true of the relationship between Jürgen Klopp and David Wagner. When the current Germany head coach got married in 2005, Wagner was right there by his side as best man. 

📸 OLI SCARFF - AFP or licensors

Zlatan Ibrahimovic & Maxwell

"Ibra" and his Brazilian buddy played together at Ajax, Inter, Barcelona, and PSG. Rumor has it they even shared an apartment in the Netherlands.

Roberto Carlos & Ronaldo

What fun those two were! As unstoppable trophy collectors and jokers, the Brazilians enchanted world football in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

📸 ANTONIO SCORZA - 2006 AFP

Frenkie de Jong & Matthijs de Ligt

There are only 15 months between the Dutchmen in age. So it’s no wonder they get along so well. At a young age, they stunned almost the entire European elite with Ajax.

Guti & Raúl

Guti and Raúl did that more or less throughout their entire careers. Especially with Real Madrid, the friends collected plenty of trophies. It was only with the Spanish national team that success came once both of them were already gone.

📸 Denis Doyle - 2005 Getty Images

Now it’s your turn: Which football bromances did we forget? Let us know in the comments!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 Alex Grimm - 2015 Getty Images