Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos did not need a full sentence to sum up Jude Bellingham’s new side project. Under the England midfielder’s Instagram post unveiling his Calvin Klein campaign, the German left three letters and nothing else, an expletive abbreviation:
“what the f**k”
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Calvin Klein confirmed Bellingham as the face of its new Icon Cotton Stretch underwear campaign on Monday (November 2), after teasing a mystery star last week. Oliver Hadlee Pearch shot the images in Madrid in August, against a plain white background, with one frame borrowing the iconic goal celebration the 23-year-old has made his own.
Kroos spent one season as Bellingham’s teammate at the Santiago Bernabéu and has never been short of an opinion on him. This time he kept it to three letters.
Bellingham’s own explanation was more considered. In the campaign press release, he said:
“I really enjoyed working on this campaign. I liked the idea of ‘the icon underneath’.
“Calvin Klein is such an iconic brand, so it was great to bring that idea to life in my own way.”
Kroos was not the only former teammate in the replies. Lucas Vázquez also responded to the post.
The shoot follows Bellingham’s SKIMS menswear campaign in June 2024. Calvin Klein has been adding footballers to their brand for years, from Virgil van Dijk and Son Heung-min in 2023 to Trent Alexander-Arnold at the end of 2025.
Notably, this association has been made public in a good week for Bellingham. He scored his 50th Real Madrid goal in Sunday’s 3-0 win at Racing Santander, which took Los Blancos to 27 points from 11 La Liga games, just three behind leaders Barcelona.
Toni Kroos and Jude Bellingham won the Champions League in their only season together at Real Madrid
The star midfield duo played together for just one season, but enjoyed a memorable campaign in 2023/24. Real Madrid won La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup and a 15th Champions League before Kroos announced his retirement that summer.
Kroos has never been shy of heaping praise on Bellingham in the past. Ahead of Euro 2024, the German highlighted how important his ex-teammate can be for England:
“There aren’t many players like Bellingham, and it’s a compliment to him because so many of England’s hopes rest on his shoulders.”
Bellingham and Real Madrid will face AEK Athens in the Champions League on Wednesday. They are on a six-game winning streak in all competitions and will be looking to maintain it.
Edited by Nived Zenith
