More than just footie friends, the Lionesses’ star players Ella Toone and Alessia Russo go way back, and their sickly sweet bond has made fans go ‘ahh’ one adorable social media shout-out at a time.
Growing up together, the England players shot to fame after winning the Euros with the squad last summer and have continued to capture the hearts of the nation with their unwavering support for one another.
Ella, 25, and Alessia, 26, have played together since they were just 12 years old, and their time spent tag-teaming at Manchester United allowed for an almost telepathic connection on the pitch with their national team.
As the women – led by coach Sarina Wiegman – tackle Spain this weekend in the UEFA Women’s Euros 2025 final, here’s a look inside the #friendship goals that is ‘Tooney & Lessi Russoooooo’…
How did Ella Toone and Alessia Russo first meet?
The Tyldesley, Manchester, native first met the Maidstone, Kent, player when she was just 12 years old.
Forming a fast friendship, the soon-to-be iconic duo became joint at the hip after they both signed contracts to play alongside each other at Manchester United.
Spending three years learning to work as one, the close friends expressed their heartache as Alessia decided to leave the north and return to the south to play with Arsenal in January 2023.
Commenting on her pal’s big move at the time, Ella took to TikTok to share a message of support with Alessia, saying: ‘Away from football, I just wanted to say best of luck to my best friend Alessia, moving clubs.
‘I’m really proud of you and hope you smash it, I’m definitely going to miss you and spending time with you every single day.
‘But I know you’ll be great and I know we’ll be friends forever. Love ya, miss ya and enjoy it.’
The high-profile goal scorer reciprocated her friend’s loving words and told GQ: ‘There are so many highs and lows in football, and to have a constant in your best friend throughout that is really nice.
‘We’ve seen each other at our best and worst. We’ve had the highest of highs last summer, winning the Euros together, and had some tough points too, but that just makes the friendship stronger.
‘We’ve been friends since we were 12 or 13, and we’ll be friends forever.’
Alessia and Ella prove they’re fashionably glued at the hip
Despite working together on the field, the best friends regularly appear as a duo in the showbiz world too, joining each other on campaign shoots and for hilarious interviews.
In 2023, for example, they tried a career in fashion modelling on for size and posed for Elle’s front cover together.
Adopting edgy outfits for the high-fashion shoot, the pair opened up about their goals as young girls and said: ‘[We] both had the dream of one day playing for England, so then to do it and [win], it was special.
‘I don’t think many best friends can say that they’ve done that.’
Ella chimed in and added to Alessia’s response, admitting she found fame ‘hard to get used to’.
Earlier this year, the athletes further reflected on their fame and their fears of their sporting careers impacting them when they want to start families.
During an episode of their podcast, The Tooney & Russo Show, in which they were interviewed by DJ Vick Hope, Ella mused: ‘Do I make sure I try and achieve what I can and then step away from the game and have my own family?’
Alessia added that she, too, has anxieties about fertility as a top female footballer.
The striker said: ‘You don’t know how you’re going to come back, and you also don’t know how long it can take to get pregnant or if you can have kids. You’ve just got to live in the here and now.
‘With football and how fast it moves and how much you want to do and you want to win, it [having a family] takes a little bit of a backseat.
‘But then I think it’s exciting to know you’ve got another chapter after football where you can have a whole second life.’
Whatever happens in the future, we have no doubt this pair will continue cheerleading for one another, with Ella proving how very cool it is to have a footie pal just weeks ahead of the Euros final.
‘Not many best friends can say that they play for England together,’ she declared after thrashing Wales 6-1.
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