Taylor Swift's devoted fans have hijacked the Golden Ball voting after front-runner Alejandro Balde angered Swifties with a comment he made about the global superstar. This spurred Taylor Swift fans to create an online campaign, encouraging each other to vote for Jude Bellingham as the 2023 Golden Boy instead of Balde.
Why are Taylor Swift fans voting for Jude Bellingham?
12-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift's devoted fans will defend the American icon against anybody, jumping to her defence on social media daily against trolls however it is not often you find them getting involved in the sporting world.
But a tweet relating to Barcelona wonder kid Alejandro Balde has caused uproar in the Swiftie community, prompting them to lead a social campaign against the Spanish left-back.
A Real Madrid fan account with the X (Twitter) handle 'Not Phyton' is believed to have prompted the campaign, with Swifties immediately joining the motion to try and outvote Balde.
Swities instead encouraged each other to vote for his rival, Jude Bellingham because of a quote that was pulled from an interview Balde did with Mundo Deportivo.
READ HERE: Why Jude Bellingham Is Reportedly Getting His Irish Passport Now
What did the Alejandro Balde tweet say about Taylor Swift?
The Real Madrid fan account shared a quote given by the Barcelona youngster in May on his music taste.
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Balde is quoted as saying, “Do I like Taylor Swift? No, I don't like her music".
Alejandro Balde : "Est-ce que j'aime Taylor Swift ? Non, je n'aime pas sa musique."
— Actualité - Barça (@ActualiteBarca) September 5, 2023
The tweet quickly gained traction, with the caption reading 'Hey Swifties! We can't let this Balde guy with the Golden Boy Award. Vote for Jude Bellingham here'.
Hey Swifties! 🫵👋 we can’t let this Balde guy win the golden boy award 😡💅 Vote for Jude Bellingham here 🫠👇
#TaylorSwift #1989TaylorsVersion https://t.co/705IUsahAk pic.twitter.com/8Y6m2uRmFF— Not Python 🐍 (@notpythonn) September 5, 2023
Golden Ball votes as a result of the Swiftie-led campaign
19-year-old Balde held a relatively comfortable lead over Bellingham in the Tuttosport voting for the Golden Ball until the Taylor Swift fan-led campaign got underway.
Spanish journalist Martin Manin claims that the left-back was winning the fan section vote ahead of Bellingham by 13%, until his old comment about the Era's Tour singer resurfaced.
It is believed that in just a seven-minute period, an outrageous amount of votes were registered for Jude Bellingham following the campaign.
Tuttosport saw votes for the Real Madrid and England international jump from 30% to 89% in the space of seven hours.
What is the Golden Boy Award?
The Golden Boy is an award given by Tuttosport to a young male football player playing in Europe, who is believed to have had the most impressive season.
All nominees for the award must be under the age of 21 and must play in one of Europe's top leagues.
The last two years saw two Barcelona players take home the prestigious award. Barcelona's Pedri won the award in 2021, followed by his fellow club and country teammate, Gavi who won the award in 2022.
See Also: Jude Bellingham Draws Disbelief As Dream Real Madrid Start Continues
