How Bukayo Saka met his match in girlfriend Tolami Benson who is Vogue’s golden girl & teased romance with cheeky clues
THERE has been no shortage of breakout stars in England’s Euro 2024 campaign – and that includes in the stands.
Hailed by Vogue for ‘reviving WAG fever’, Bukayo Saka‘s stunning girlfriend Tolami Benson has gained an army of new Three Lions fans, won over by her slick style, down-to-earth nature and sweet relationship with the superstar winger.
The 23-year-old has been a constant presence at the Euros, cheering on Saka, 22, as he helped his nation reach a second consecutive final at the tournament.
Like Victoria Beckham before her, Tolami has become an instant fashion icon, thanks to her wardrobe full of slick retro England outfits – often topped with her signature Prada shades.
Before the tournament, her Instagram fan count stood at 76,000 – now it has surpassed 173,000.
It is no mean feat, considering she rarely posts about her relationship on the app, with the low-key couple not even following each other.
Instead, Tolami prefers to share snaps of herself in Germany with fellow WAGS like Megan Pickford – or working at the tournament on her laptop as she continues to carve out a career as a PR executive.
And when she has posed up with Saka on social media, he’s usually been behind a mask as they cheekily drip-feed clues about their relationship to super-sleuth Arsenal fans.
Here, we look at how Tolami has risen to become England’s new queen of the WAGS.
Cheeky clues
Famously a whip smart student who achieved four A*s and three As in his GCSEs, Saka appears to have met his match.
After studying at Birmingham City University, Tolami – who, like her man, is of Nigerian descent – graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Public Relations and Media Public Relations.
It was reported that in May, she started a new job as a senior planning executive for Zenith.
Although she has been in a relationship with Bukayo since 2020, they initially tried to keep their budding romance on the low, keeping his appearance masked or face out of shot in any pictures together.
Rumours of their romance began to swirl a year later, and their relationship was seemingly confirmed at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when they were pictured embracing in the stands.
Even though their love had become the worst-kept secret on the internet, they still tried to keep it on the lowdown.
However, when they cheekily posted near-identical pictures of themselves relaxing on a superyacht in Dubai later that year, eagle-eyed fans easily put two and two together.
Since then, Tolami has been has been happy to support Saka both in the stands and online, notably posing up in an Arsenal kit in one stunning snap.
But during the Euros this year, the lovebirds have certainly upped their game.
Euro stars
When Tolami stepped on to the stands for England’s first game against Serbia, she had all eyes on her.
She wore a custom biker jacket in white, black, and blue that showed off her impeccable style.
Pertinently, she had the number 87 stitched on it. This was Bukayo’s jersey number during his breakout 2018/2019 season with Arsenal.
When England beat Switzerland in their game, Saka was awarded the man-of-the-match trophy, which he took to the stands to show Tolami.
Shortly after, she posted a picture on Instagram of herself posing with the gong in her hand, captioned “My baby’s baby.”
She also seemed to acknowledge that they have now decided to showcase their romance more publicly. In a post, she wrote, “Private relationship with a splash of random flexing.”
Vogue’s golden girl
In a true stamp of approval, Vogue has praised Tolami’s style and appearances at England’s game and joked that she is the best reason for tuning in for matches.
According to the fashion bible: “It means we get to see another Tolami Benson match-day look.
“Benson, who has been dating England’s starboy Bukayo Saka for four years, has been well and truly mastering the art of Waggery at the tournament, and for many of us – this writer included – her wardrobe has been the most exciting part of the whole affair.”
She has been credited with bringing back the attention WAGs used to receive in the heydays of Coleen Rooney and Victoria Beckham, in part thanks to her eye-catching designer wardrobe featuring pieces from Diesel, Off-White and Prada.
Glamour has also praised how she wears her hair and her nail art, which often pay subtle tribute to the England team.
Tolami also appears to be close with other wives and girlfriends. On Instagram, she posed for a picture with Dani Dyer, Megan Pickford, and Anouska Santos.
At club level, she is close to Laura Trossard Hilven, wife of Arsenal player Leandro Trossard. On her Instagram, she posted a snap of them cuddling with the caption: “My L” alongside a white heart emoji.
On Sunday, she will hoping the Euro 2024 trophy is coming home with her boyfriend, too.
England's new Euros Wags
ENGLAND football stars will be hoping their other halves will bring them good luck in Germany this summer and SunSport runs down the new faces to expect to see.
Erica Correa: We exclusively revealed Man Utd star Marcus Rashford has been growing close to the Colombia-born model.
Laura Celia Valk: The Dutch stunner is rumoured to be dating Jude Bellginham and staying in his Madrid mansion.
Ellie Alderson: The interior designer is with Ollie Watkins, who will be hoping for a place on the plane after missing the last Euros and World Cup.
Dani Dyer: The actor and reality TV star is going out with Jarrod Bowen, who is in fine form and in line for a Euros call up.
Annie Keating: Girlfriend to Anthony Gordon, who is vying for a place in England’s competitive frontline.
Iris Law: The model and daughter to actor Jude sparked romance rumours with Trent Alexander-Arnold after they were spotted together.