After social media became convinced that the footballer mentioned in Mandi Vakili's latest podcast story was Eberechi Eze, Mandi has now stepped into The Shade Borough's comments to shut those rumours down.

Commenting under The Shade Borough's post, Mandi confirmed that the footballer she was referring to was not Eze, putting an end to speculation surrounding the England international and Crystal Palace midfielder, who has also been heavily linked with Arsenal during the summer transfer window.

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The story originally came from Mandi and her sister, former Love Island contestant Anna Vakili's podcast, where the pair discussed an awkward encounter Mandi had with an unnamed Arsenal player following the club's Premier League title celebrations in London.

Explaining how the situation unfolded, Mandi revealed that she had hoped to surprise her boyfriend, who she refers to by the alias "Gingerbread", by arranging a quick FaceTime with one of his favourite footballers.

She recalled,

"I was like, Gingerbread, I'm going out with the girls. And I was like, if I see any Arsenal players, I'm going to go up to them and I'm going to FaceTime you, yeah? Because I want to be like, 'Oh my God, my boyfriend loves you, do you mind us quickly FaceTiming him?' And I wanted to surprise him."

Mandi explained that she spotted an Arsenal player while out at a restaurant and decided to wait until he was leaving before approaching him.

She said,

"I'm going to wait till the end when everyone's coming out of the restaurant, I'm going to go up to him and be like, 'Hey, my boyfriend loves you, like, can I get a picture or video? If you've got time, I'll FaceTime him.' And oh my God, it turned out like really, really badly. It went south."

Describing the interaction, Mandi admitted she was left upset by the footballer's reaction, saying,

"Like they looked at me like I was a piece of shit."

Anna, who witnessed the exchange, offered a different perspective and suggested alcohol had played a part in how her sister handled the situation.

She told Mandi,

"I don't know, you were drunk and your social awareness wasn't there. So I was like, you weren't getting the fact that they were like, cutting you up and they were just looking at you like this weirdo. Yeah, you're being really nice, but they weren't giving you the same energy back. So I was like, Mandy, what the fuck are you doing? Come over."

The clip quickly went viral across social media, with many users attempting to work out which footballer Mandi had been referring to. That speculation eventually led some online to incorrectly identify Eze, something Mandi has now publicly denied.

The discussion has also divided opinion online. Some felt the footballer was entitled to enjoy a private meal without interruption, while others sympathised with Mandi's intentions.

One person wrote,

"He didn't mug you off. He's entitled to his personal time without being a celebrity. Imagine being approached by a drunk woman when you're with someone, it's a tad bit much."

Another commented,

"Dinner is never the time for this. I once saw a celebrity I'm a fan of out with his daughter. Left him alone. Wasn't the time."

A third added,

"Awwh! Bless her, the intention was clearly genuine but I agree, wasn't the time or the place!"

Following Mandi's clarification in The Shade Borough's comments, another user wrote,

"Whoever it was, you're in the wrong. The person is out having a meal and you think you have the right to interrupt him and expect him to have a FaceTime with your fella? That's rude. People need to learn boundaries."

Mandi first rose to prominence through her sister Anna Vakili, who appeared on Love Island in 2019, with the pair later building a large online following together through social media. Since then, Mandi has established herself as an influencer and content creator, while the sisters also co-host their own podcast, where they regularly discuss their personal lives, relationships and trending topics. More recently, Mandi appeared on Inside, introducing her to an even wider audience.

While Mandi has now confirmed that Eberechi Eze was not the footballer involved, she has chosen not to reveal who the player actually was. For now, the mystery remains unsolved, and the internet continues to speculate.