What Is The Viral 'Belligol' Meme? The Bellingham Celebration And Its Memes On TikTok Explained

Rising footballer 20-year-old Jude Bellingham has been one of the most popular midfielders in 2023, playing for Real Madrid and the England national team. Bellingham is also a fan-favorite all over the globe, inspiring fancams and edit videos with the player's memorable moments during the games he played and scored goals.

The midfielder had an outstanding start in the Spanish capital, scoring 13 goals in as many games and being awarded the best player under 21 at the Ballon d'Or gala in Paris on November 2nd, 2023. The social media fever on Bellingham's performance birthed a nickname and meme dedicated to the midfielder, the Belligol meme.

But don't worry if you have never seen the Belligol meme, we'll explain what it means, where the audio comes from and how to make your own Bellingham celebration meme.

What Is The Viral "Belligol' Meme?

Belligol memes basically consist of putting any animal, person or object that is in a position similar to that of Bellingham when he is celebrating a goal scored: open and raised arms with head up and a defiant look. The meme started on TikTok after user @njrdiniz uploaded a fan edit video of the Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham in which the Brazilian sports commentator Rogerio Vaughan, from ESPN Brazil, narrates the footballer's achievements and performance (shown below). The video amassed over 6 million plays, 1.3 million likes and 75,000 other videos using the sound for the Belligol meme in roughly two months.

Where Did The 'Belligol' Sound Come From?

The Belligol sound comes from Brazilian sports commentator Rogerio Vaughan's audio from a September 2023 game narration between Real Madrid and Getafe. The moment was posted by ESPN Brazil's YouTube channel on September 2nd, 2023, showing Bellingham celebrating a goal minutes before the match ended, amassing more than 1 million views and 71,000 likes in a month (shown below).

How Are People Posting 'Belligol' Memes On TikTok?

Although Belligol's audio is one of the key aspects of the meme, the trend expanded to photoshopped images of the player as an anteater in a self-defense pose and many other parodies. For instance, before TikToker @njrdiniz's viral video in September 2023, many Brazilians were already memeing Bellingham's goal celebration for its similarity to the native giant anteater's self-defense pose. Like TikTok user @jotax7w, who uploaded a video comparing the midfielder with the Brazilian animal (shown below, left), which garnered roughly 182,000 plays and 7,000 likes in two months. Another meme, posted on September 9th by TikToker @myguel.skills7, made the same comparison (shown below, right), which garnered over 550,000 plays and 101,000 likes in two months.

For the full history of Belligol, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.