One is a Premier League star, the other an Hollywood A-lister and, unlikely as it may seem, the two have kicked a ball around on the same playing field. While fans of the beautiful game may not struggle to identify the youngster on the left of the throwback image, they will almost certainly be surprised to discover the identity of the little boy on the right.
![[As youths, England and Liverpool FC defender Joe Gomez (left) and French-American actor Timothée Chalamet (right) competed on the football pitch]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/21/15/94348203-14308963-image-a-11_1737473699735.jpg)
Now currently both flying high at the top of their very different fields, there was a time - less than two decades ago - when England and Liverpool FC defender Joe Gomez and French-American actor Timothée Chalamet competed together. Joe, who belonged to Charlton Athletic as a youth player came up against the budding actor when his London-based club played Timothée's New York-based soccer school, the Manhattan Kickers.
![[Currently promoting A Complete Unknown, his film about the life of Bob Dylan has seen Chalamet, pictured in Paris, on a global tour - and he managed to catch a football match while in Rome in January]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/21/16/94143605-14308963-Hours_earlier_Timothee_was_spotted_wearing_the_same_outfit_on_th-m-12_1737475498989.jpg)
While Joe, 27, has achieved worldwide fame as a key member of the Liverpool squad, which he joined in June 2015, Timothée has equally won a place in the hall of fame for starring roles in blockbusters Wonka (2023) and Dune (2021 and 2024). The Academy Award-nominated actor, 29, is also currently seen playing Bob Dylan in biopic A Complete Unknown, which was released in the UK on January 17 - meaning his star is set to rise even higher.
The photo of the two sporty youths, estimated to be aged nine or ten at the time the picture was taken, was posted on Instagram at the end of last year with the caption: 'We present to you, the most unpredictable crossover ever!. 'This incredible throwback photo shows Liverpool star Joe Gomez posing with Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet, after his Charlton academy team faced New York-based soccer school Manhattan Kickers in a friendly. Mind = blown!'.
