The story of Axel Despigelere: from the sex symbol of the 2014 World Cup to the killer of animals

The FIFA World Cup is by far the main event in Game 1 of the entire four-year cycle. This tournament is always a great opportunity for any professional player to make a name for himself, get a lucrative personal contract and have confidence in the future for the next few years.

However, not only football players are given the chance to change their careers and lives. Some fans who have somehow managed to “enlighten” the entire planet also have opportunities that may be far from the truth that one has been waiting for decades and finally getting. But in all likelihood, as you know, you still need to be able to use it correctly, and that’s what our short story is about today…

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At the 2014 World Cup, the final part of which was held in Brazil, most fans will surely remember the stunning debacle of the hosts of the tournament in the semi-final match against Germany. The Germans literally destroyed Selesao with a score of 7:1, rewriting the blackest page in Brazilian football history.

For the fans of the Belgian national team, which advanced to the quarter-finals and then lost to Argentina with a score of 0: 1, the World Cup in Brazil was also unforgettable with Axel, the young supporter of the Red Devils. Despigeler has gained an incredible reputation in the world.

Despigelera fell into the lenses of photojournalists when she was only 17 years old, and then her images filled the pages of many famous and authoritative world media. It happened during the match between the Belgium and Russia national teams in the second round of the group stage of the 2014 World Cup. The Red Devils took a marginal 1-0 win and Country 404 failed to win any of their three games in Brazil and screwed things up again.

Axel Despigueleret was present at the legendary Maracanã stand in Rio de Janeiro, wearing the traditional Belgian national team cap painted in the colors of the national flag and two horns in honor of the team’s nickname, the Red Devils.

The young Belgian was accompanied by his two blonde friends in the stands, but it was the Despigeler who became the main focus of attention of photographers from this trio. High-quality photos of Despigelere instantly went viral, and the very next day, Axel received the title of the most beautiful and sexy fan of the World Cup in Brazil in the media and social networks.

The 17-year-old Despigeler gained incredible popularity thanks to his trip to the Russia vs Belgium game. The girl was very quickly bombarded with literally all kinds of sponsorship invitations and offers. Basically, of course, it was about the beauty industry, a career that almost every girl dreams of doing, starting from childhood.

The choice had to be made, as many companies wanted to see the special face of their ad campaigns in Despigeler. In return for loyalty, the girl, of course, was promised solid wages, and therefore she had a lot to choose from.

Finally, the young Belgian decided to collaborate with the world-famous French perfume and cosmetics company L’Oréal. A full-fledged one-year deal was signed with him there, and Despigeler received the status of a model. Soon, Axel took part in an advertising campaign actively distributed through social networks, in which he promoted all kinds of hairstyles that can be made using the products of the French company.

It looks like Despigelere got the chance of her whole life when she was just 17 – something that many other girls her age expect and 99.9% of them never get, after which they have to go to other areas. activity. But Axel’s stunning modeling career lasted only a week…

Everything changed on the eve of the 1/8 final match of the 2014 World Cup, where the Belgian team had to fight the USA national team. Despigelere, who clearly did not have time to understand the degree of responsibility entrusted to him by the advertising deals, decided to post a photo from an African safari on his social network page before the game against the Americans, in which the girl was caught in the background. a dead long-horned antelope…

To the provocative image was added an equally provocative statement written by the girl: “Hunting is not a matter of life and death. This is much more important. This was about a year ago. Ready to hunt Americans today, haha.”

This trick did not go unnoticed by the young Belgian fan who actively supports Bruges in his homeland. Despigelera was literally bombarded with angry comments, because Axel had to delete the photo almost immediately, and also tried to explain himself.

“I did not want to offend anyone. It was just a joke,” the girl wrote, naively believing that with these words everything can be taken back.

Despite Despigelera’s wishes regarding the Belgium national team’s hopes to face the USA national team come true (the Europeans won a victory over the opponent in extra time thanks to the accurate hits of Kevin De Bruyne and Romel Lukaku – 2: 1), the girl was forced to end her modeling career . L’Oréal promptly stopped working with the Belgian, but company officials chose not to directly acknowledge that the decision was made against the backdrop of a scandalous story with a photograph of Despigeler taken from a safari.

A lawyer for the French group said in a comment to The Independent: “L’Oréal Professionnel Belgium privately worked with him to create a video to be shared on social media in Belgium. The contract is now complete.” Also, a L’Oréal representative stressed that their company does not test their products on animals.

Thus, Despigelere’s modeling career came to an end as quickly and dizzyingly as it had begun. But for some time representatives of the football industry tried to use the beautiful appearance of the girl for advertising purposes. In particular, Axel received an invitation to open one of the matches of Brugge, a team of which he is a passionate fan …

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Eight years later, in 2022, few people remember Axel Despigeler. And the girl herself, who has largely lost her popularity, seems to no longer want the attention that was once shown to her. Now only a little more than 30 thousand people subscribe to her Instagram account – quite a lot, given that the girl is still trying to earn a certain income from advertising.

Axel is no longer chasing provocative posts and married Emil Stewart in September and is now changing his maiden name as well, as if emphasizing that nothing connects him anymore with the sensational story that has become one of the most discussed near football. The events of the 2014 World Cup final episode…

Text: meta.ua/sport