A straight-A pupil with an infectious smile: how we fell in love with Bukayo Saka, England's 'starboy'

As 22-year-old Bukayo Saka stepped up to take England’s third penalty against Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-final on Saturday (July 6), the country took a collective intake of breath. There was an unspoken acknowledgment of how significant the moment was — not just for England’s hopes of staying in the tournament — but also for Saka himself.

Three years previously, he, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho were subjected to a torrent of horrific online racial abuse following their missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final which England lost to Italy at Wembley. In the subsequent Premier League season, rival fans chanted at Saka that he had “let your country down”. There was an implicit fear that the same behaviour might be repeated if Saka were to miss again.

But, despite the weight of this on him — and having every reason to hesitate when Southgate asked him to step up to the plate against Switzerland — Saka showed no sign of nerves. Like England’s four other successful penalties in the match (all taken by players with black heritage), Saka’s goal was effortlessly cool, putting to bed his critics and ending the collective trauma of England’s penalty nightmares.

“You fail once, but I’m the sort of guy who wants to put myself in that position again,” Saka said in a post-match interview on Saturday (July 6). “It is something I embrace…I kept my cool and scored my penalty.

“I wasn’t focusing on the past — that’s done,” he continued. “I can only focus on now.

“Of course, I know there’s a lot of nervous people watching, my family included in the crowd, but I kept my cool and scored.”

The outpouring of affection for England’s star was immediate and intense. Fans instantly took to social media to praise his determination. One supporter wrote: “A moment of redemption. A moment of courage. A moment of ecstasy. Bukayo Saka is HIM.” Another said: “Bukayo Saka man. Equaliser and penalty converted. Nerves of steel after what happened in 2021, that man is deserving of it all.”

Saka’s former teammate Sancho also quickly posted a message on social media, saying: “I’m so proud of this guy! You did it for me and Marcus, brother!”

And England legend David Beckham offered his support, posting a photo of Saka on his Instagram feed with the caption: “That's the smile we all needed to see... Courage and happiness @bukayosaka87, well done to the lads @england."

The praise also recognised Saka for scoring England’s only goal in the match. He equalised Breel Embolo’s 75th-minute opener with a stunning curling strike five minutes later, keeping the Three Lions’s Euro hopes alive and going on to win player of the match.

Saka’s rise to the beating heart of the England squad has been stratospheric. He earned his first international cap aged 19 against Wales in October 2020. He has scored more goals than anyone else in Gareth Southgate’s squad (12) except captain Harry Kane (65).

His footballing prowess is undeniable. But more than this, it has been Saka’s irresistible charm off the pitch that has captured the nation’s heart. Nicknamed “starboy”, he is possibly the most popular member of the England squad since the 90s, known for his impeccable manners, his intellect — he was a straight-A pupil at school — and his infectious smile.

“He’s just that perfect boy which you wish will either be your son or your brother who’s just been brought up the right way,” Arsenal and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale said of his teammate.

From his humble beginnings in west London to his girlfriend christened “WAG of the year”, here is the story of how the nation fell in love with Bukayo Saka.

‘A role model student’ — straight As and a sporting prodigy

Like many of his England teammates, Saka’s extraordinarily speedy rise to success was helped by starting the game at an early age — in his case, three.

"Football? It's been in my life since I was a kid,” he told France Football magazine in 2023. “As soon as I realised this game existed, I loved it. And I still love it.”

Growing up in Greenford, in the borough of Ealing, west London, he lived in a small, two-storey semi-detached home with his parents, who migrated from Nigeria in the 1990s, and his older brother Yomi. After school, he would kick a ball as a young boy on the communal green near his house.

"In front of my house, there was a closed neighbourhood, something that formed a circle with the other dwellings,” he said. “In the middle, there was just a green field. Not really a football field, but we transformed it like that.

“Everyone came to play there. After school, we met there, the children of the neighbourhood, to play until our parents called us to have dinner and go to the shower. Then to bed. The next day, school… And we did it again.”

Saka attended Edward Betham Church of England Primary School and Greenford High School, where, alongside excelling at football, he was also a talented tennis player and long jumper. He achieved the school’s long jump record of 5.28 metres in year eight — which still stands.

Arsenal scouted and signed him when he was seven. But despite the demands of academy football, he left school with four A*s and three As in his GCSEs.

“He was a role model student... very friendly and approachable,” Mark Harvey, Saka’s former PE teacher at Greenford High School, told the Standard in 2022.

Harvey told the Times that, in his five years at school, Saka missed handing in his homework only once. “For someone who was away as much as he was with his football commitments, that’s amazing.”

Many believe that this intellect has helped Saka on the pitch. “He would always see a level or two above what was happening,” Harvey told the Times. “He had a really clear vision of what he wanted to do. He also had an incredible work ethic — and never shied away from constructive criticism.”

After Saka was selected for England’s match against the Czech Republic during Euro 2020, the school's PE department tweeted: “Bukayo Saka at Greenford High School: always ready to learn, so respectful towards staff and peers, wonderful family and top grades. Such a proud night!”

Despite achieving astronomical success, he still keeps in close contact with the school. A signed Arsenal shirt he donated hangs on the school’s “achievement wall”. A letter he sent to thank former teachers has also been framed.

‘It's a massive testament to his mum and dad’ — the influence of his parents

When asked about the inspirations behind his success, Saka is often quick to credit his parents, Yomi and Adenike.

Perhaps the first thing the couple (who are from the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria) did for their son was to name him with intention. Not only does Bukayo translate to “adds to joy” from Yoruba, but his middle names Ayoyinka and Temidayo also respectively mean “joy surrounds me” and “my joyful story”.

Saka’s mother is an accountant who studied in Lagos. After moving to London, she completed a diploma in accounting at the University of West London. She has worked as a project accountant at O2, according to the Times.

His parents’ work ethic is often credited for Saka’s academic success.

"My mum really pushed me academically,” Saka has said. “I always wanted to make my mum happy, she means a lot to me. Doing well academically meant a lot to me as well.”

“They kept him grounded when he was growing up,” Harvey told the Times. “His dad would make him do his homework in the car as they were travelling up and down the country to games.”

His family were also well known in Greenford for being friendly and generous — helping people move houses and sending footballs, game consoles, and money to support the area’s less fortunate.

“They are a lovely family, Yomi in particular,” Eileen Nolder, one of the family’s neighbours, told MailOnline in 2021. “He was fantastic and the boys were lovely.

“There were a couple of times when an ambulance was called for me. Yomi noticed and came straight over to help. Anything you needed carrying or doing, he would come and do it. Yomi was convinced his son was going to be a star and they moved to be closer to Arsenal. I was very sad when the family left.”

“Anything I put my mind to, [my parents] pushed me 100 per cent to give it my all, and to make sure I’m the best I can be,” Saka said in an interview with Time magazine.

He has often said his businessman father is one of his biggest inspirations. “From when I was young, he always kept me grounded, kept me humble,” he said in a 2019 interview.

“My dad was there for me a lot,” Saka told talkSPORT. "I spent millions of hours with him in cars doing journeys.

"I was really close to him growing up, he was there to watch every single game, never missed one no matter what… Every game he would go to, be there, advise me, support me, and keep me grounded.”

Saka’s devout Christian parents passed on their religion to their son. He has said that he reads the Bible every night and describes himself in his Instagram bio as “God’s child”.

“For me, it’s really important to obviously have the presence of God in me all the time, and it gives me more confidence that God’s plan is perfect so I can go on the pitch and know that God has my back,” Saka said in an interview during the 2022 World Cup. “The main thing for me is just keeping my faith, just having faith in God so I don’t need to be worried or nervous about any outcomes.”

The “little chilli” — making waves at Arsenal

Saka’s uncle first encouraged him to join a local football team. “I remember my uncle came to my house around the age of six and he said ‘oh, you're playing football a lot. You should try and go to a local team’,” he told englandfootball.com.

“So we researched our local team, which was Greenford Celtic, and we went there. When the coach Colin said the team was full, I was quite gutted, but he said he’d let me train and after seeing me, he said ‘I think you're good enough to get into this team so I’ll make space for you’. Colin put me straight into the team and I went from there.”

After Arsenal scouted him, Saka joined the club’s Hale End academy following stints at Watford’s youth teams.

“Even as a very young boy, and I remember him as an under-11, we had a pathway to look after him,” the then-head of youth development at Hale End, Liam Brady, told arsenal.com. “We had coaches and staff who did a great job of recruiting these boys originally and then looking after them.

“I remember him at that age. He was always very fast, but muscular with it, powerful, and as he got older he quickly added the football intelligence that you need at the top level.”

At 17, he was contracted to the club’s senior squad and his career exploded following the appointment of Mikel Arteta as manager in December 2019. In his breakthrough 2019/20 season, Saka starred in all four first-team competitions, winning his first Arsenal player of the month award in February 2020. He earned the nickname “little chilli” because the way he spices up attacks.

Euro 2020 and racist abuse

While at Arsenal, Saka also began his international career, representing England at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels.

In the summer of 2021, Saka’s life changed for ever — both for better and worse — when Gareth Southgate selected him in his 26-man Euro 2020 squad. The tournament started well for England and for Saka — in the third group-stage match against the Czech Republic, he was named the man of the match.

And then we all know what happened next.

In the final against Italy on July 11, England dominated early on, with Luke Shaw scoring with a low shot on the half-volley after less than two minutes. However, Italy began to dominate possession from the 15-minute mark and equalised on 66 minutes.

Saka came on as a substitute for Kieran Trippier four minutes later and the game ended 1-1 after extra time. He was chosen to take England’s fifth penalty in the resultant shootout — his first at senior level. He was only 19.

Italy’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Saka’s attempt, with Rashford and Sancho also failing to score from the spot. The Italians won the shootout 3-2 to become European champions.

Saka has said that he “knew instantly” that a torrent of racist abuse would be directed at the three black players. “My reaction post-match said it all — I was hurting so much and I felt like I’d let you all and my England family down,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter at the time. “For those who have campaigned on my behalf and sent me heartfelt letters, wished me and my family well, I am so thankful.

“To the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: I don’t want any child or adult to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me, Marcus and Jadon have received. I knew instantly the kind of hate I was about to receive and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages.

“There is no place for racism or hate of any kind in football or any area of society and to the majority of people coming together to call out the people sending these messages, by taking action and reporting these to the police and driving out the hate by being kind to one another, we will win.”

It was a difficult time for the players and the country, but there were some glimmers of light. The following month, when Saka came on for Arsenal in a pre-season friendly against Spurs at White Hart Lane, he was greeted by a standing ovation. It was an unprecedented show of appreciation for an Arsenal player in more than a century of the clubs’ bitter rivalry. “The fact that Tottenham’s fans are willing to do that for me shows that some things are bigger than football,” Saka said afterwards.

Typically for Saka, he took what was objectively a low period as an opportunity to give back. He is now friends with Teddy, a young boy from the Isle of Wight who was eight when he wrote a sweet note to Saka after the racism he suffered.  “I hope you are not sad any more,” Teddy said. “If you [were] here with me, I would buy you an ice cream from the ice cream van with my pocket money and then we would play football in the park and I would let you win.”

Putting his pocket money into the envelope, he sent it to Arsenal. His family didn’t expect to hear back but Saka wrote to Teddy and the pair swapped video messages. “I keep in touch with him,” Saka told the Guardian. “He sent me a lot of videos and they’re always so nice to watch. He’s come to two games.”

Another positive response came from a pupil at Saka’s old primary school. After being impressed with how he handled the social media abuse hurled at him, nine-year-old Myla Clarke-Williams suggested that a mural of Saka be painted in the playground at Edward Betham Primary School.

His relationship with Tolami Benson, the ‘WAG of the year’

Another, less public element of Saka’s life is his relationship with 23-year-old Tolami Benson. While little is known about the pair’s relationship, Benson was crowned “WAG of the year” at the 2024 Euros after a photo of her in the stands went viral on Instagram.

Wearing a custom leather biker jacket by Antonia Bronze that nodded to her boyfriend’s first Arsenal shirt number (an enormous “87” adorning the back) over a Diesel top, Benson captioned the photo with the “infinity” emoji. Such was the impact of the snap that it even prompted a write-up in Vogue.

Hailing from Hertfordshire, Benson reportedly works full-time in account management after graduating from Birmingham City University with a public relations degree. The pair have reportedly been dating since late 2020, but have been intensely private about their relationship. Neither has spoken publicly about one another and they don’t even follow each other on Instagram.

Benson has posted Instagram stories of her remote-working while accompanying her boyfriend on the international football scene. After Saka won the player of the match award in the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland, Benson expressed her pride on social media. She posted a picture of herself on Instagram clutching her boyfriend's trophy with the caption: "My baby's baby".

Before England’s semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday, let’s hope she can be Saka’s, and England’s, lucky charm.