The former Tottenham player showed a very different side to himself when he was unveiled on a major television show in his homeland
Ask Tottenham fans to describe Toby Alderweireld and they're more likely to remember an unflappable centre-back than a singing owl, but that's exactly what the Belgian was revealed as on Friday night.
The 36-year-old defender played for Tottenham over six years and formed one of the club's best ever central defensive partnerships with his compatriot Jan Vertonghen. Alderweireld turned out 236 times for the north London outfit and was a key part of Mauricio Pochettino's side that reached the Champions League final in 2019.
When Alderweireld left Spurs in 2021, he had a brief stint in Qatar before embarking on a memorable final chapter in his career at his hometown club Royal Antwerp. The Belgian scored a dramatic last-gasp goal to land them their first league title in 66 years in 2023 and then led them into the Champions League group stages for the first time in their history before announcing his retirement at the end of last season.
Many wondered what the next move would be for Alderweireld, who played 127 times for his country, but few would have expected it to come on Belgium's version of The Masked Singer.
Yet it was revealed on Friday night that the former Ajax, Atletico Madrid and Southampton defender had been strutting his stuff and singing songs such as The Killers' classic Mr. Brightside as Oehoe, the show's eagle-owl. When Alderweireld was finally unmasked in the most recent episode, despite singing and dancing with a giant owl head on to Liquido's Narcotic, his hair was unsurprisingly perfect when the mask was taken off.
It's perhaps worth noting that Royal Antwerp's mascot is an owl and the club's stadium, Bosuilstadion, is also called The Owl's Nest.
"This hurts a little bit," Alderweireld said on the show after his run came to an end. "As a competitive person, I would have liked to stay in it a bit longer."
He added: "I considered giving up a few times, but in the end, I decided to keep going. I look back on it with a big smile."
Alderweireld posted on Instagram after the episode aired: "And that’s a wrap for me on The Masked Singer! I had the best time performing and keeping the secret alive. Massive thanks to my partner in feathers, Oehoe. What a ride!"
Some in Belgium had begun to suspect it was the former Tottenham man and he was asked about it in a recent podcast appearance.
'I've been asked that question a few times," he said during his appearance on HLN Voetbalpodcast. "I know of the question, but who knows? Who knows? Do I have a set answer to that question? Well, no, I don't know myself. So maybe that's the answer I have to give."
It turns out those eagle-eyed, or eared, viewers were right as Alderweireld was finally unmasked this week on the hit television show.