Several Premier League players have joined forces with TNT Sports to demonstrate the correct pronunciation of their names for fans. In a recently released video, 15 players and three managers were shown saying their own names directly to the camera. The video featured notable names such as Manchester United’s newly acquired striker Joshua Zirkzee, Arsenal’s new defender Riccardo Calafiori, and Chelsea’s summer signings Marc Guiu and Tosin Adarabioyo. Liverpool’s new manager Arne Slot also participated, alongside managers Sean Dyche and Nuno Espirito Santo. Additional players showcased in the video included Erling Haaland, Bruno Fernandes, Tomas Soucek, Wout Faes, Vladimir Coufal, Iliman Ndiaye, Niclas Fullkrug, Ben Brereton Diaz, Yukinari Sugawara, Tim Iroegbunam, and Stephy Mavididi.
Riccardo Calafiori and Marc Guiu recently appeared in a video tutorial to assist their fans in pronouncing their names accurately.
The clip featuring Erling Haaland, the striker for Manchester City, and Sean Dyche, the manager of Everton, went viral on social media, with many fans expressing surprise and some confusion over the way their names were pronounced. Some fans even accused Haaland of mispronouncing his own name. One Twitter user, Andre Ostgaard, who is Norwegian, said he had no idea what Haaland was trying to do as none of his three names were pronounced like that. Another fan speculated that he might be trolling, while another suggested it could be a joke as there was no way he would pronounce his last name in that manner.
Haaland was captured celebrating his goal during Manchester City’s victory over Chelsea with a score of 2-0 on a Sunday afternoon.
In the meantime, a few fans were taken aback by how Everton manager Dyche pronounced his own name. One supporter from Watford remarked, ‘I thought Sean Dyche was just joking around, but it turns out I’ve been saying his name wrong since he played for us 20 years ago. Every day is a learning experience!’ Another fan chimed in, ‘I found out the correct pronunciation about 5 years back, but I was in the same boat! I always thought it was Die-sh, not Die-ch.’ A third fan reacted with four laughing emojis and the message, ‘Who would have guessed that I’ve been saying Sean Dyche’s name wrong this whole time!’
Dyche, the manager of Everton, was captured in a photo during his team’s disappointing 3-0 loss at home against Brighton last Saturday.
The Portuguese playmaker of Manchester United, Fernandes, has sparked numerous discussions about the pronunciation of his name. While many fans and commentators say ‘Fer-nan-des’, the United captain clarified, once again, that it should be pronounced more like ‘Fer-nanj’. One fan even tweeted their refusal to change, saying, “I’m stuck in my ways” when it comes to saying Bruno’s name.