Keita Balde followed Senegal national team to Cameroon to participate in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (2021 AFCON) but trended for days over a non-footballing reason. People who have been following his football career noticed that he has breached his skin from black to a fairer complexion.
Keita Balde is contracted to Italian Serie A club, Cagliari. He was born in Spain to African parents but chose to represent Senegal in international football.
The 26-year-old striker made his international debut on March 26, 2016. Since then, he has made 36 appearances in which he scored 6 goals for Senegal.
The 2021 AFCON is Balde’s third AFCON appearance. He represented Senegal in the 2017 and 2019 editions of the tournament. He has played a total of 11 AFCON matches so far in his football career in which he scored a goal and provided two assists.
Based on his longevity and consistency, he is seen as one of the most important players in the Senegalese team. Hence, it was very easy for people to notice that the 26-year-old striker has bleached his skin.
The practice of bleaching is not new among black-skinned people who want to look lighter than their natural look. But football fans following the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon made a big deal out of it when they saw that Keita Balde was not proud of how he used to look.
However, the agitation of some fans of the Senegal national team has not prevented Balde from making two successive appearances in the ongoing AFCON.
Keita Balde is in a serious relationship with Simona Guatieri
Before Keita Balde bleached his skin and made it fairer than it used to be, he has been in a relationship with Simona Guatieri, a former contestant in Miss Italy and Miss World.
Unlike Balde that was born in Spain, Simona Guatieri was born in Italy on April 27, 1990. She is regarded as an Italian model and television personality.
Aside from contesting for Miss Italy, Miss World, and Miss Universe Pageants, she has made an appearance on the Telecinco television show Striscia la Notizia.
Before she started dating Balde, she has dated an Italian footballer, Stephan El Shaarawy. She and the Senegalese footballer live together in Italy.
The two lovers have two children; one of the children is named Thiago. They are planning to get wedded soon according to Simona Guatieri’s statement on social media.
“It will be a civil wedding. On Lake Como, in Cernobbio”, the Italian model said as quoted by Ruetir.
Keita Balde and Simona Guatieri are expecting a third child according to the Italian model. “He was expecting this because I had been telling him for days that I felt different, I took the test and told him we were waiting again! He was silent, he didn’t say anything”, she revealed recently in a Q&A.
