Sports stars with bizarre celebrity friends, from McGregor and Bieber to Pele and Mick Hucknall and Beckham and Ramsay
THE celebrity and sports worlds blend into one these days.
So, it's unsurprising that stars from pop and film end up mingling with boxers, footballers, and even basketball players.
But, even these unlikely pairings have left us open mouthed at the thought of their friendship.
Aside from fame, what do they have in common?
Conor McGregor and Justin Bieber
UFC star McGregor has always had a firm supporter in the Yummy singer.
Notorious and the Canadian pop star were recently seen on the tennis court together in the Bahamas.
Bieber has been spotted at McGregor's fights through the years, calling him his favourite MMA star.
And the feeling's mutual for McGregor. "I always randomly see Justin out of nowhere and just chop it up, I love this kid!"
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Beckham and Ramsay
An unlikely bromance, David Beckham and Gordon Ramsay go on holidays together, and spend Christmas with each other's families.
"Over the past 10 years we’ve naturally got on. I see how hard David and Victoria work," Gordon told The Sun in 2017.
"But the connection is our ambition to get all eight children through school, college, university, and then dust ourselves down, when the kids are in their 20s, as having been decent parents. That’s hard. We feed off each other."
Their friendship began in 2006, when Gordon catered for Beckham's pre-World Cup party that same year.
Ricky Hatton and the Gallagher brothers
When Ricky was a lean, mean fighting machine he was supported by Oasis musicians Noel and Liam Gallagher.
The rockers famously marched Hatton out to the ring - carrying his championship belts - in a fight against Paulie Malignaggi back in 2012.
Hatton, who has always been a massive fan of the Manchester band, revealed Liam took his job very seriously - thrusting a belt towards Malignaggi and saying, "Whatcha think about that?"
He added: "I wouldn't mind but Paulie is a New York Italian, and half of the Sopranos were at ringside."
Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey
Armstrong must love McConaughey's 'Alright, alright, alright' vibe.
The fitness fanatics, both Texans, got friendly when they started working out together.
McConaughey then supported Armstrong’s charity, The Livestrong Foundation.
But the Oscar-winning actor was miffed when his pal was admitted doping.
He said: "I was mad. I then got kind of sad for him. First off, I had a part of me that took it kind of personally, which I think a lot of people have."
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lil Wayne
One is a clean-living athlete, the other is a hip-hop star famed for rapping about 'sizzurp' - a drink made by adding cough syrup containing codeine and promethazine to a carbonated soft drink.
In 2014, when Real Madrid were in a training camp in LA, Ronaldo and Wayne hung out together.
Then, when the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge swept the world, Ronaldo called on his new pal to get involved.
There were even reports Wayne tried to get Ronaldo to sign up to his sports agency in the States.
Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong Un
The most unlikely of the duos - a basketball lothario who slept with the likes of Madonna and Carmen Electra and the Supreme Leader of North Korea.
Jong Un is reportedly a huge fan of the Chicago Bulls, who Rodman starred for alongside Michael Jordan and Scott Pippen.
They first met in Pyongyang, the capital of the isolated authoritarian state, in 2013 along with three Harlem Globetrotters players when Jong Un invited him to his country.
Over the years, Rodman has continued relations with Jong Un calling him, "My dear friend for life" and enjoyed "partying" with him.
Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian
Perhaps not so unlikely.
But the tennis legend and reality TV star regularly cross paths at fashion shows around the globe, including Paris and New York.
Aside from the red carpet appearances, they reportedly meet up for playdates with their kids in LA when they get the chance.
But their friendship is believed to have started way before Kim became famous.
Before a leaked porn tape kick-started her career, Kim used to clean out and organise celebrity's wardrobes. One of those was Serena's.
Shaq and Jack Nicholson
Hell-raiser Nicholson is a basketball nut, often seen courtside cheering on the LA Lakers.
Shaquille O'Neal famously played for the Lakers from 1996-2004 - winning two NBA championships.
The pair were often seen buddying up on the court at the Staples Center during games.
And when Shaq's shirt number was retired in 2013, the legendary actor was named-dropped by the giant basketball star in a press conference.
Shaq revealed: "Jack's been sitting in that same seat for years, telling the referees, 'You can't handle the truth!'"
That, of course, is Jack's famous line in A Few Good Men.
Pele and Mick Hucknall
The Simply Red frontman had us in hysterics when he revealed he's pals with Brazil football legend Pele.
Mick shared a snap of the two together at a charity do arm-in-arm.
"Honoured to sing for my old friend Pele at the Nordoff Robbins event in his honour,"; he wrote on Twitter with a picture of the pair.
Incredibly, he added: "We first met in 1985."
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Hucknall has continued to play concerts at events in honour of his pal, so seemingly is his favourite singer.
Some might say, that's Simply Rad.
