Cole Palmer: From Hopeful Star to Laughing Stock

As England kick off their World Cup campaign tonight, one of the most notable names not to grace even the subs' bench at the Dallas Stadium is .

The 24-year-old Chelsea forward was snubbed by head coach , who left him out of the 26-man squad he has taken to the US.

Yet fans of Palmer needn’t feel starved of content, for in recent weeks their hero’s been pictured partying in Ibiza with Wayne Lineker, has appeared in a music video and has so many endorsements on the go that one fan pointed out that ‘more ads than scoring goals is crazy’.

While the numbers don’t quite tally (Palmer scored 11 goals last season, but has half a dozen major brand sponsors), the sentiment that he’s taken his eye off the day job for something a little more glamourous is gaining traction.

Indeed, one insider says the Madonna video was a ‘disaster’ for him.

Shot for the Queen of Pop’s Confessions II album, the film features a surprise cameo of Palmer standing at a nightclub urinal.

Madonna, 67, brushes past him and he turns to make eye contact with the singer, before she enters a toilet stall and engages in a sex act with a mystery man.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the other Chelsea player to appear in the video, Joao Pedro, failed to make the Brazil squad as Palmer did England’s.

While the music video, released on June 8, featured a long list of talent, including Kate Moss, Julia Garner and Benedict Cumberbatch, it was Palmer who got people talking.

One source tells the Daily Mail: ‘It is a disaster for Cole Palmer. Football fans are destroying him on social media.

‘Fans want to see him putting his time and effort into training to improve his performance on the pitch, not causing a stir in Madonna’s music videos.

‘It is not a good look for him.’

Indeed, you wonder if he saw such criticism coming. Last year, he hired a celebrity publicist, Rachel Monk, who also represents fellow footballer Kyle Walker and his wife Annie Kilner, whom he cheated on.

Rachel has also been Coleen Rooney’s on-and-off PR for two decades.

‘You have to wonder why he has got a PR like her,’ says a football insider. ‘He clearly enjoys his life off the pitch a lot more than some of his comrades. It all feels a bit cringe, others in the industry are having a jolly good laugh at him.’

None more so than for that Madonna video.

His unlikely role came after Madge first met him when she attended a Chelsea game with her toyboy boyfriend Akeem Morris at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer later admitted that Madonna is the most famous person he has met, and even asked the singer for a selfie.

And he clearly made a good first impression, getting the call-up for her music video.

Reacting to the outrageous scene, one fan wrote: ‘Saka, Eze and Madueke at a World Cup after winning the league... meanwhile, Cole Palmer, the apparent best young player on the planet, is having a p*** in a Madonna video.’

Referring to him and Pedro, a second added: ‘You would think two amazing players they would be concentrating on training for the World Cup that starts in couple days… Oh wait.’

After all, this time last year Palmer was feted for scoring twice in Chelsea’s Club World Cup final win against Paris St Germain. The summer before, he offered England a glimmer of hope by scoring in the European Championships final, until Spain prevailed. This summer, however, he’s been keeping less celebrated company.

While the England players touched down in Florida earlier this month, Palmer was photographed next to troubled Wayne Lineker – the DJ brother of Gary, who has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse in the past - at his O Beach club in Ibiza.

On his second day there, Palmer and a group of male pals were spotted partying with bikini-clad Love Island stars Megan Moore, Lauren Wood and Jess Harding.

Palmer was seen lying low at a table behind the DJ booth, away from prying eyes, but he quickly became livelier when the girls were invited to join their table.

One source told the Daily Mail: ‘Cole stayed out of sight in the O Beach DJ booth, he wanted privacy.

‘His friend invited some of the girls from Love Island to join him, and they were all over him.

‘He had security keeping an eye on him.

‘He was having a great time with the girls, they are beautiful.

‘Cole was letting loose after a tough season. By the end of the night, he was chatting to the girls.’

Later, Palmer, his mates, and the Love Islanders all left the DJ booth together.

Now, he appears to be on holiday in Bodrum with his girlfriend Olivia Holder, 23, whom he began dating in March last year, after he ended his three-year relationship with Connie Grace.