Player who was 'outed' as anonymous rapper Dide finally breaks silence on whether fan theories are true

A former Premier League player who fans believed to be behind the masked rapper Dide has finally addressed the claims.

Back in April 2023, a rapper claiming to be a Premier League footballer posted a new single titled, 'Thrill' and had fans engrossed in the mystery of his identity.

The artist always wears a rose mask in videos and fans quickly worked out that the rapper hails from London as they put their detective hats on. Dide has been able to keep things under wraps but has pulled back the curtain ever so slightly, opening up about how he balances being a football and musician at the same time.

In April he said Kevin De Bruyne is the best player he has played against before claiming his teammates and manager had no idea about his hustle on the side.

Eddie Nketiah, Wilfried Zaha, Reiss Nelson and Alex Iwobi were just some of the many suggestions fans have come up with but some also 'outed' Sheyi Ojo, who Liverpool bought for a fee of £2 million when he was just 14.

Ojo, a member of England's Under 20 World Cup-winning squad in 2017, played 13 times for the Reds and left for Cardiff City in 2022 after a number of loan spells, including Wolves, Fulham, Rangers and Reims.

He signed a two-year deal with Slovenian side NK Maribor in September but in a new interview with The Athletic, Ojo was asked if he is actually Dide.

And he was happy to dismiss talk of it being him as he would not be one to put "anything else in the picture to sway my concentration".

Dide's identity is yet to be revealed. Image: Dide

“It’s funny because everywhere I go people ask me about it but honestly I haven’t got a clue who it is,” Ojo said.

“All I can say is I’m super focused on football as I always have been, that’s pretty much the only thing that matters to me. I wouldn’t be putting anything else in the picture to sway my concentration, it’s definitely not something I’m involved in but I understand everyone’s curiosities.”

Sheyi Ojo has denied claims he is masked rapper Dide. image: Getty

A year ago Aston Villa and Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana, then at Everton, claimed he knew Dide's real identify but could not possibly disclose it due to a "code".

"There has been some rumours but there is a player code that I can't break," he told Sky Sports.

"People try to get it out of my mouth but I won't."