The "Three points in the bag" celebration is the first trend of 2026 Why do footballers celebrate in this way nowadays?
Football already has its first trend of 2026: the Three points in the bag celebration. At the end of the match, a player from the winning team looks straight into the camera and makes a gesture as if counting to three, in reference to the three points awarded for a win in the league. He then puts his three fingers in his pocket, as if to say that he has taken the three points and is taking them home.
The origin of the Three points in the bag celebration
@mrjoekenya Gabriel Magalhaes mocking Onana's 3 points celebration. football is just too good #arsenal #astonvillafc #magalhaes #footballfunny #mrjoefootballanalysis original sound - Mr Joe
The mastermind behind this celebration is Amadou Onana, Aston Villa midfielder, who first marked the victory over Arsenal on December 6 with the now-famous gesture. He repeated it throughout the Villains’ 11-game winning streak between November 6 and December 27. The celebration truly went viral, however, thanks to Gabriel Magalhães, Arsenal’s Brazilian defender, whose side ended Villa’s run on December 30 with a 4-1 win at the Emirates Stadium. At the final whistle, Gabriel recreated Onana’s celebration as a cheeky nod — and a playful bit of revenge.
Barcelona, Inter and the copycat effect
From that moment on, the celebration spread rapidly, with clubs’ social media managers jumping on the trend and building content around it. Lamine Yamal did it as he left the pitch after Barcelona’s win away at Espanyol. Marcus Thuram followed suit after Inter’s victory over Bologna on the opening matchday of the 2026 Serie A season. Three points in the bag even made its way to the Africa Cup of Nations, as shown by Brahim Diaz, who struck the pose after the official photos with his MVP award for the goal that sent Morocco past Tanzania in the round of 16. And, as trends tend to do, after travelling far they eventually return to where they began: Onana himself went back to pocketing three points following Aston Villa’s win over Nottingham Forest in the latest round of the Premier League.
A short-lived trend or the celebration of the season?
A list of examples that is bound to keep growing. Football, in its social-media-driven form, is a copycat sport. Any successful piece of content is quickly replicated across platforms, out of fear of being left behind. In this case, however, the imitation feels more than justified. This is a harmless trend: a celebration that’s easy to reproduce, in any context and by any player. A light-hearted piece of content that fans can share on their own social profiles, riding the wave of joy that comes with a win. A meme that works on any pitch, whether it’s the Premier League or a casual five-a-side game with friends. Maybe this trend will fade in a couple of weeks, maybe it’ll last until the end of the 2025/26 season. Hard to say. For now, all that matters is winning — and putting three points in the bag.
