\n Justin Bieber follows 890 people on Instagram. Western Bulldogs defender Mua Laloifi is now one of them.\n <\/p>\n
\n By Sophie Welsh\/AFL.com.au with Western Bulldogs Media\n <\/p>\n
Photos: Michael Willson\/AFL Photos, Justin Bieber\/IG:lilbieber<\/p>\n
He’s one of the biggest celebrities in the world, and now Justin Bieber can be counted as an AFLW fan.<\/p>\n
Western Bulldogs defender Mua Laloifi woke up to a massive surprise on Thursday morning last week, checking her social media accounts to find that the international pop superstar had followed her on Instagram.<\/p>\n
The problem was, Laloifi didn’t know why.<\/p>\n
“I was like ‘surely not, surely not’. After my 10 minutes of shock I woke up my partner and was like ‘Justin Bieber just followed me!’ She couldn’t believe it,” Laloifi told\u00a0AFL.com.au.<\/p>\n
“I thought I was dreaming. My partner looked at his following on Insta and was like ‘there’s Coco Gauff and Beyonc\u00e9, and you!’.<\/p>\n
“It’s absolutely nuts. There are seven billion people in the world and he doesn’t follow that many people, and I’m one of them.”<\/p>\n
At time of writing, Bieber has 294 million Instagram followers – the 12th most-followed account worldwide – and followed 890 people. While she’s not sure exactly why she’s now one of that exclusive group, Laloifi has been spreading the Bieber word among her teammates.<\/p>\n
“I have no idea why. The only thing I can draw on is that the club posted a video of a training session and they asked me what a good soundtrack for the video would be. I suggested ‘Go Baby’ by Justin Bieber, and then I reposted the video on my Instagram story and tagged him,” she said.<\/p>\n
“He’d get so many millions of people tagging him. I did not expect a cheeky follow.”<\/p>\n
Laloifi has already used her newfound platform to invite Bieber to an AFLW game, sending the Canadian star a direct message on Instagram. Not only did he see the message, he responded.<\/p>\n
“I was like, I’m gonna shoot my shot here and send him a message that if he and his family ever have a holiday in Australia and they want to see an AFLW game to let us know,” she said.<\/p>\n
“And he hearted it! He liked my message!”<\/p>\n
Bieber’s new album ‘Swag’ has helped Laloifi through the gruelling process of rehabilitating an ACL injury.<\/p>\n
“His album just came out and I’ve been listening to it a lot. I’m a 90s baby so I grew up with his music and I just love it. As I get older, his music has become nice and chill,” Laloifi said.<\/p>\n
“When I’m doing my rehab, I’ve put the new album on, or when I’m doing a puzzle, it’s just nice background music because it’s so nice and chill.”<\/p>\n
Laloifi is aiming for a return in the first half of the AFLW season, which starts on August 14.<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs\u2019 first test against opposition will come against North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos in a match simulation this Friday evening at Mission Whitten Oval.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gates will open at 5pm and the event is free for members and fans to attend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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