A Russian footballer has denied he is gay after pictures of him kissing, cuddling and sharing a bath with a male friend went viral.

When Gay Star News reported the pictures back in December, social networks were set alight by the idea two top-level professional footballers could be gay.

Alexandr Kokorin, a 21-year-old striker from Dynamo Moscow, and Pavel Mamaev, a 24-year-old midfielder from CSKA, released the ‘intimate’ pictures from a holiday online last year.

But now Kokorin has denied the two footballers are gay, saying they are just ‘friends’.

‘It was funny to learn that some people responded to our pictures by wondering “What’s their sexual orientation?” Kokorin told Sovetsky Sport newspaper.

‘I can explain, I have known Pavel for a very long time, since my school days. On the pitch we’ve always been rivals, but became friends for life. He’s like a brother to me.’

He said they both have girlfriends, but chose to not upload any pictures featuring them when they were on their trip to Miami.

‘It was them [the girlfriends] who took those pictures,’ he added. ‘And we photographed them too. Only we decided not to upload their pictures.’

The denial has come after Mamaev revealed British football clubs Chelsea and Manchester United wanted him as a transfer but he failed to get a work permit in time.

On Twitter earlier this year, Kokorin also hinted he could have been hedging his bets while speaking to the Russian sport newspaper.

A Twitter user said to the football player he was a ‘disgrace’ to Russia, saying ‘You at least have to hide your orientation.’

In response, Kokorin said: ‘Well, not exactly straight.’

Worldwide, the only two male players to continue playing are Swedish player Anton Hysén and Justin Fashanu.

Other players to have come out include American David Testo, German Marcus Urban, Norwegian Thomas Derling, and Frenchman Olivier Rouyer, but only after they finished playing professionally.

Hysén has gone onto a successful career in Sweden, where he won the Swedish version of Dancing With The Stars.

And Fashanu, who was the first in 1990, committed suicide eight years later.

Check out other pictures from the Miami trip here: