What began as an unanswered direct message has now turned into one of the internet's most entertaining celebrity interactions.

Football star Erling Haaland has finally accepted Tom Holland's dinner invitation, days after the actor revealed that the Norwegian striker had left his message unanswered. The exchange, which quickly caught the attention of fans online, appears to have ended on a cheerful note.

Haaland responded in the comments section with a simple message that instantly grabbed attention: "Dinner invitation accepted @tomholland2013. A little late. Just name the place!"

The interaction comes shortly after Holland shared the story during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The actor admitted he decided to "shoot his shot" by sending Haaland a direct message and inviting him out for dinner.

"I was like, 'I'll text him, I'll take him for dinner,'" Holland said, before revealing that the message never received a reply.

"Not even a response. Not an excuse, not, 'I'm busy tonight, I'm playing football.' Nada," he joked, adding that he never expected the story to become a talking point on television.

As clips from the interview spread across social media, Haaland eventually addressed the situation during an appearance on the Norwegian version of The Assembly. The striker admitted the silence was not intentional, but simply the result of not recognising who had contacted him.

Calling the moment "a bit embarrassing," Haaland explained that he received the message while he was in Monaco for Formula 1. Since he does not watch many films, he said he had no idea the message was from the Spider-Man star.

"There was one asking if we could go out for dinner, but I'd never seen him, so I didn't bother to answer. I didn't want to answer an unknown person," Haaland said.

With Haaland's latest response, what started as an unanswered invitation has now become a light-hearted celebrity moment that fans are hoping will end with an actual dinner.

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Meanwhile, Holland is busy promoting his upcoming films ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and Christopher Nolan's ‘The Odyssey’. His reported involvement in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ remains unconfirmed.

The dinner may have been delayed, but the invitation is finally on the table.