Robbie Williams has laughed off viral speculation after a bizarre moment during a World Cup final interview sent the internet into overdrive.

The British pop star, 52, was speaking to German outlet Magenta TV following Spain’s win over Argentina when a white object appeared to fall from his face onto his bright pink microphone. Without missing a beat, Williams picked it up and placed it on his forehead.

Social media users quickly speculated the substance had fallen from his nose, with some suggesting it may have been something illicit. But Williams has now set the record straight, in typical cheeky fashion.

Taking to Instagram in a video captioned, “Just woke up and feeling... Mint,” the singer began as if delivering a serious apology.

“I’d just like to apologise for the object that fell onto the microphone yesterday. It was deeply unprofessional, and people were worried about me,” he said.

“But it’s okay,” he continued, breaking into a smile. “Because I had several more too.”

Williams then opened his mouth to reveal multiple mints sitting on his tongue, confirming the mystery object was nothing more than a half-chewed mint.

There were reports from a source close to the singer, who said he had woken up to a flood of concerned messages.

“Poor Rob woke up to hundreds of messages from pals and fans asking what on earth was going on... He was obviously a bit bemused before (realising) people had seen the Nicorette mint plopping from his mouth, and thinking it was something dodgy,” the source told The Sun.

The moment came shortly after Williams performed at the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where he took to the stage with Nicole Scherzinger and Laura Pausini to sing the official FIFA anthem, Desire.

Despite the online frenzy, fans were quick to defend the singer, noting his long-standing sobriety. Williams has been open about his past struggles with addiction, having entered rehab twice, first in 1995 after leaving Take That, and again in 2007.

Reflecting on that period, he previously said: “I was a fully fledged, fully blown, self-medicating addict.”

“So unfortunately, it wasn’t a lot of fun – which is why I’m a sober person right now.”

In a recent Take That documentary, he also admitted, “Everybody knew I was in trouble, but they didn’t care, I’d gone past the point of no return. My life had spiralled out of control so severely that my manager understood what needed to happen, I needed to be carted off to rehab.”

Williams appeared unfazed during the live TV moment itself, casually removing the mint from his microphone and continuing the interview without pause, a reaction that only added to social media users’ confusion.