This boy moves with speed and poise. He’s a creative midfielder with good ball control and balance. Just before COVID began in 2020, he was barely known outside England. Today, Jude Bellingham rubs shoulders with World greats, Modric, Kross, Nacho, Rudiger, Courtois, et al at Real Madrid.
The Jude Bellingham Rave
Embed from Getty ImagesTwenty-year-old Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid FC of Spain started the 2023/24 football season with a bang. He has scored 8 consecutive goals in nine matches, most times, in spectacular fashion. Five times he’s rescued Real Madrid FC from defeat, though he has played less than a dozen matches for them. Bellingham has captivated the minds of Real Madrid supporters, who now sing his praise at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe making of a star
Jude Bellingham joined Birmingham City FC as a child and by 2020 sealed a transfer to Borussia Dortmund FC in Germany. He snubbed Manchester United FC, and Liverpool FC amongst others to join Dortmund; a club with a good tradition for youth development.
Even with the humble beginning of his club football, Borussia Dortmund coughed about 25 million British pounds, plus some add-ons for his transfer. He believed that like Jordan Sancho, he’d grow at Dortmund. Truly, he excelled with Borussia Dortmund before his move to Madrid. He captained the team and won the German FA Cup 2020-21 with them and a second-place finish in the league.
Bellingham has represented England in all age grades and played 26 times for the senior team. He scored his first and registered his name on the score sheets. He achieved this feat against Iran at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Speaking about his move to Madrid, Jude said thus;
“I’d always been aware of the interest from England so that was pretty normal,”
“It was a bit of a surprise when my dad sat me down and said: ‘You’ve had a bit of interest from Real Madrid.’
“I think that was maybe about 12-15 months ago. When he said that I had goosebumps, my heart was close to stopping. It’s something you don’t expect growing up – being able to play for a team like this.”
The star boy of world football
As overwhelmed as he was, Bellingham settled immediately and has become an important player for them. He has been welcomed by Madrid who assigned him the jersey number 5, once worn by the legendary Zinedine Zidane.
With his outstanding performance, his £88.5 million, six-year transfer fee looks to be worth it. He joins Steve Macmanaman and David Beckham, two English players who dazzled at Real Madrid.
Embed from Getty ImagesJude Bellingham has had his share of criticism, especially from his former colleagues at Borussia Dortmund, who describe him as arrogant and attention-seeking.
They have not criticized his football skills and his move to Real Madrid gives him the perfect opportunity to dazzle the world. We expect Bellingham to maintain a momentum of good form and with the quality of outstanding players around him, his best is yet to come!