There are two claims about Jude Bellingham that highlight the extraordinary impact he had at Real Madrid.
Firstly, it helps the club and its fans forget the shock departure of then-Ballon d’Or winner and captain Karim Benzema, who left suddenly last summer. Secondly, he already has a bigger impact than David Beckham.
There is, of course, more to come, with Bellingham integrating surprisingly well into the exciting young squad of the world’s most scrutinized club and quickly becoming one of the leaders. There is also the traditional Spanish suspicion of English players and how they behave on and off the pitch. Even though he is only 20 years old and in his first season in Madrid, Bellingham changed that.
For Bellingham and his family, the decision to leave Borussia Dortmund last year was always down to Madrid. He will face Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals, knowing that Pep Guardiola is dying to add him to his squad. Guardiola, admitting he was a generational talent, was so desperate that he was prepared to lose Ilkay Gundogan, whose contract was allowed to expire, and might agree to sell Bernardo Silva to help finance a deal.
But then all the leading clubs wanted Bellingham: Liverpool – Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Paris St-Germain, Barcelona – who saw him as a new Steven Gerrard. The list went on and on. But for him there was no one but Madrid.
“I knew he and Madrid were a perfect partnership,” says Pep Clotet, the Spanish former manager of Birmingham City, who made his Bellingham debut in August 2019 and followed his career closely.
“Because Madrid could give Jude what he needed. He was already a very complete player, but he needed to go to a place where his goal was to win every match. To be a winner. To be a proper champion. I think Madrid gave him that.”
It was Clotet who compared Benzema to Madrid, which was left in a difficult situation after its legendary striker, who scored 353 goals in 647 appearances and won 14 trophies, suddenly accepted an offer to move to the Saudi Pro-League.
This necessitated a change of system at Madrid, with manager Carlo Ancelotti using Bellingham in a more advanced role, and it paid off magnificently. He became La Liga’s top scorer with 16 goals and became the first player to reach double-digit goals and assists in the league while remaining a midfielder. He shouldered a huge responsibility.
“Madrid had a great striker in Karim Benzema. Now we all forget that he left because of Jude’s contribution,” Clotet argues.
“The pressure is really strong. The stadium is full. They don’t accept second chances in Madrid. And remember, here in Spain, one of the things I said to Jude in Madrid is that they don’t have a history of good relations between English players and Spanish football.” .
“Some players in the past didn’t live up to our expectations. Some of them did; like Beckham, he was amazing. So that was going to put pressure on Jude because people were wondering ‘we don’t know how this is going to happen’ and Jude changed all that. He changed everything.”
Beckham’s legacy is something football broker Kenneth Asquez, who has worked extensively in the Premier League as well as in Spain, has embraced.
“The impact has been huge. It’s huge,” says Asquez. “When David Beckham came he was on the same level as him. But Beckham had more of a world-class media and marketing perspective. Beckham was a great player but not as good technically as Bellingham. Beckham also came into the Madrid side that were on the crest of a big wave. Bellingham was a rebuilding player. on the team.”
Asquez also agrees with Clotet that Bellingham has “dispelled a lot of doubts about English players in Spain”. This was driven by the relative failure of Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate at Madrid, as well as the belief that – despite five Champions League and three league titles – Gareth Bale was refusing to integrate.
Bellingham is undoubtedly very popular. He has natural charisma and the ability to easily interact with fans. “You can see it in the little things, but the important things: he speaks some Spanish, he doesn’t drive a flashy car, he sometimes comes to training by taxi,” Asquez says. “It is 100 percent integrated and this is clearly visible on social media. “He’s already part of the group.”
This is evident in Bellingham’s interactions with his teammates on the field, at practice, and on social media (he manages his own accounts). For example, Spanish-born Moroccan international Brahim Díaz, who helped Bellingham learn the language, talked about how much he admired him and even copied his iconic open-arm celebration after scoring the winning goal in the first leg of the last match. 16 Drawn with RB Leipzig in the Champions League. “Oh my god Brahim!!!” Bellingham posted on X in response.
The number 5 jersey, chosen in memory of Zinedine Zidane, which he reviewed on YouTube, became Madrid’s best-selling jersey this season. A long way. Bellingham’s importance was also emphasized in a recent advertising campaign featuring Zidane. This was another sign of what he already represented.
Bellingham embraced it all. “It will develop more than anywhere else in Madrid,” says Clotet. “He showed from the beginning that every match is real, every match is important. The more important the match, the better. It’s incredible that a player of his age has this maturity and understands it and becomes a strong player in such a club; he is a terrific player.”
Asquez agrees. “I think he will go down in the history books in Madrid,” he says. “When he signed, some were saying: Jude, who? There were questions. Not anymore. Madrid is in love with Bellingham.”