It takes a lot to impress Luka Modric. But Jude Bellingham he has. The Croatian, despite being shy, does not hesitate to give his opinion when it comes to football.
And he doesn’t suffer fools or underperformers gladly – and there have been a few of those since he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012.
Despite the success, there were costly mistakes. Bellingham is certainly not that and he quickly won over Modric and Toni Kroos, Real Madrid’s two senior midfielders, not only for his technique but also for his temperament. They recognized a great player and Modric even gave Bellingham the ultimate endorsement when he was seen moving his body to hit an imaginary ball and replicate a pass from the youngster in one of the changing rooms at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground. Modric spoke enthusiastically about what he had just witnessed on the training ground.
The Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder, now 38, turned down big offers to move to the Saudi Pro-League because he is determined to finish his career at Real Madrid and remains hungry for silverware. In effect, he will sign any contract presented to him, with his current contract ending next month, such is his desire to stay for another year.
Modric sees Bellingham as someone who can help him achieve his goal of being the most decorated player in Real Madrid’s history. He currently shares that honor with 25 trophies, including five Champions Leagues. But he will break the record and could win an unprecedented sixth European Cup if Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmundold Bellingham club, of course, at Wembley on Saturday night.
When Kroos, 34, announced that the final would be his last game, Bellingham paid tribute – in Spanish – on Instagram. It ended with “One year was not enough” and elicited a heartfelt response from the German: “You are more than ready to take control! At age 20…” Bellingham, like Kroos, posts his own social media.
The switch is another example of how highly regarded Bellingham is at Real Madrid and the extraordinary impact he has made on and off the pitch at the most scrutinized club in the world, where he quickly emerged as a leaderalso.
There is something Bellingham has done throughout his career that makes him stand out. In every dressing room he enters – from Birmingham City to Dortmund to England to Madrid – he gravitates towards senior professionals, eager to learn and observe, while at the same time feeling comfortable with those his own age.
“You can learn from people like that. You can’t take it for granted, it’s a true blessing,” Bellingham said this week. “I’m the kid in most locker rooms and they probably think it’s weird that I’m watching their every move, trying to take advantage of everything I can.”
Modric and Kroos are aware of Bellingham’s eyes on them and welcome it. They know the player he is and can be and the maturity he shows. Watch any Real Madrid warm-up and Bellingham can be seen not far from those two, picking their brains.
There is also a clip on social media of Kroos playing a precise pass for Vinicius to run in and score during a pre-season friendly against Juventus. Bellingham can be seen applauding the delivery, before the attacker even gets to the ball.
At Birmingham, Bellingham became friends with goalkeeper Lee Camp, widely regarded as a good role model and someone who took young players under his wing.
At Dortmund it was Marco Reus, who has been such an important figure at the club, but also with young players like Gio Reyna and Erling Haaland. With England, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, and in Madrid, he immediately made a beeline for Modric and Kroos, whilst forming close friendships with Eduardo Camavinga, Vinicius Jr and Brahim Diaz – the Moroccan became his unofficial Spanish teacher.
It’s all the more impressive because he is keeping Diaz out of the team and any talk of tension between him and Vinicius – with claims that the Brazilian feels slighted now that Bellingham is the star – is simply false. In fact, Bellingham went to great lengths to praise Vinicius and the feeling is mutual.
It also helped that Bellingham came into a much friendlier and more inclusive dressing room at Madrid than Gareth Bale did in 2013 – there are fewer egos and cliques and more cohesion under chief scout Juni Calafat, who has signed many of the younger players. and hosts dinners for – but he also tried much harder.
No wonder Bellingham earned the nickname “el jefe” within weeks of arriving in Madrid. He has been Real Madrid’s manager this season and it would be no surprise if they were not only already thinking about offering him a new contract – despite his current contract still having five years to run – but earmarking him as a future captain.
That would be an achievement for an Englishman in La Liga, where there has often been suspicion about players from these shores, while the fee of up to £115m committed to sign him last summer looks like a steal. If he were to be sold, Bellingham would be worth around £300 million, such is his ability and marketability.
Bellingham has already made a greater impact, in all aspects, in Madrid than David Beckham what is some statement. But it is undeniable, even in commercial terms.
For example, Bellingham’s shirt is by far the best-selling shirt in Madrid – beating Vinicius – and he can have his pick of commercial sponsorships with, as Telegraph Sport revealed, Adidas making him the face and focus of their ad for the next European Championship.
There were incidents throughout the campaign that point to Bellingham’s importance not just as a player – he finished the season as Real Madrid’s top scorer in La Liga with 19 goals in 28 games from attacking midfield – but as a leader.
Take, for example, Real Madrid’s Champions League group stage game against Napoli last November. Joselu – the 34-year-old former Stoke City striker on loan from Espanyol – missed several chances and raised his hands in apology to the fans when he finally scored after a clever pass from the outside of Bellingham’s boot in stoppage time. Bellingham’s reaction? He pushed his teammate to receive praise from the crowd.
Is there anything not to love about Jude Bellingham?
He guided Joselu to receive the affection of Real Madrid fans, after the Spaniard scored to end a difficult run in front of goal #UCL pic.twitter.com/FKtDGOYmMV
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 29, 2023
Bellingham later said he worked hard to ensure he helped Joselu and there were echoes of how he supported goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga during the 1-0 win over Celta Vigo last August. It was only Bellingham’s third game as a Madrid player. He also scored the only goal.
He also has an upside that isn’t bad either, especially when it comes to moving his team forward. Sometimes he goes too far, like the red card against Valencia and the mocking of Getafe defender Stefan Mitrovic, pretending to be a killer. But sometimes it’s just competitive instinct and the desire to win, like when he reached out to Barcelona fans after scoring the last-minute winner in El Clasico and trying to fend off Harry Kane as Bayern Munich’s striker – and his English team -. companion and captain! – waited to score a penalty in the Champions League semi-final.
Everything indicates that Bellingham is not just a generational talent, but a winner. And that leader.
