'Born to play for Real Madrid' – inside Jude Bellingham's spectacular start to life in Spain
The England midfielder has scored 10 goals in his opening 10 games and has quickly become the main man at the world's biggest club. A look at how it has happened...
Jude Bellingham is Real Madrid’s new leader on the pitch and is taking Spain by storm – despite only arriving at the Santiago Bernabéu in the summer.
The 20-year-old’s brace for Real Madrid in their 4-0 win over Osasuna in LaLiga before the international break took him to 10 goals in his first 10 games for Los Blancos. It has been a spectacular start.
Bellingham, who joined for an initial €103 million (£88.4m) from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, scored in the ninth minute of each half and was later substituted to a standing ovation from the Madrid fans. He is getting used to those already in Spain.
“Beautiful win at the temple!” he wrote on his social media channels after the game. “Double figures.” And even Osasuna coach Jagoba Arrasate could not hide his admiration. “He’s still very young and I’m sure he can improve,” he said. “It looks like he will define an era.”
Yet even the midfielder must be surprised at how quickly it is happening. “And to think we were worried whether Bellingham would adapt well…” Marca’s deputy director Carlos Carpio wrote after the Osasuna game.
Bellingham had big plans from the outset. At his Real Madrid unveiling in June, the former Dortmund player vowed to learn as much as he could from club legends Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos. “I’ll be like a sponge around them, trying to steal anything they’ve got.” He has moved ahead of them both in the pecking order already.
While Modrić and Kroos remain important at Real, the pair have started just three games each for Los Blancos this season. Instead, coach Carlo Ancelotti has opted for a rejuvenated midfield, featuring the former Birmingham City player (who is 20 years old) alongside Eduardo Camavinga (also 20), Aurelien Tchouaméni (23) and Fede Valverde (25). “Generation Bellingham,” AS have called it.
Madrid failed to win any major silverware last season but Ancelotti was kept on to oversee the transition to a younger, more dynamic team. It is working well, albeit after a change of plan in the summer as the club’s second-highest scorer of all time, Karim Benzema, surprisingly left after 14 seasons to join Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League.
Ahead of Los Blancos’ pre-season tour of North America in July, the Italian admitted a change of plan might be needed. “It may be that this year we are going to play a different system, taking into account the business we have done,” he said. “The systems we have used in recent years have given us lots of success, but we have to try to find a new style.”
The new formation placed Bellingham as the most-advanced midfielder in a diamond behind Brazilian forwards Vinícius Júnior (23) and Rodrygo (22). Those two are wingers, comfortable in wide positions stretching opposition defences. Benzema had been the focal point before, dropping deep to link up with team-mates and taking up goalscoring positions. The England midfielder has been setting off from further back in a free role, often box to box and heavily involved in the build-up, while timing his runs to perfection.
It was first used against Manchester United in July and was immediately effective as Bellingham scored after six minutes in a Man of the Match performance. “We believe that the arrival of Bellingham covers the absence of Karim,” Ancelotti said after the 2-0 win. And although Madrid went on to lose against both Barcelona and Juventus in their next two friendlies, Los Blancos created numerous chances in those matches. The new system was ready.
At his previous clubs, Bellingham has worn the number 22 shirt. As a youngster at Birmingham City, he had wanted the ’10, but was told by the club’s youth coaches that he could combine the qualities of a ‘4, an ‘8 and a ’10. His eyes lit up.
Antonio Rüdiger wears ’22 at Real Madrid, so Bellingham picked ’5 instead. Asked if he would feel any pressure at playing in a shirt number worn with distinction by the great Zinédine Zidane, he said: “The (Madrid) shirt itself is enough pressure … for me it’s a bit of homage to a great player. Maybe I can extend the legacy of the number, instead of trying to reach his.”
Already he is. On his debut against Athletic Club at San Mames in August, Bellingham drew comparisons with Zidane as he scored with a volley which was a carbon copy of a goal netted by the Frenchman against Espanyol back in 2005-06 and made one marauding run from deep which was reminiscent of the former World Cup winner in his prime.
Marca called him a player “like a cathedral”, a colloquial expression which means “huge” and which was a reference to the affectionate nickname of Athletic’s stadium. AS said simply: “The boss is Bellingham.”
After netting on his official debut in Bilbao, Bellingham added two more goals and an assist in a 3-1 win over Almeria next. Then came an 81st-minute winner at Celta Vigo. And after that, his Bernabeu bow against Getafe, when he sealed a 2-1 victory for Madrid in added time in the club’s first fixture at the newly renovated stadium. “Bellingham takes the roof off,” Marca said.
Madrid fans serenaded their new hero with a rendition of ‘Hey Jude’ following his 95th-minute winner. “It's the loudest moment I’ve heard in a stadium,” Bellingham said. “I can't believe it to be honest. When [the crowd] were singing ‘Hey Jude’ at the end, I got goosebumps. I just wanted to turn and stand still and listen to it.
“My legs were shaking. I know that I was brought in for these kind of moments. They’re the kind of moments I know I can deliver for this team. I want to keep doing it and keep making sure the fans go home happy.”
The 20-year-old did not score in the 2-1 win over Real Sociedad in LaLiga, but came up with another dramatic late winner as Madrid beat Union Berlin 1-0 in added time again in the Champions League later in September.
Ancelotti definitely appreciates his flexibility and has said that Bellingham can play on the left or right of midfield, in addition to his free role behind the forwards. And the 20-year-old has already formed an excellent understanding with Vinícius in particular.
“They understand each other well and they link up well,” Ancelotti said recently. “Looking to the future, that connection will serve us well.”
It is a connection that has developed off the pitch too – right from the beginning. Against Almería in Madrid’s second game of the season, Vinícius copied Bellingham’s trademark celebration after scoring himself. And when the Brazilian raced through the Osasuna defence and beat the last defender before his goal on Saturday, Jude already had his arms raised because he knew his team-mate would score.
Vinícius admitted recently that he had sent messages to Bellingham “almost every day” to persuade the England midfielder to join him at the Bernabéu. “I wanted Bellingham at Real Madrid,” he said. “I sent Jude lots of messages last year. I sent him messages almost every day and I was telling him to come to Madrid…” And when Vinícius was subjected to racial abuse by rival fans in Real Madrid’s game against Valencia at Mestalla in May, Bellingham sent messages of support to the forward.
On social media, the England midfielder has shared jokes with Camavinga and Tchouaméni, while also taking the time to repost training videos or images put out by the club to praise some of his team-mates – including Lucas Vázquez and Brahim Díaz. Often, he will refer to them using the word “hermano” (brother).
“He’s a very humble lad,” Joselu said this week. “He tries to speak to everybody. I communicate with him quite a bit because I speak English. He’s very hard-working. He is 20 years old but it seems like he is 30. He has incredible maturity and a great way with people.”
Bellingham's committed displays on the pitch, epic late winners and passionate celebrations have also made him a fan favourite at the Bernabéu. In a short space of time, the midfielder has become a hugely popular figure with seemingly everyone at the club.
He is also keen to learn Spanish. The 20-year-old has revealed that he studied the language at school, albeit only up until year 9. “Lucas Vázquez and Brahim Díaz are probably my biggest Spanish teachers,” he said recently. “Everyone’s chipping in and teaching me bad words. I can’t wait to try them out!”
He is using an app on his phone as well. And after scoring on his debut, the midfielder braved a brief video in Spanish on Real Madrid’s official social media channels after the game. “Sounded better in my head,” he joked later on.
Real Madrid’s British players in recent years have not been renowned for their Spanish skills. Steve McManaman and Jonathan Woodgate did reach a decent level, but David Beckham and Michael Owen made little progress with the language and Gareth Bale received heavy criticism for not learning to speak it – or for not speaking it in public at least. Although it is early days, it seems as if Bellingham will be different in that respect too.
Asked if Bellingham speaks Spanish, Joselu said: “Yes, he has a basic grasp and he tries to say things. It’s quite funny to listen to.”
After a disappointing derby defeat against Atlético and a rest for the 2-0 win over Las Palmas last month, Bellingham set up Joselu for the opener against Girona with an extraordinary outside-of-the-boot assist and later scored himself in a 3-0 victory.
Back in the Champions League, he was on target again as he won the ball in Napoli’s half and stormed through their defence to finish in some style at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium last week. His solo effort brought comparisons to the Argentina legend. “That’s a bit much!” he said.
The 20-year-old has been Man of the Match seven times in his 10 Real Madrid matches this season, while he also also won LaLiga’s Player of the Month award for August. And the brace against Osasuna brought up 10 goals for the season already, which means the England midfielder has matched the tally of Cristiano Ronaldo in his first 10 games for Real Madrid.
Other than Cristiano, who arrived at the Bernabéu as a Ballon d’Or winner in his prime at age 24 in 2009, it is hard to think of another player who made such an impression and so quickly at Real Madrid in the modern era.
“For someone so young to arrive at Real Madrid with that personality is something that should not be underestimated,” former Italy forward Alessandro Del Piero said after the Napoli game.
“Unreal,” Manchester City striker Erling Haaland replied to his former Dortmund team-mate on Instagram after the Osasuna match a few days later. “Beast,” Madrid captain Dani Carvajal wrote under the same post. And Vinícius told the club’s official television channel that his team-mate was “born to play for Real Madrid”.
“Nobody expected this level and this number of goals,” Ancelotti said. “What surprises me most is the maturity he has. Let’s not forget he is 20 years old. He’s very intelligent, he learns really fast and he’s happy to be here. He has his feet on the ground, with great seriousness and professionalism.”
It is also to Ancelotti’s credit that Bellingham has scored so many goals. The Italian identified those qualities in the England midfielder and has given him the freedom to make those dangerous runs into the box.
“He hasn’t got a fixed position on the pitch and that gives him an advantage,” the Madrid coach said. “He gets into good positions from midfield and links up well with his team-mates.”
“How do you stop Bellingham?” Ancelotti was asked on Italian TV ahead of the Azzurri’s Euro 2024 qualifier against England last week. “That’s a good a question…” he replied.
Italy were unable to stop the 20-year-old, of course, as he shone in a 3-1 win for England on Tuesday. Right now, nobody can.
FURTHER READING:
Brilliant Bellingham has already transformed Real Madrid in post-Benzema era (piece I wrote for TeamTalk in August)
Jude Bellingham: How Real Madrid sensation took LaLiga by storm to become England’s game-changer (piece for the Evening Standard last week)