da betsson： The midfielder has conquered Real Madrid in a dream debut season, and all that's left for him now is to lead the Three Lions to glory in Germany
da roleta： "Greed is good," said Gordon Gekko in the 1987 financial drama . "Greed is right, greed works, greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of evolutionary spirit."
The film was released 16 years before Jude Bellingham was even born, but the Real Madrid midfielder has taken the key message of the fictionalised financial mastermind on board. The week before the Champions League final, he admitted he had not been surprised by how his incredible debut season in the Spanish capital had gone.
"I came here because I wanted to win, and to expect it, it's a bit greedy almost, but you have to be confident when you're playing with so many great players," Bellingham told reporters. Asked what the next step would be if he went on to lift the Champions League at Wembley, Bellingham did not hesitate: "Hopefully the European Championship," he said. "I just talked about being greedy…"
Bellingham duly won the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund, setting up the crucial second goal for Vinicius Jr on the way to victory before asking Jose Mourinho if he could pose for a photo with his mum during the post-match celebrations. He has since enjoyed a week off to relax, but now it's time for that next step, and for Bellingham to embrace his inner Gordon Gekko and win yet another major competition, this time with his country.
GettyThird time lucky
Euro 2024 will be Bellingham's third major tournament, another remarkable achievement for a player who is still 20 and is due to celebrate his birthday on the weekend England will expect to be playing their first knockout match.
At the rescheduled Euro 2020, he was mainly feeling his way through, playing 55 minutes in total across three appearances as a substitute. Eighteen months later, at the 2022 World Cup, he consolidated his status as an England regular, starting all five games in Qatar and scoring his first international goal against Iran, as he had promised to in his pre-match interview.
Bellingham now heads to Germany as the team's star, not the captain but the leader in every other sense. The fact he can boast the Spanish title and Champions League further enhances his status, which was already verging on the regal for the feats he had achieved throughout his first season with Madrid.
AdvertisementGettyWasting no time
Bellingham turned up to the most prestigious club in the world and played like he owned it. He scored more goals in his first 15 games for Madrid than any player in the club's history, even all-time top scorers Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul and Alfredo di Stefano.
He scored goals of all types, from simple headers against Almeria and Celta Vigo, to his outside-the-box sizzler at Barcelona and his Diego Maradona-esque goal against Napoli, in the stadium named after the great Argentine.
Madrid fans and pundits have compared him to a vast number of players, none of whom had much in common with each other. He has the build and aura of Zinedine Zidane, the defensive awareness of Claude Makelele, the confidence of Ronaldo, and the work-rate of Clarence Seedorf.
Bellingham enraptured Real Madrid from day one, and even his official unveiling, which tend to be dull and scripted affairs, left onlookers impressed. He demonstrated his interest in Los Blancos and the club's history, and showed a desire to assimilate to the culture too, something previous exports Gareth Bale and Michael Owen never did.
He showed a deference to Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, vowing to learn from them. He was even aware of the local journalists, telling Sid Lowe of he was "a big fan".
Getty Images'Gift for football'
Carlo Ancelotti summed up Bellingham's aura after Madrid had beaten Napoli 4-2 in the Champions League in November, when he said the midfielder was "a gift for football".
"The coach, his team-mates and the fans are delighted with him, but so is the whole football world," added the avuncular Italian. "They are delighted to see a player with this potential, giving such a positive image."
The Italian is not wrong. When Gary Lineker, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer were discussing England's chances at the Euros on , the expression of all three seasoned pundits and former players changed and their sense of awe in the 20-year-old was tangible. The mere mention of Bellingham's name prompted Richards to bow his head and say "Oh my word", with Shearer quickly adding: "What a season."
Their sense of excitement was even more pronounced as they know Bellingham is the player that could prove the difference for the Three Lions in Germany and end the nation's 58-year trophy drought.
"A lot of people feel he’s the kind of player who's got so much about him, who can drag you through, because to win something, somebody's got to make it happen, he might be that sort of player," said Lineker. "He's got everything, he's got skills, he's got vision, he's got stature, he's got presence."
Shearer added: "He has this arrogance in a good way, you can see him standing tall, he has that about him, that's a brilliant thing."
Getty/GOALShades of Zidane
Ancelotti has called Bellingham "the ideal player for today’s football" due to his combination of physical and technical qualities. And as the only coach to have had the honour of working with Bellingham and Zidane, he is uniquely placed to compare and contrast their attributes.
"What I think is different is his ability to arrive in the area, which Zidane did not have. Zidane had individual quality that Bellingham doesn't have,” Ancelotti said. “That's the main difference, but this is modern football, which requires physically strong players like Bellingham who are capable of covering the whole pitch very quickly."
Even though the Frenchman had retired by the time he had started watching football, Bellingham had a fascination with Zidane. Upon arriving at Madrid, he asked if he could take the No.5 shirt, which Zidane graced as a Blancos player, from defender Jesus Vallejo, who willingly obliged.
The number that Bellingham really wanted, however, belonged to Antonio Rudiger, although the German was not willing to give it up.