Several players are proving their mettle in top European leagues, and the Real Madrid star, Jude Victor William Bellingham, is definitely one of them. Real Madrid signed him for a hefty him of €133.9 million and so far he is proving to be worth every penny.
With Karim Benzema’s departure, the Merengues entered the season with just a lone striker, Joselu. Bellingham was then employed in a more advanced role than he is usually used to playing in – at England and previously at Borussia Dortmund – by Carlo Ancelotti. And boy, has not that move been brilliant?
He has already broken the club record for the most goals, in the first 15 games with 14 goals to his name, which was jointly held by Cristiano Ronaldo and Alfredo Di Stéfano previously. A week after scoring a brace in the El Clasico, he was awarded the Kopa Trophy at the 2023 Ballon d’Or Ceremony.
Another laurel was added to his list of achievements on Monday, when he was awarded the Golden Boy by receiving a record 485 votes out of a possible 500 from the jury, as highlighted by MARCA.
The midfielder gave a brief speech after receiving the award and said:
“Thank you very much for the Golden Boy. I’m very happy, very happy to be able to take this award… I don’t think I’m the best. It’s an honor to be talked about for the Ballon d’Or. I’m in the best team in the world. We play to win every game. It’s a pleasure to play for Real Madrid.”
Jude Bellingham also mentioned that he has a very huge list of idols and one of those names is English legend, Wayne Rooney.
At an early stage in the season, perhaps it is too early to talk about the Ballon d’Or contenders for 2024, but if Bellingham continues to play the way he does and single-handedly changes the nature of games – as he has done this season – then it will not be a surprise if he is seen at the podium with the Ballon d’Or in hand, next year.
