Jude Bellingham had every big team in Europe after his signature and he is showing us why already. He has only played four competitive games for Real Madrid till now and already bagged five goals and an assist. Those are numbers any striker in the world would be proud of, and the Englishman plays in the number 10 role, although he does have a lot of freedom in Carlo Ancelotti’s system.
Bellingham was always considered one of the biggest talents in the world while at Borussia Dortmund. But he seems to have taken his game up a few levels since pulling on the Real Madrid.
It is hard to believe that he just turned 20 recently. It is impossible to imagine what he might be capable of. We could very well be witnessing the early phase of one of the greatest footballers in history.
Rio Ferdinand believes that at his age, Bellingham is ahead of the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes. As reported by Daily Post Nigeria, the Manchester United legend said while speaking on BBC Radio 5Live:
"“He is going to be pitted against people like Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, and I would say right now, comfortably, that none of those players were doing anything like what he’s doing at this age and that’s the yardstick.“So he can go on and win Ballon d’Ors. I’ll be very surprised if this kid doesn’t finish his career with at least one, maybe two or three Ballon d’Ors, because I think he’s that good.”"
Manchester United legend makes brave claim about Real Madrid player
Of course, Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes are all legends of the club. Bellingham has not achieved anywhere near what they have. But he is just 20 years of age and he is showing every sign that he can reach that level, and perhaps go a step further too.
There is no better club in the world than Real Madrid if a player has aspirations of winning the Ballon d’Or someday. Five of the last six winners have represented the club at some point in their careers, the only exception being Lionel Messi.
If Bellingham can continue performing like this, he will surely be competing for multiple Ballon d’Or awards in the future. It might not be the Kylian Mbappe-Erling Haaland era of dominance like many are imagining.