Real Madrid fans are not too fond of Pep Guardiola. He both captained and managed FC Barcelona in the past after all. But nobody can deny that he is a fantastic coach, arguably the best of his generation. He was often compared to Jose Mourinho in the past. But while the Portuguese manager’s career has started to fizzle away, the Spaniard remains at the top of the game and won the treble with Manchester City last season.
Unquestionably, Guardiola’s words carry a lot of weight in the footballing world. And he appeared to notice the brilliance of Jude Bellingham early on in his career at Borussia Dortmund.
Bellingham came up against Manchester City in the Champions League a couple of years back when he was just 17. His performances over the two legs appeared to impress Guardiola and some of the manager’s comments from then are now going viral online.
As reported by GOAL back in April 2021, Guardiola had said about Bellingham:
"“I cannot believe it, maybe he’s a liar!“He’s so good for 17-years-old, he’s a fantastic player.“There was one moment when he didn’t get the ball from central defenders, how he shouts and demands that ball to him at 17 means a lot.“I spoke with his manager, Edin [Terzic], and he told me what you see in these two games is like every training session.”"
Guardiola’s comments about Real Madrid player go viral
Bellingham has certainly gone from strength to strength since then. He has established himself as one of the top players in the game, just months into his run at Real Madrid.
Bellingham’s start to life at Real Madrid has been nothing sort of extraordinary. He has scored five goals in his first four competitive games for the Spanish giants. It is hard to remember the last time a new signing made this kind of an impact anywhere.
If Bellingham is able to continue on this trajectory, nothing can stop him from competing for the Ballon d’Or for years to come. Of course, it is important not to put that kind of pressure on his shoulders already. He is still just 20 years of age. But at the same time, it is almost impossible to find holes in his game even at this stage of the English international’s career.