Zinedine Zidane managed Real Madrid in two separate stints, three peating the Champions League and winning La Liga on more than one occasion, but he never got to manage the man who wears the No. 5 in his unique honor, Jude Bellingham.
Jude joined Madrid in the 2023/24 season after an incredible career with Borussia Dortmund, and he has been worth every euro of the 100 million euros that Florentino Perez and Dortmund CEO Aki Watzke shook hands on.
As the years roll on, Bellingham is becoming a bigger and bigger star on the international stage, and he is putting together one of the best World Cups of all time - and there is a serious case to be made that no midfield player has had a better World Cup.
Jude Bellingham is already an all time great
In recent memory, the only one who can quibble with that is Zinedine Zidane, who was beyond reproach, until his literal final moment against Italy, in the 2006 World Cup, masterfully weaving through defenses and making the likes of Spain and Brazil look amateur hour in comparison.
Zidane had an impressive five career World Cup goals, winnin the tournament in 1998 as the hero of France, but Jude Bellingham has already surpassed his idol Zizou at the age of 23 at his second World Cup.
With one goal in the 2022 World Cup, Jude was already on four entering the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals against Norway. He then added a second straight brace to help England come from behind and knock his close friend Erling Haaland out 2-1, making it six goals at this World Cup and seven in his career.
That means with seven goals in his career at World Cups, the 23 year old Bellingham has taken over Zidane on the all time midfield leaderboard. It is crazy to think that Jude is already there, and at his age, only Pele and Kylian Mbappe had as many goals at World Cups before turning 24.
Obviously there is more to playing midfield than scoring, but Jude is also amazing in those other aspects. He saved a goal with a clearance against Mexico and had a whopping seven combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn against Norway to boot.
No, Bellingham is not as graceful or as technical as Zizou, but he is also a highly intelligent, athletic, and competitive player who can leave defenders for dead - and his own defending is also superior to his idol's.
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