Real Madrid came into the 2024/25 season with more expectations than any other club in European football after winning both the Champions League and LaLiga in 2023/24 and then adding Kylian Mbappe to a team that already had multiple Ballon d'Or candidates, namely a player in Mbappe's same position in Vinicius Junior.
Throughout the 2024/25 season, there has been a debate in the media pitting Vinicius Jr. and Mbappe against each other for the title of the star of Real Madrid. Apparently one of these two and only one of these two can be the face of Madrid but not both. Supposedly neither can live while the other - wait am I talking about Real Madrid or Harry Potter?
But that's how ridiculous it all is. Amidst this drama, Real Madrid are now out of two trophies and currently four points behind Barcelona in their race for the final title of the 2024/25 season. Real's biggest problems are deeper than their disjointed attack, and all the debate around Mbappe and Vinicius has shrouded the simple fact that neither player is even the best on the team.
Jude Bellingham is a playmaker in attack and defense
That distinction belongs to Jude Bellingham, who, yet again, quietly proved it against Barcelona with a real worker's performance. Even though he was one of the Pichichi candidates in the 2023/24 season, Bellingham is an absolute dog in defense, and Real's best chances from open play in the Copa del Rey Final came from the England international taking the task to himself entirely and snapping into ferocious slide tackles to win the ball in the opponent's half.
By the end of the match, Bellingham had recorded five tackles and interceptions, four successful dribbles on just four attempts, three chances created, and an 89 percent completion rate in 120 minutes of some of the best all-around football you will see from any player on this planet.
It's what Bellingham has done all season long. No matter what is asked of him, Bellingham shines to the best of his abilities for the team - not his own stats. Even if nobody is pressing with him, giving him the return passes, spotting his runs in the box, or even just flat-out trying, Jude still does his job. For as much as the media slags him off for having an ego problem, his actual play on the pitch is the epitome of selflessness, and Real Madrid would probably be in shambles instead of competing for titles this season without Jude as their glue guy.
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. don't give it 100 percent every game
The numbers don't lie. In LaLiga this season, Bellingham has 15 goal contributions from midfield while averaging three tackles and interceptions per game with 3.4 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game. His numbers in the Champions League are even better, and, quite frankly, if it weren't for Bellingham making an impact in every phase of the game, Real Madrid would have suffered an even more embarrassing UCL campaign than a quarterfinal exit.
So the next time you see some buffoon on your television bloviating about Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe or grilling Jude's body language, shut it off and sip a cool glass of sparkling water with a fresh slice of lime because you, my friend, are not an uncultured swine. You actually watch the games, read the stats, and know that Bellingham is the star of this team.
He leads all Real Madrid players in assists, is first among starters in tackles, has the third-most goals on the team as a midfielder, and draws the second-most fouls. And the stats don't tell you about all the plays off the ball that don't get rewarded because Mbappe and Vinicius are too busy playing their own game within the game, trying to push for a Ballon d'Or that will never be theirs so long as they care more about being the next Cristiano Ronaldo, not realizing that Cristiano earned his legacy by winning the Champions League - not by scoring the most goals. Jude knows the truth about what it takes to win and lead by example, and he is the true star of Real Madrid. Because he does it every week, not just sometimes.