Better record than Cristiano Ronaldo, and now even compared to Michael Jordan and Albert Einstein – Jude Bellingham is a certified Galactico
It turns out that Jude Bellingham ditching his career-long no.22 shirt at Real Madrid wasn’t just a tribute to Zinedine Zidane.
The generational England talent took no.5 upon his arrival in Spain, saying goodbye to a number that has the most brilliant of origins.
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Birmingham youth team coach Mike Dodds told talkSPORT it was a combination of no.10, no.4 and no.8, as Bellingham can play in all three defensive, central, and attacking midfield positions.
What no one quite expected, though, was that it may have been more accurate to give him no.31.
That comes as he could clearly play as a no.9 giving his stunning goalscoring form.
Carlo Ancelotti did what he does best during pre-season in the summer – raised eyebrows – completely throwing away the tactics that have worked so well in his four years at the Bernabeu, all for a 20-year-old from Borussia Dortmund.
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Switching to a formation with the £114million man most often just behind the strikers, and on occasion even one of them, a player who has never been relied on for goals now can’t stop scoring them.
With another summer passing without a deal for Kylian Mbappe, seeing Karim Benzema also leave could have left Madrid in the lurch, but instead Bellingham has stepped up where Joselu and Rodrygo haven’t.
Week-by-week it’s expected that his unprecedented goalscoring will finally drop off, but week-by-week Bellingham convinces the world this isn't a flash in the pan, but instead just the start of something quite incredible.
LaLiga’s top scorer with eight goals in eight games, plus two further assists, he’s also producing at the same rate with two in two in the Champions League.
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Making it 13 goal contributions in his first ten games, he’s now ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s incredible start for Los Blancos.
One of their former stars, Guti, isn’t surprised either.
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"Bellingham is the only one who has realised that [Lionel] Messi and Cristiano's throne is free... and he is going for it,” he said.
"Madrid fans love Bellingham so much because he did want to come to Real Madrid. After the controversy that there has been with another player..."
They love him too because he has it all. Rather astonishingly, despite his advanced position, no LaLiga player has made more blocks or completed more through balls than the English youngster this season.
Perhaps his best goal, a mazy run against Napoli in the Champions League before a brilliantly crafted finish, saw take the comparisons to a new level.
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Sticking his tongue out as a means of concentration before setting off and brushing past opponents, not only was he compared to Diego Maradona, but Michael Jordan for what the gesture means to his opponents, and Albert Einstein for the joy and intelligence that comes next.
All of that translates into Real being top of the league and their European group with former Dortmund teammate Erling Haaland summing up his most recent two-goal display against Osasuna by simply saying: “Unreal.”
Perhaps more qualified to speak than most is Jorge Valdano, one of the club’s most legendary strikers who has worked for the club during their past two ‘Galactico’ eras, only seeing Ronaldo make a similar impact.
"Bellingham is dazzling, he is on his way to marking an era,” he said. "He practically does not lose balls.
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“He connects divinely with everyone who passes by and when he steps into the area he has clarity and solutions of all kinds.
“What surprises me most is his intelligence at 20-years-old. He is a player who gives me the feeling that he's going to make you enjoy football because he's very elegant, tall, with a wide stride... he's like a postcard of a soccer player.
“He is crazy. I don’t know what to say. I’m left speechless.”
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