Jude Bellingham is 20 years old. He was just named LaLiga player of the year after scoring 19 goals to lead Real Madrid to the league title in his debut season at arguably the biggest club in the world. On Saturday he will play in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium, before flying out to star for England at this summer's European Championship.
It is a dizzying trajectory, which in just a few months completes a list of lifelong professional aspirations. Surely not even Bellingham, whose quiet self-confidence and steely ambition are reflected in every performance on the field and every public appearance off it, could not have hoped to achieve so much, so soon?
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“Yes, I have to be honest, probably yes,” he said, smiling, before a small group of journalists at Madrid's training ground on Monday, five days before the biggest match of his career to date. “I always thought I could reach this level. This was always the level I wanted to play at. I probably never realized it would happen so quickly.”
It is Bellingham's first Champions League final. Their coach Carlo Ancelotti has been involved in nine (three as a player and six as a coach) over 40 years. Ancelotti knows the importance of savoring the preparation for a match like this. “It's a week to enjoy,” Ancelotti said on Monday. “Until the day of the final, we will enjoy the moment… Then comes the worry. The fear, the cold sweat comes on Saturday afternoon, that is normal.”
Bellingham doesn't need reminding. “I'm very excited,” she said. “It's a game I've been dreaming about since I started playing football. I understand the opportunity, I understand that not many people get to play in games like this, and I don't want to waste a second. I want to take advantage of it all week. I want “live the experience of the game and try to enjoy it… It would be stupid to come here now and want to hide from the occasion.”
If the prospect of winning club football's biggest prize wasn't enough, Madrid's rival on Saturday is Dortmund, the club that took a chance on Bellingham in 2020, signing him from Birmingham City when he was 17 and helping him grow as a player. player before his move to Madrid last summer.
“It's definitely special,” Bellingham said Monday. “But the preparation has to be the same as for every game. I know what makes me feel good before a game, I have had experience playing with some incredible professionals and I have always stolen little things from them. It is important to be me when entering the game. game and try not to worry too much about the emotional side.
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A year in Madrid has seen Bellingham go from top teenage prospect to global superstar, helped by a club-record start to the season in which he racked up 13 goals in 13 games. Long before the LaLiga title, individual awards were already heading his way (the 2024 Kopa Trophy for the best under-21 player, the 2024 Tuttosport Golden Boy award, the Laureus World Breakthrough Award) and there was talk of being a contender for the Ball Gold 2024. 'O.
It all started with a tactical change: Ancelotti boldly chose Bellingham for a more attacking role, to compensate for Madrid's lack of a world-class centre-forward following the departure of Karim Benzema.
“It was from day one,” Bellingham said Monday. “He [Ancelotti] I said I was going to play a little higher. It's not something I've done consistently before, but I was really excited about the prospect: being close to goal, being a bit more free in that top third. In the end it was a decent decision. He [Ancelotti] “He knows what he's doing!”
The second half of Bellingham's season has been more low-key. A shoulder injury (dislocated in November, protected with straps since) and an ankle problem he suffered in February have affected his form. Ancelotti adjusted Bellingham's position in the team, dropping deeper and to the left, requiring more defensive work without the ball. Bellingham's scoring pace has slowed to that of a more typical midfielder, with six goals in 12 LaLiga games in 2024.
In the Champions League, four goals in their first four group games (against Union Berlin, Braga and twice against Napoli) have been followed by six games without scoring, including both games against Manchester City and Bayern Munich. In those four quarterfinal and semifinal matches, Bellingham's combined xG (expected goals) was 0.12 with just three shots, in 374 minutes played.
His most notable contribution in the knockout phase, vital, came when the team underperformed and was under pressure in the first leg against RB Leipzig in the round of 16, carrying the ball to midfield before splitting Leipzig's defense. with an assist for Vinicius Júnior. The play showcased Bellingham's strengths in a deeper role, his speed in transition and his eye for the pass.
Against City and Bayern he was more subdued and his individual performances reflect the team's struggle to win consistently in those matches. In the 3-3 home draw against Manchester City on April 9, Bellingham had 48 touches, fewer than any City player except Erling Haaland. In the 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich on April 30, he was substituted, tired, in the 75th minute, replaced by Luka Modric with the team trailing 2-1.
Ancelotti has said that Bellingham is “doing its job” (“the goals have gone down a little, but the performance hasn't,” he said in April) and the team has continued to win.
They won LaLiga with four games left and in London they can achieve the League and Champions League double, Madrid's second in three years. Before the match, you'll see Bellingham on the Wembley pitch, walking alone, visualizing key moments of the game, a ritual he has followed all season.
“It's a belief that my family has always given me,” Bellingham said Monday. “Teammates that I've had, staff members that I've had since the [Birmingham] academy. I have always thought about dreaming as big as possible. It's a feeling I've always had growing up. I've worked hard, but there's also a lot of luck involved. I don't hesitate to say how lucky I have been. “Now that I'm here I want to enjoy every moment.”
