Jude Bellingham’s rapid rise to the top

Jude Bellingham is just a few days shy of his 20th birthday (he turns 20 on 29 June) and has become a Real Madrid player for the next six seasons. The 19-year-old star is joining one of the best midfields in world football at the Bernabéu.

Born in Stourbridge, one of Birmingham’s suburbs, young Jude was a promising player from an early age. At the tender age of eight, he joined the Birmingham City Academy. Gradually, he rose through the ranks and became a sensation in the club’s team. Kristjaan Speakman, one of his coaches, called him “Europe’s most wanted 12-year-old”. Scouts from Manchester United, Chelsea, Benfica, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich went to watch him play and follow his progress.

He made his debut in a Birmingham City shirt on 6 August 2019. On that day, Spanish coach Pep Clotet played him in an EFL (Carabao Cup) match against Portsmouth. The result was not ideal (3-0 defeat), but Bellingham’s path was beginning to take shape. He played 81 minutes and was only 16 years and 38 days old.

Dortmund come calling

After 44 first-team appearances for the Blues in that 2019-2020 campaign, Borussia Dortmund came knocking on his door. In July 2020 he signed for the Bundesliga club for a fee of £25m, making him the most expensive 17-year-old player in history. Birmingham retired his No 22 shirt.

First England goal

It took him just two seasons in Germany to emerge as a leader and captain of the Dortmund dressing room and earn a call-up to the England squad. He made his debut on 12 November 2020 in a friendly against Ireland (3-0), but it was not until 2022 that he scored his first goal in an England shirt. It was England’s first goal at the World Cup in Qatar when he headed in Luke Shaw’s cross. Now he arrives at Real Madrid, where he hopes to make an immediate impact.