Vinícius Júnior reveals his role in persuading Jude Bellingham to sign for Real Madrid

Forget Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. There is a new dynamic duo wreaking havoc for Real Madrid. Summer signing Jude Bellingham has wasted little time in striking up a devastating on-field understanding with Vinícius Júnior, despite the latter missing several weeks of action due to injury. The Brazilian scored his second goal of the season in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Napoli and it had something in common with his first against Almería: both came from Bellingham passes.

Vinícuus “texted Bellingham every day”

Contrary to what some had feared, Vinícius has shown no signs of envy towards the Englishman, who has arguably replaced him as Los Blancos’ star attacking force. And following the victory at Stadio Diego Maradona, the winger revealed to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano that he had done everything in his power to persuade Bellingham to make the switch to the Spanish capital from former club Borussia Dortmund.

“I wanted Jude at Real Madrid! I sent many messages to Bellingham last year. I was texting every day and I was telling him: come to Madrid.”

Bellingham: “Vinícius is probably the best in the world”

It turns out the admiration is mutual. Bellingham was also asked about his new teammate after the final whistle in Naples and could hardly have been more complimentary. “He’s incredible. He’s probably the best in the world, for me. He’s one of the most talented players I’ve ever played with. He makes games easier for me with his speed and his ability.”

No Mbappé, no problem for Real Madrid?

The early signs suggest the Vinícius-Bellingham connection is likely to play a pivotal role in whether Real Madrid have a successful season or not, with the pair likely to carry much of the goalscoring burden. When both are fit and on-form, there are few better in European soccer, which will have come into Los Merengues’ thinking when they opted against signing Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappé in the summer.

Madrid put their faith in Bellingham and he has not disappointed, scoring eight times in nine appearances so far. And with Vinícius fit again after a hamstring issue, Carlo Ancelotti will hope to see his star attacking duo go from strength to strength, especially with El Clásico just around the corner.