LALIGA
When could Jude Bellingham make his debut for Real Madrid?
Provided he recovers from a knee injury, Bellingham should be a part of Madrid pre-season tour of the United States.
Things move fast in the world of soccer once the first hurdle has been jumped. After months of speculation, Real Madrid officially announced the signing of Borussia Dortmund and England star Jude Bellingham on Wednesday and revealed that they would be wasting little time in unveiling him to the press.
The 19-year-old has made the switch to Estadio Santiago Bernabéu for an initial fee of €103 million (around $111.3 million), which puts him ahead of some illustrious names on the list of Los Blancos’ most expensive ever signings. Despite the hefty price tag, however, Bellingham is unlikely to be concerned about doing any worse than the man who sits at the very top. If you haven’t done so already, take a look and you’ll quickly see what I mean…
Once the midfielder is paraded to the world later this week, attention will then turn to when he is likely to make his first appearance for the club. Bellingham has been force to withdraw from the England squad for their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, although assurances have been made that the knee injury he has been struggling with won’t require surgery.
Real Madrid’s pre-season US tour
All being well, the ex-Dortmund man should be looking at making his first playing appearance in the famous white jersey when Real Madrid’s pre-season tour gets underway in the United States. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have lined up four friendlies stateside, the first of which is against Serie A giants Milan at the Rose Bowl in Pasadina on Sunday 23 July.
From there, Madrid will take on Manchester United at NRG Stadium in Houston (Wednesday 26 July), Barcelona at AT&T Stadium in Dallas (Saturday 29 July) and Juventus at Camping World Stadium in Orlando (Wednesday 2 August).
When is Real Madrid’s first competitive game in 2023/24?
But I know what you’re thinking. While Bellingham could play for his new club for the first time against Milan (or any of the subsequent three matches), friendly games don’t count as when it comes to ‘debuts’, do they?
With the Spanish Super Cup having been moved to mid-season and Real Madrid qualifying directly for the Champions League group stage, their first competitive fixture in 2023/24 will be in LaLiga. The new campaign is scheduled to kick off on Saturday 12 August, although the fixtures have not yet been released. On Friday 23 June, we’ll know exactly where and when Bellingham is likely to make his competitive debut for his new employers.