Real Madrid’s star joins Wayne Rooney and Raheem Sterling in earning the famous prize – and encourages his brother to do the same, despite the fact that he is not yet eligible.
Jude Bellingham is looking for further titles after earning the renowned Golden Boy award for Europe’s finest young player.
In addition, the Real Madrid star mentioned his brother Jobe as a possible future winner of the coveted award. Bellingham, 20, will become England’s third title winner, following Wayne Rooney and Raheem Sterling, at a spectacular ceremony in Turin on Monday night.
The former Birmingham and Borussia Dortmund midfielder has made an impressive start to his Spanish career, scoring 15 goals in 17 appearances since joining for €103 million (£88 million) in the summer. Bellingham is already the favorite to win the Ballon D’Or, while Real Madrid leads La Liga and England is a strong contender for Euro 2024 next summer.
“I’ve had a ferocious commitment to improving myself with hard work, but the credit goes to coach Ancelotti who has found the right position for me, giving me more freedom, so I’m flying now,” he added.
“I am a competitive and ambitious person.” So now that I have this coveted Golden Boy in my possession, I want to keep moving upward quickly. I hope that this award is a launch pad to win many other trophies.”
The yearly award was established in 2003 by the Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport, and Bellingham is the greatest winner in history, as well as the first Real Madrid player to win after Barcelona’s Pedri and Gavi won the previous two medals. 45 of the 50 voting journalists ranked him top, with the remaining five ranking him second. Kylian Mbappe received the same 97% vote share in 2017 when there were just 30 people on the jury.
“Oh yes, I saw that,” he said. “It’s incredible. An outstanding performance. I am overjoyed, and I appreciate all of the jurors who voted for me. I am the third English player to win this award after Wayne Rooney, one of my idols, in 2005 when he was at Manchester United and Raheem Sterling in 2014 when he was playing for Liverpool.”
Carlo Ancelotti, Bellingham’s Real Madrid coach, compared him to 2007 Ballon D’Or winner Kaka last week. “It’s true, but I know I’m disappointing him in one way,” the Stourbridge native remarked. I’m still not fluent in Spanish. I’m sorry, but I’m encountering unexpected difficulties with this language. I confess it’s challenging for me, but I pledge complete dedication.”
When asked about future Golden Boy winners, Bellingham said, “Aside from those born in 2003, I can name three players.” Anthony Martial won in 2015, and Erling Haaland won in 2020. Arda Guler, who has recovered from injuries that prevented him from making his Real Madrid debut. He is a phenomenon, and we all marvel at him in training.
Then there’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, a former Borussia Dortmund teammate, and my brother Jobe, a striker like our father.”
Jobe Bellingham is now ineligible due to Sunderland’s status in the Championship. “For now,” his older brother remarked. But keep an eye out for him if they make it to the Premier League!”
Leave a Reply