Jude Bellingham has been issued a Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo “advertisements” warning, with the Real Madrid star needing to focus on football.
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England international starring for club & countryBoasts unwavering belief in his abilityNeeds to avoid distractions in order to join greatsGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Serious potential has been unlocked in the midfielder’s game, allowing him to tread a career path from Birmingham to Madrid via Borussia Dortmund. Bellingham, at just 21 years of age, has also become a talismanic presence for England – while claiming La Liga, Champions League, Kopa Trophy and Golden Boy titles.
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Unwavering self-belief and confidence has carried Bellingham to the top, but has also led to arrogance claims being levelled at him. Former England international Danny Mills – speaking in association with – has told GOAL when asked about any potential attitude issues: “It’s not a bad thing. He obviously has supreme confidence and self belief, which you need to get to that level – especially at his age, and what he’s done is magnificent. You do have to be careful not to overstep that line at times. You can do anything you like if you are putting in the performances. I know he scored an amazing overhead kick [at Euro 2024]. Actually, I thought the first goal that he scored in the tournament [against Serbia] was a better goal. The overhead kick is a freak goal, it’s something that happens once in a blue moon. The header that he scores is brave, he’s determined, his desire to get across the defender to get that in the back of the net, that’s a proper midfielder running from deep. That’s what Steven Gerrard used to do, knocking the defender out of the way.”
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Mills added on the need to avoid off-field distractions in order to rub shoulders with greats of the game: “I think you have to be careful. By all accounts he is a very grounded lad, but the media have hyped him up to be a Ballon d’Or winner and be magnificent. He has still got improvements to make in his game. Is he as technically good as Phil Foden? Not quite. Foden is technically a better footballer than him at the moment. He has other attributes – his strength, his power, his desire, his ability to get in the box and score goals. He is a very young man, he still has a lot of room for improvement. He just needs to make sure that football comes first. All the adverts and all the sponsorship deals will come as secondary. First and foremost, be a great footballer. Just concentrate on that and worry about everything else afterwards. If not, it will be thrown at him. Ronaldo had it, Messi has had it at times. If you are a top player and you are courting the media and the press and the advertisements, you have to perform.”
DID YOU KNOW?
While the odd question has been asked of Bellingham’s character on the field, the likes of Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have become poster boys for what can be achieved when refusing to listen to outside noise. Mills added on that mindset: “All of those got there and stayed there and performed. Ronaldo performed in tournaments. Zlatan performed. Jude at this tournament [Euro 2024] scored a couple of goals, but probably hasn’t seen the performances that he expected and everyone else expected from him. When you talk about the greatest of players, first of all you talk about their football performances. I don’t think we are talking about Jude for his football performances in general after this tournament.”
