A little over a year ago, Jude Bellingham (21) moved to Real Madrid. A club which did not hesitate to bet €103 million to secure the services of the player who was then the delight of Borussia Dortmund. But recently, Hans-Joachim Watzke, the boss of BVB, made revelations about the true price of the transfer of the English international in the columns of A.S.. “If there had only been 103 million, we would have negotiated badly. But no, that’s no consolation because players like Jude or Erling have not only left a footballing mark on Dortmund. These are two children that we really like here. There is no money to compensate for this. Of course, since we have to let them go, it might as well be with the largest possible amount.”
A great start last year
The residents of the Santiago-Bernabéu stadium therefore paid much more than the amount announced for the footballer born in 2003. But they did not regret their investment. Last year, the England international (36 caps, 5 goals) had a generally successful first season with a record of 23 goals and 12 assists in 40 matches in all competitions, including 39 as a starter. . Bellingham was able to quickly find his place, having notably scored a string of goals at the start of the season in the absence of Vinicius Jr. Despite some small physical glitches (2 injuries, 9 missed matches last year, editor’s note), he played perfectly met everyone’s expectations.
Winner of La Liga and the Champions League, the native of Stourbridge was therefore expected for his second season in Madrid. The season of confirmation. A starter in the mind of Carlo Ancelotti, the versatile English midfielder got off to a good start with an assist during the European Super Cup against Atalanta Bergamo on August 14 (89 minutes played). Then, he continued on August 18 against Mallorca in La Liga (87 minutes played). But on August 23, Real Madrid announced that he suffered from a plantar thin muscle injury in his right leg. We were talking about a month of absence for the man who is a finalist for the 2024 Ballon d’Or. Finally, he returned to the field on September 17 against Stuttgart in the Champions League (80 minutes played).
Bellingham remains stuck at 0 goals
He then continued against Espanyol (83 minutes, September 21), Alavés (90 minutes, September 24), Atlético de Madrid (90 minutes, September 29) and Lille on October 2 in C1 (90 minutes played) . In total, he took part in 7 matches in all competitions (609 minutes). Although he was a decisive passer on two occasions (an assist against Atalanta and another against Alavés, editor’s note), he has not yet scored this season. A shortage which therefore lasts for Bellingham, little to its advantage against Lille, and which is worrying in Spain. A.S. wrote about this: “Madrid wants to see the emblematic two outstretched arms of No. 5. In other words, seeing Jude Bellingham celebrate a goal. The Englishman is, as always, intense, the protagonist of his actions, but the ultimate goal of this game resists him.”
The Iberian media adds: “and the crux of the matter is that Jude himself set the bar very high last year: at this stage and with the same number of games (seven), he scored six goals and was considered a surprise candidate for Pichichi’s role in La Liga. Now he is at the opposite extreme, since he has not scored any goals (…) The Merengue club is not worried about Bellingham because he is not absent from the field. But his goals would be useful for a team which, for the moment, cannot find a way to generate football in a coherent way. At Real Madrid, we believe in him, even if Carlo Ancelotti is lucid about him. “Now the things he was doing last year are not working for him”he blurted. Bellingham will have the opportunity to set the record straight tomorrow against Villarreal in La Liga.
