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Bellingham: High 5
Jude Bellingham’s first season at Real Madrid has been nothing short of extraordinary. With the famous No5 on his back, there have been echoes of Zinédine Zidane, as winning goals in the Champions League and the Clásico have quickly earned him hero status. As the 20-year-old embraces life in the Spanish capital, he tells Alex Aljoe why his move to the Bernabéu was meant to be
PHOTOGRAPHY Alberto Gardin
Cover Stories
Jude Bellingham has a story to tell about the Real Madrid number five shirt. It has nothing to do with his feats in it during his exceptional first season at the Santiago Bernabéu – though we will get to those shortly. Rather, it is from his boyhood in Birmingham when his father Mark, a policeman who scored goals for fun in amateur leagues around the Midlands, would lounge around at home in the same shirt his son now gets paid to wear. Only then, the number five on the back belonged to Zinédine Zidane.
Bellingham explains all: “Actually, my dad always wore a Madrid one around the house with ‘Zidane 5’ on the back, which is funny because it’s kind of gone full circle; he gifted it to me when I joined in the summer. I don’t know if I’ve spoken about it but he always wore it around, and I was like, ‘Who’s this guy that you’re always wearing on your shirt?’. And he was like, ‘Well, when you’re old enough, we’ll get you on to YouTube’. Yeah, now that I wear the 5, it’s ended up being quite a significant story.”
It is a lovely story, delivered soon after taking his seat for this interview, and typical of the chat that follows. Bellingham is relaxed and full of smiles – as befits a young man riding the crest of a wave. Yet he speaks with impressive maturity too, underlining a quality already long apparent to anybody who has watched him play football, whether it be during his solitary first season as a professional with Birmingham City or the three years spent at Borussia Dortmund prior to landing in Madrid.
Here is a 20-year-old with an unusually level head, a serene individual who has been undaunted by joining one of the biggest clubs in world football, and who has thrived wearing that white shirt with the 5 on the back.
It has not all been roses, as he will explain, yet his numbers underline the scale of his impact at the Santiago Bernabéu: he scored in each of his first four games for the club both in La Liga and in the Champions League. He had reached the 10-goal mark by early October. Come mid-February, he was on 20.
His 94th-minute winner on his first Champions League appearance for Madrid against Union Berlin said that the boy with the arms outstretched in celebration was ready to embrace the biggest moments. And they don’t get much bigger than a stoppage-time winner in your first Clásico… a feat he managed with his 92nd-minute strike at Barcelona in October after he had equalised earlier in the half.
The fact he repeated the trick, with a 91st-minute winner in the return Clásico, summed up why Real Madrid fans have fallen in love with him. Indeed, as he reveals in this interview, he gets hugs and kisses from happy Madridistas whenever he goes out in the Spanish capital. Happily, we discover, the feeling is most definitely mutual…
What did Real Madrid mean to you as a young kid growing up?
It was always the benchmark in football. It’s the kind of level that I always wanted to get to – and that I could get to – but I probably didn’t think it would happen so quickly. Now I’m here, I’m grateful every day that I get to come in and represent this club. Now it feels like a massive part of my life. It feels like everything in my life, really. But when I was growing up it was always the benchmark and the aim.
Was there anything that surprised you on joining the club?
There are always things that are different and that you have to adapt to. But because I had played abroad before I came here, it made it quite easy. I kind of knew what to expect: there’s going to be a big culture shock, the language is probably going to be difficult at first. And, if you know, you’re a little bit more open to even being vulnerable in terms of those things. Some things have been quite difficult; managing the spotlight as a Real Madrid player has been quite tough at times with my personal life. But in general, I love being a Real Madrid player.
How much have your family helped you settle and feel at home?
Massively. Everyone knows the important role my family plays in my football career. Obviously, it goes without saying, in my personal life. In my football, my mum does all my commercial, my dad does the agency side of things. So it’s a great balance and we’re always so honest with each other. And we were all in agreement when it came to these big decisions coming to a club like Madrid. When you have that support network, you do feel a lot more confident in making those big decisions.
What do you love most about the Spanish way of life?
I was doing siestas years before I came to Spain, so you don’t have to worry about that! I think the way people are with you is the best. They’re very emotive with you; they want to hold you and, when they see you in public, hug you. I get a lot of kisses on the face when I go to coffee shops and stuff like that. It’s a really nice way of greeting you. People come over and they don’t necessarily want a picture. Sometimes they just want to chat about games and certain goals. It’s really nice, that kind of family feeling. Whereas in England, it’s a bit more intense in terms of when players go out. But here you’re definitely made to feel loved.
Are you eating dinner at 11pm?
Yeah, that’s a bit of a weird one. I’ve had to get used to that because I’ve always been like seven o’clock dinner and into bed. It’s different things, those little tweaks that you get used to and now I’ve been here nearly a year, it feels quite normal.
“As much as I admire Zidane, five is just a number. I try and wear it with my own kind of swagger and style”
Jude behind the scenes at the Real Madrid training ground
From chats with David Alaba to dancing with Lucas Vázquez and drawing wisdom from his elders – Jude Bellingham is already part of the furniture at Real Madrid
A new dressing room can feel like a lonely place – especially when you’ve got plenty to prove after a blockbuster move. Even the most confident players can take time to adapt. But Jude Bellingham’s policy of just being himself has worked wonders.
“When you come to a new club, especially abroad, you’re thinking, ‘I’m kind of the little kid who’s come from Birmingham to Dortmund’, and now ‘I’m the little kid who’s gone from Dortmund to Madrid’. What was their perception of me before? You end up just trying to be yourself, really. When you try and be someone that you’re not, the lads sniff you out. So I try to be myself and the lads took to me and have taken me in like a kind of younger brother. Now that I’ve been here a few months, I feel like I’m starting to take a bit more responsibility in the changing room. I feel like I’ve been here for a long, long time.”
It helps that the group is united. “All the lads seem to be able to mix – there are no cliques, which is brilliant and it makes the team a lot stronger on the pitch. I sit next to David Alaba every day, so he is probably the one I talk to most. I feel really comfortable talking to him about pretty much anything. But it all depends on what you’re feeling at the time; the lads are always there for you.”
Including the guys that have been there and done it several times over, such as Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos. “I find it fascinating when we’re eating dinner or having a coffee before training, and talking about Champions League finals, and I’m like, ‘I remember watching that with my dad and brother’. It’s a bit of a full-circle moment when you remember where you were, to be hearing them speak about it, to then hopefully be planning to do it at some point in the future. It’s the kind of experience and wisdom that’s invaluable; you can’t get it without playing here and getting close to those guys, so I’m so grateful to be given that opportunity.”
As preternaturally mature as he is, Bellingham is still only 20 so he gravitates to his peers. His bromance with Lucas Vázquez is well known and was cemented by their dance after the number five’s late winner against Barcelona in April. “It was a good dance, wasn’t it?” Bellingham jokes. “We’ve been practising for a while and he’s finally set me up, so we got to show it off.”
Yes, readers, he can dance too. If it’s any consolation, however, Bellingham’s rendition of Ne-Yo’s So Sick after joining Dortmund a few years ago provided compelling evidence that there is at least one thing he can’t do. Yet.
Bellingham explains all: “Actually, my dad always wore a Madrid one around the house with ‘Zidane 5’ on the back, which is funny because it’s kind of gone full circle; he gifted it to me when I joined in the summer. I don’t know if I’ve spoken about it but he always wore it around, and I was like, ‘Who’s this guy that you’re always wearing on your shirt?’. And he was like, ‘Well, when you’re old enough, we’ll get you on to YouTube’. Yeah, now that I wear the 5, it’s ended up being quite a significant story.”
It is a lovely story, delivered soon after taking his seat for this interview, and typical of the chat that follows. Bellingham is relaxed and full of smiles – as befits a young man riding the crest of a wave. Yet he speaks with impressive maturity too, underlining a quality already long apparent to anybody who has watched him play football, whether it be during his solitary first season as a professional with Birmingham City or the three years spent at Borussia Dortmund prior to landing in Madrid.
Here is a 20-year-old with an unusually level head, a serene individual who has been undaunted by joining one of the biggest clubs in world football, and who has thrived wearing that white shirt with the 5 on the back.
It has not all been roses, as he will explain, yet his numbers underline the scale of his impact at the Santiago Bernabéu: he scored in each of his first four games for the club both in La Liga and in the Champions League. He had reached the 10-goal mark by early October. Come mid-February, he was on 20.
His 94th-minute winner on his first Champions League appearance for Madrid against Union Berlin said that the boy with the arms outstretched in celebration was ready to embrace the biggest moments. And they don’t get much bigger than a stoppage-time winner in your first Clásico… a feat he managed with his 92nd-minute strike at Barcelona in October after he had equalised earlier in the half.
The fact he repeated the trick, with a 91st-minute winner in the return Clásico, summed up why Real Madrid fans have fallen in love with him. Indeed, as he reveals in this interview, he gets hugs and kisses from happy Madridistas whenever he goes out in the Spanish capital. Happily, we discover, the feeling is most definitely mutual…
What did Real Madrid mean to you as a young kid growing up?
It was always the benchmark in football. It’s the kind of level that I always wanted to get to – and that I could get to – but I probably didn’t think it would happen so quickly. Now I’m here, I’m grateful every day that I get to come in and represent this club. Now it feels like a massive part of my life. It feels like everything in my life, really. But when I was growing up it was always the benchmark and the aim.
Was there anything that surprised you on joining the club?
There are always things that are different and that you have to adapt to. But because I had played abroad before I came here, it made it quite easy. I kind of knew what to expect: there’s going to be a big culture shock, the language is probably going to be difficult at first. And, if you know, you’re a little bit more open to even being vulnerable in terms of those things. Some things have been quite difficult; managing the spotlight as a Real Madrid player has been quite tough at times with my personal life. But in general, I love being a Real Madrid player.
How much have your family helped you settle and feel at home?
Massively. Everyone knows the important role my family plays in my football career. Obviously, it goes without saying, in my personal life. In my football, my mum does all my commercial, my dad does the agency side of things. So it’s a great balance and we’re always so honest with each other. And we were all in agreement when it came to these big decisions coming to a club like Madrid. When you have that support network, you do feel a lot more confident in making those big decisions.
What do you love most about the Spanish way of life?
I was doing siestas years before I came to Spain, so you don’t have to worry about that! I think the way people are with you is the best. They’re very emotive with you; they want to hold you and, when they see you in public, hug you. I get a lot of kisses on the face when I go to coffee shops and stuff like that. It’s a really nice way of greeting you. People come over and they don’t necessarily want a picture. Sometimes they just want to chat about games and certain goals. It’s really nice, that kind of family feeling. Whereas in England, it’s a bit more intense in terms of when players go out. But here you’re definitely made to feel loved.
Are you eating dinner at 11pm?
Yeah, that’s a bit of a weird one. I’ve had to get used to that because I’ve always been like seven o’clock dinner and into bed. It’s different things, those little tweaks that you get used to and now I’ve been here nearly a year, it feels quite normal.
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“As much as I admire Zidane, five is just a number. I try and wear it with my own kind of swagger and style”
Jude behind the scenes at the Real Madrid training ground
From chats with David Alaba to dancing with Lucas Vázquez and drawing wisdom from his elders – Jude Bellingham is already part of the furniture at Real Madrid
A new dressing room can feel like a lonely place – especially when you’ve got plenty to prove after a blockbuster move. Even the most confident players can take time to adapt. But Jude Bellingham’s policy of just being himself has worked wonders.
“When you come to a new club, especially abroad, you’re thinking, ‘I’m kind of the little kid who’s come from Birmingham to Dortmund’, and now ‘I’m the little kid who’s gone from Dortmund to Madrid’. What was their perception of me before? You end up just trying to be yourself, really. When you try and be someone that you’re not, the lads sniff you out. So I try to be myself and the lads took to me and have taken me in like a kind of younger brother. Now that I’ve been here a few months, I feel like I’m starting to take a bit more responsibility in the changing room. I feel like I’ve been here for a long, long time.”
It helps that the group is united. “All the lads seem to be able to mix – there are no cliques, which is brilliant and it makes the team a lot stronger on the pitch. I sit next to David Alaba every day, so he is probably the one I talk to most. I feel really comfortable talking to him about pretty much anything. But it all depends on what you’re feeling at the time; the lads are always there for you.”
Including the guys that have been there and done it several times over, such as Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos. “I find it fascinating when we’re eating dinner or having a coffee before training, and talking about Champions League finals, and I’m like, ‘I remember watching that with my dad and brother’. It’s a bit of a full-circle moment when you remember where you were, to be hearing them speak about it, to then hopefully be planning to do it at some point in the future. It’s the kind of experience and wisdom that’s invaluable; you can’t get it without playing here and getting close to those guys, so I’m so grateful to be given that opportunity.”
As preternaturally mature as he is, Bellingham is still only 20 so he gravitates to his peers. His bromance with Lucas Vázquez is well known and was cemented by their dance after the number five’s late winner against Barcelona in April. “It was a good dance, wasn’t it?” Bellingham jokes. “We’ve been practising for a while and he’s finally set me up, so we got to show it off.”
Yes, readers, he can dance too. If it’s any consolation, however, Bellingham’s rendition of Ne-Yo’s So Sick after joining Dortmund a few years ago provided compelling evidence that there is at least one thing he can’t do. Yet.
Bellingham explains all: “Actually, my dad always wore a Madrid one around the house with ‘Zidane 5’ on the back, which is funny because it’s kind of gone full circle; he gifted it to me when I joined in the summer. I don’t know if I’ve spoken about it but he always wore it around, and I was like, ‘Who’s this guy that you’re always wearing on your shirt?’. And he was like, ‘Well, when you’re old enough, we’ll get you on to YouTube’. Yeah, now that I wear the 5, it’s ended up being quite a significant story.”
It is a lovely story, delivered soon after taking his seat for this interview, and typical of the chat that follows. Bellingham is relaxed and full of smiles – as befits a young man riding the crest of a wave. Yet he speaks with impressive maturity too, underlining a quality already long apparent to anybody who has watched him play football, whether it be during his solitary first season as a professional with Birmingham City or the three years spent at Borussia Dortmund prior to landing in Madrid.
Here is a 20-year-old with an unusually level head, a serene individual who has been undaunted by joining one of the biggest clubs in world football, and who has thrived wearing that white shirt with the 5 on the back.
It has not all been roses, as he will explain, yet his numbers underline the scale of his impact at the Santiago Bernabéu: he scored in each of his first four games for the club both in La Liga and in the Champions League. He had reached the 10-goal mark by early October. Come mid-February, he was on 20.
His 94th-minute winner on his first Champions League appearance for Madrid against Union Berlin said that the boy with the arms outstretched in celebration was ready to embrace the biggest moments. And they don’t get much bigger than a stoppage-time winner in your first Clásico… a feat he managed with his 92nd-minute strike at Barcelona in October after he had equalised earlier in the half.
The fact he repeated the trick, with a 91st-minute winner in the return Clásico, summed up why Real Madrid fans have fallen in love with him. Indeed, as he reveals in this interview, he gets hugs and kisses from happy Madridistas whenever he goes out in the Spanish capital. Happily, we discover, the feeling is most definitely mutual…
What did Real Madrid mean to you as a young kid growing up?
It was always the benchmark in football. It’s the kind of level that I always wanted to get to – and that I could get to – but I probably didn’t think it would happen so quickly. Now I’m here, I’m grateful every day that I get to come in and represent this club. Now it feels like a massive part of my life. It feels like everything in my life, really. But when I was growing up it was always the benchmark and the aim.
Was there anything that surprised you on joining the club?
There are always things that are different and that you have to adapt to. But because I had played abroad before I came here, it made it quite easy. I kind of knew what to expect: there’s going to be a big culture shock, the language is probably going to be difficult at first. And, if you know, you’re a little bit more open to even being vulnerable in terms of those things. Some things have been quite difficult; managing the spotlight as a Real Madrid player has been quite tough at times with my personal life. But in general, I love being a Real Madrid player.
How much have your family helped you settle and feel at home?
Massively. Everyone knows the important role my family plays in my football career. Obviously, it goes without saying, in my personal life. In my football, my mum does all my commercial, my dad does the agency side of things. So it’s a great balance and we’re always so honest with each other. And we were all in agreement when it came to these big decisions coming to a club like Madrid. When you have that support network, you do feel a lot more confident in making those big decisions.
What do you love most about the Spanish way of life?
I was doing siestas years before I came to Spain, so you don’t have to worry about that! I think the way people are with you is the best. They’re very emotive with you; they want to hold you and, when they see you in public, hug you. I get a lot of kisses on the face when I go to coffee shops and stuff like that. It’s a really nice way of greeting you. People come over and they don’t necessarily want a picture. Sometimes they just want to chat about games and certain goals. It’s really nice, that kind of family feeling. Whereas in England, it’s a bit more intense in terms of when players go out. But here you’re definitely made to feel loved.
Are you eating dinner at 11pm?
Yeah, that’s a bit of a weird one. I’ve had to get used to that because I’ve always been like seven o’clock dinner and into bed. It’s different things, those little tweaks that you get used to and now I’ve been here nearly a year, it feels quite normal.
“As much as I admire Zidane, five is just a number. I try and wear it with my own kind of swagger and style”
Jude behind the scenes at the Real Madrid training ground
From chats with David Alaba to dancing with Lucas Vázquez and drawing wisdom from his elders – Jude Bellingham is already part of the furniture at Real Madrid
A new dressing room can feel like a lonely place – especially when you’ve got plenty to prove after a blockbuster move. Even the most confident players can take time to adapt. But Jude Bellingham’s policy of just being himself has worked wonders.
“When you come to a new club, especially abroad, you’re thinking, ‘I’m kind of the little kid who’s come from Birmingham to Dortmund’, and now ‘I’m the little kid who’s gone from Dortmund to Madrid’. What was their perception of me before? You end up just trying to be yourself, really. When you try and be someone that you’re not, the lads sniff you out. So I try to be myself and the lads took to me and have taken me in like a kind of younger brother. Now that I’ve been here a few months, I feel like I’m starting to take a bit more responsibility in the changing room. I feel like I’ve been here for a long, long time.”
It helps that the group is united. “All the lads seem to be able to mix – there are no cliques, which is brilliant and it makes the team a lot stronger on the pitch. I sit next to David Alaba every day, so he is probably the one I talk to most. I feel really comfortable talking to him about pretty much anything. But it all depends on what you’re feeling at the time; the lads are always there for you.”
Including the guys that have been there and done it several times over, such as Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos. “I find it fascinating when we’re eating dinner or having a coffee before training, and talking about Champions League finals, and I’m like, ‘I remember watching that with my dad and brother’. It’s a bit of a full-circle moment when you remember where you were, to be hearing them speak about it, to then hopefully be planning to do it at some point in the future. It’s the kind of experience and wisdom that’s invaluable; you can’t get it without playing here and getting close to those guys, so I’m so grateful to be given that opportunity.”
As preternaturally mature as he is, Bellingham is still only 20 so he gravitates to his peers. His bromance with Lucas Vázquez is well known and was cemented by their dance after the number five’s late winner against Barcelona in April. “It was a good dance, wasn’t it?” Bellingham jokes. “We’ve been practising for a while and he’s finally set me up, so we got to show it off.”
Yes, readers, he can dance too. If it’s any consolation, however, Bellingham’s rendition of Ne-Yo’s So Sick after joining Dortmund a few years ago provided compelling evidence that there is at least one thing he can’t do. Yet.
