Jude Bellingham carries the sort of swagger that only the world's greatest possess. That's the belief of former Liverpool, Real Madrid and England striker Michael Owen, who's was stunned to see just how quickly the midfielder adapted to life in the Spanish capital last season, following his transfer from Borussia Dortmund.
The Birmingham City youth product’s debut campaign, in which he sometimes operated in what was near enough an unfamiliar false nine role, brought 23 goals and 13 assists in all competitions.
Highlights included late winners in both of the Clasico league fixtures against Barcelona and collecting the Kopa Trophy for the world’s best young player at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony. In May, his manager, Carlo Ancelotti, dubbed the Englishman “the best in the world”.
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“Jude quickly elevated himself into one of the world’s great players, for club and country,” Owen told FourFourTwo. “At Real, he has developed that big-game energy, that swagger, that attitude. We saw it for England at Euro 2024 as well."
Bellingham was key as England reached the final in Germany, scoring in the Three Lions' opening-game win against Serbia before hitting an injury-time equaliser against Slovakia in the round of 16. Owen feels the pressure to perform at Real Madrid has been key to unlocking the youngster's big-game energy.
"Playing for a club like Real Madrid isn’t easy when all eyes are on you and every poor performance is pounced upon; if you can respond to that and stay at the highest level, then you belong with the best in the world. He’s incredible.”
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