After making football look effortless in his short career to date, Jude Bellingham could soon face an altogether different challenge against a sporting GOAT from a different field.
The England star has been offered a game of snooker by the legendary Ronnie O’Sullivan after a friendly Instagram exchange, and seemingly sealed the deal with a virtual handshake.
Bellingham started the interaction after watching the recently released film about the king of the baize.
Ronnie the Rocket, widely considered the greatest snooker player of all time, is the subject of ‘Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything’.
Bellingham was clearly impressed by what he saw.
The Real Madrid and England midfielder posted a picture on Instagram of himself holding a snooker cue with the caption: “watches half an hour of the Ronnie doc”.
VIDEO: Why Jude Bellingham Can Win England The Euros
O’Sullivan responded to the post by writing: “Let me know if you fancy a game.”
Bellingham then re-posted the challenge with laughing and handshake emojis.
O’Sullivan celebrated his 48th birthday this week but shows little sign of letting up in his conquest of major titles.
At the start of December, the seven-time world champion won a record-extending eighth UK Championship title in York, 30 years after clinching the Triple Crown event for the first time.
Bellingham, aged 20, is at the other end of his career but is already delivering on his immense potential, scoring a remarkable 15 goals in 17 games since joining Real from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
The midfielder picked up the Golden Boy award this week and also won the Kopa Trophy at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, awarded to the best Under-21 player in the world.
More Jude Bellingham stories
Jude Bellingham ahead of Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo? A former team-mate of the Real Madrid legends has explained how the England midfielder has the edge on the Frenchman and the Portuguese.
Meanwhile, it has been claimed that Bellingham rejected Manchester United because the Red Devils were unable to guarantee him first-team football at Old Trafford.
And following his heroics in El Clasico for Real Madrid recently, the England midfielder has been compared to Los Blancos legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
