Dealing with the pressure of playing for Real Madrid isn't an easy task for any footballer – let alone one at the beginning of their career.
The Bernabeu can be an infamously difficult place to play, as proven by a number of players over the years – English duo Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate found it tough to make their mark, while even Gareth Bale had issues winning over fans at times, despite winning the Champions League on five occasions.
It made it all the more impressive, then, that Jude Bellingham moved to Real Madrid at the age of 19, and not only won fans over with his ability, but also the strength of character to continually deliver under the spotlight.
The midfielder finished the season as the club's top goalscorer in La Liga, standing out as a key performer as Real Madrid won both the domestic title and the Champions League.
Former Real Madrid and England man Steve McManaman has commended Bellingham for the remarkable job he did during 2023-24, thriving in what many believed to be a dysfunctional Madrid side.
Bellingham's immediate impact
McManaman was in Bilbao last August to see Bellingham's debut against Athletic, when he found the net in a 2-0 win. Real Madrid's new man celebrated with both arms outstretched as he faced the crowd, a gesture that has now become his trademark after every goal. There have been ample opportunities to use it.
“I was at that first game: he scored a really unorthodox volley and stole the show, and that’s when we saw the iconic celebration,” McManaman told FourFourTwo.
“He’s just been brilliant ever since he signed for the club. To join Real Madrid as a 19-year-old is hard enough in itself, but he joined in a summer where there was a lot of upheaval at Real Madrid, with big characters like Karim Benzema leaving.
"They signed other players, such as Joselu, Brahim Diaz and Fran Garcia, but he was their major transfer. They couldn’t afford Kylian Mbappe, so it was Jude. The onus was on a teenager who couldn’t speak the language to go into that team – that’s really difficult.”
McManaman also hit the ground running when he joined Real Madrid in 1999, albeit he was more experienced at 27. Having set up a goal in a dramatic victory over Mallorca on debut, he scored in each of his next two matches – including, like Bellingham, in Bilbao.
“You need to be driven, you need to work hard and you need to try to learn the language,” explained McManaman of the keys to speedy success at Real Madrid. “Of course, it’s a lot easier these days with interpreters, and the majority of people in Spain speak English – certainly in Madrid, which helps. But you still need to learn Spanish, and you need to have a big pair of shoulders.
"When Jude arrived, even though they’d lost Benzema, the expectation was ‘We need to win La Liga, we need to win the Champions League’. If you don’t win, the pressure’s on you straight away.
“Marca have 10 pages on Real Madrid every day. AS have 10 pages on Real Madrid every day. If your form dips, they can be brutal. To do what he’s done is amazing.”
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