Jude Bellingham: Rio Ferdinand praises the influence of Real Madrid player in his first season

Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United defender, has heaped praise on Jude Bellingham for his remarkable achievements at Real Madrid in his debut season in Spain. Bellingham, who made the move from Borussia Dortmund last summer, has been thriving under the guidance of manager Carlo Ancelotti, who has deployed him in a more advanced role on the pitch.

The young midfielder has already notched up an impressive tally of 23 goals and has already secured the La Liga title with his new team. Furthermore, on Saturday, he has the opportunity to add the UEFA Champions League trophy to his list of accomplishments as Madrid face Dortmund at Wembley Stadium. Madrid are aiming to extend their record of 14 titles in Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

Speaking at Wembley to TNT Sports, Ferdinand expressed his admiration for Bellingham’s unprecedented success at such a young age. He revealed that he had spoken to former Real Madrid players, including Roberto Carlos and Zinedine Zidane, who couldn’t recall a player making such a significant impact in their first season at the club.

Ferdinand stated, “Jude’s over there somewhere, what he’s doing is something wild. I’ve spoken to a lot of former players, played for Real Madrid. Roberto Carlos, Zidane and those guys, and they don’t even remember a player coming in and having the impact he’s had in the first season, at his age. No one’s done this. He’s doing stuff that’s not been done before, scoring a ridiculous amount of goals in the Clasico, etcetera. Impacting games, impacting the squad. Taking the responsibility in the squad as he has, at that age, is just something we’ve never seen.”

Ferdinand also compared Bellingham’s achievements to some of the best midfielders he encountered during his career, such as Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, and Frank Lampard. He highlighted that none of them were able to achieve what Bellingham has at such a young age, emphasizing the midfielder’s exceptional mindset and maturity.

Furthermore, Ferdinand suggested that both Bellingham and his Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr. could be contenders for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award if they triumph in the Champions League. He believed that Vinicius had the edge due to his strong finish to the season, with crucial goals in important moments. However, Ferdinand acknowledged that the outcome of the Euro and Copa America tournaments would also play a significant role in the Ballon d’Or voting process.