England star Jude Bellingham landed in Madrid last week and while he was definitely struck by the prestige and size of the club, did not look overawed by signing for Real Madrid.
Few of the English imports to La Liga have succeeded, with Laurie Cunningham, Gary Lineker, Michael Robinson, David Beckham, Steve McManaman and Kieran Trippier more or less rounding off the list. Lineker has told La Liga that he believes Bellingham’s wise head will benefit him.
“It’s a fabulous move for Jude Bellingham. He is clearly incredibly mature, captaining a club like Dortmund in his teens. I think this is a good step for him… you look at the players they’ve got there and some of the youngsters that will come through alongside Jude Bellingham, who is a real leader. I think it’s going to be really interesting to follow.”
Belllingham commented during his first press conference that teammates in the England camp tried to persuade him to head to the Premier League, but he was drawn in by the aura that Los Blancos have. Lineker, who played for Barcelona in the 1980s, believe it is something unique to three clubs.
“I think in the world’s big three football clubs, it’s probably Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United in terms of stature.”
“We all know Real Madrid is a proper football club. I’m biased towards Barcelona, we don’t love Real Madrid in Barcelona to put it mildly, but they are a sensational football club and an incredibly successful football club that play brilliant football.”
Lineker’s comments touch on the fact that many in Madrid were mightily impressed with just how cool the 19-year-old Bellingham was during his presentation. Taking the day in his stride, it looks as if he will make the effort to ensure that assimilation into life in Spain is not an obstacle to his success at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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