Everyone wants a piece of Jude Bellingham in Madrid. The 20-year-old Englishman has taken La Liga by storm in his first season at Real Madrid, and instantly became a hero for fans. No longer is it Cristiano Ronaldo or Karim Benzema on the billboards, but Bellingham.
In no small part because of how he has taken to life in Spain. Bellingham has embraced his teammates and new life with a calm and warmth that has endeared fans and neutrals to him, while delivering on the pitch. Speaking to RMTV (via Marca), it’s clear he is enjoying himself in the process too.
“You know that it’s the biggest club in the world, but when you experience it up close it’s spectacular. It is as if you were playing in a coliseum. You feel like a gladiator. It is very special. You can never imagine how big this club is. It is impossible to go out there and not be recognised. The club is a level above.”
Rightly or wrongly, the ability of English and in Gareth Bale’s case Welsh players to adapt to the lifestyle has always been a point of concern for the local press. Yet Bellingham, describing his life in the Spanish capital, has taken to it like a duck to water.
“There are times when I go out to have a coffee near my house or go downtown to eat. Then I go back home to rest for a while in the garden if it’s nice and sunny. If my friends are here, we go out to dinner and back home. It’s really nice. You meet people in the places you go to most. They don’t see you as Jude Bellingham the footballer, just Jude who comes to have a coffee and that’s great. The people I meet in the city look after me a lot. I feel at home”.
“When I’m out I’m a reserved person and I don’t like interacting with too many people, since it’s difficult for me because of the language, but I’m always very polite.”
Arriving as the star signing this summer, and currently top scorer in La Liga alonside Artem Dovbyk and Borja Mayoral, there is a good chance he goes into the Euros with England this summer as the poster boy for Madridistas. It’s clear that his enthusiasm for life in Madrid, contrasted with other more reserved star signings like Hazard, who still lives in Madrid after retirement, or Bale, has earned him special affection.
