It’s not often we see British players make the move to Real Madrid, but when they do, the La Liga giants are rarely left disappointed.
Whether it be Laurie Cunningham – the first Englishman to play for Los Blancos – or Gareth Bale, the Welshman who won it all at the Santiago Bernabeu, several British exports have written their names into the legendary Madrid history books.
Now, it is Jude Bellingham who is hopefully destined to replicate Cunningham and Bale, rather than Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate at one of Spain’s greatest-ever clubs.
Joining for a reported £88.5m, the midfielder arrives with plenty of pressure to perform, but, as proved during his Borussia Dortmund days, Bellingham isn’t one to capitulate.
This was the case during his Madrid debut, too. As Carlo Ancelotti’s side squared off against AC Milan in a pre-season friendly, Bellingham left many impressed with his debut display – as seen in the footage below.
Did Jude Bellingham play well on debut against AC Milan?
Starting in midfield alongside Fede Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga, Bellingham helped Real Madrid defeat Milan in a back-and-forth five-goal thriller.
The Spaniards initially found themselves two goals behind thanks to efforts from Fikayo Tomori and Luka Romero. Showing plenty of resilience, however, two Valverde goals in the space of two second-half minutes saw Madrid level things up in dramatic fashion.
With the game on a knife’s edge, Vinicius Junior found the winning goal in the 84th minute.
In a frantic affair, Bellingham remained composed, dictating play and controlling the tempo, at times, as you can see from the highlights of his impressive performance.
Up next in pre-season, Madrid square off against Manchester United, where they will hope to see their new midfielder thrive once more, especially up against some of his England teammates.
Who are the six English players to play for Real Madrid?
As previously touched on, Bellingham has plenty of footsteps to follow as an Englishman featuring for Real Madrid. In making the move, the former Birmingham City youngster became the sixth English player to play for Los Blancos.
He follows Cunningham – the first Englishman to make the move – as well as Steve McManaman, David Beckham, Owen, and Woodgate, in total.
Many in Spain will be hoping to see him replicate the legacies left by the likes of McManaman, Beckham, and Cunningham, rather than that of Owen and Woodgate, however, who both endured spells to forget in Spain.
After staring for Dortmund, though, it would be quite a turnaround if Bellingham failed to live up to expectations at the Bernabeu in the forthcoming campaign.
If his debut is anything to go by, too, Madrid have nothing to worry about.
Ahead of the La Liga season, Ancelotti will be hoping to see his side transform into title winners once more, even without Karim Benzema, who made the move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad this summer.
With the likes of Bellingham, Camavinga, and Vinicius, though, Madrid may not miss the goals that Benzema provided. There’s also still a long way to go in the summer window, on top of that, for the title contenders to strengthen even more.
Fans were hugely impressed too. Here are some of the best reactions…
