- Jude Bellingham has scored 21 goals since joining Real Madrid last summer
- He joined the club for £113million and guided the Spanish giants to the top of LaLiga
- Does Mo Salah regret not leaving Liverpool last summer? Is he now in danger of tarnishing his career at Liverpool? Listen to the It all starts! podcast
Steve McManaman believes Jude Bellingham has had a ‘bigger impact’ on the club compared to three Los Blancos legends Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario and Luis Figo.
The England midfielder joined from Borussia Dortmund for £113 million and appears to have taken on the role of player for one of the world’s biggest football clubs at the age of 20.
Bellingham has dazzled this season, scoring 17 goals in LaLiga, leading Madrid to the top of the Spanish top flight.
He also scored three goals in two El Clasico matches and also helped Madrid to silverware by winning the Super Copa.
McManaman, who has made 158 appearances for Madrid in all competitions, praised the England midfielder, claiming he has had a bigger impact in Real’s dressing room compared to the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario when they first joined the club came. .
“Luis Figo came into the locker room,” McManaman told TNT Sports. ‘R9 [Ronaldo Nazario], ‘El Phenomeno’ entered the dressing room. Zizou [Zinedine Zidane] entered the locker room.
‘Nobody has had as much impact as he has [Bellingham] and he did it at the age of 20. It’s phenomenal.’
Zidane notably won the Champions League with Madrid as a player and as a manager.
Figo, meanwhile, won two LaLiga titles with Madrid and the 2002 Champions League, while Ronaldo scored 103 goals in 177 games for Los Blancos, winning two league titles.
Bellingham also helped Madrid win the Spanish Super Copa this season and guided Madrid to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Owen Hargreaves added that Bellingham’s overall attitude shows how mature he is as a player.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player do that,” Hargreaves told TNT Sports, when asked how difficult it can be to walk into a dressing room, let alone Real Madrid’s.
‘I plan to face Zidane’s number 5, one of the most iconic players ever at Real Madrid. What’s special about Jude is that his talent is so undeniably special.
“His body language and the way he carries himself, the way he walks onto the pitch and the way he walks into the dressing room, you would never see a 19-20 year old do that. He is so authentic that the boys can see it….
“And then he plays the way he does and you can tell the man is really special.”
