Jude Bellingham

Early life and education

Jude Victor William Bellingham was born on 29 June 2003 in Stourbridge, in the county of West Midlands in England. He is the eldest son of Denise and Mark Bellingham. He is of Afro-Jamaican descent through his mother and Irish descent through his father. His paternal grandfather, William Bellingham, served in the British Army in Berlin before becoming a teacher and the head of modern foreign languages at Southend High School for Boys, and was a strong influence on Jude's patriotism and values. Jude's father was a sergeant in the West Midlands Police until 2022, and was a prolific goalscorer in non-League football. Jude's younger brother, Jobe, is also a footballer. Jude was privately educated at Priory School in Edgbaston, Birmingham. He graduated from Loughborough College with a BTEC level 3 certificate in sport in 2021. He grew up idolising Zinedine Zidane.

Club career

Birmingham City

Bellingham joined Birmingham City as an under-8 after playing for Stourbridge Juniors. He played for Birmingham's under-18 team at age 14, and made his debut for their under-23 team at age 15. In his first game for the U-23 team, he scored the only goal as Birmingham defeated Nottingham Forest 1–0 on 15 October 2018. By March 2019, Bellingham had scored three goals from ten development squad appearances. He was featured in FourFourTwo's list of the "50 most exciting teenagers in English football" and was drawing the interest of major European clubs. He was gradually introduced to the first-team environment, which included training with the team and accompanying them to an EFL Championship match in March 2019.

Bellingham took up a two-year scholarship with Birmingham City to begin in July 2019. He was part of the first-team training camp in Portugal, played and scored in pre-season friendlies, and was given squad number 22 for the 2019–20 season. On 6 August, when he started the EFL Cup first round visit to Portsmouth, Bellingham became the youngest first-team player in Birmingham City's history, at 16 years and 38 days. He played for 80 minutes in the 3–0 loss, and was the Birmingham Mail's man of the match. He made his first Football League appearance 19 days later, as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 loss to Swansea City, and made his home debut on 31 August against Stoke City. Replacing the injured Jefferson Montero after half an hour, Bellingham scored the winning goal as Birmingham defeated Stoke 2–1, becoming the club's youngest goalscorer. He started the next match against Charlton Athletic two weeks later, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win.

Bellingham became a regular starter for Birmingham. He began on the left wing, was moved into central midfield to help him gain confidence, and then was used in a more "advanced" role once staff felt he could handle the responsibility. According to head coach Pep Clotet, Bellingham felt "comfortable" in the midfield, particularly when he was near the opposing team's penalty area. Bellingham was EFL Young Player of the Month for November 2019. Various major clubs showed interest in Bellingham in January 2020, and on deadline day Birmingham reportedly turned down a £20 million bid from Manchester United. When the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bellingham had made 32 league appearances. He remained an integral part of the team once the season resumed behind closed doors. He finished the season with four goals from 44 appearances in all competitions. In appreciation of what Bellingham achieved in such a short time with the first team, the club announced that they would retire his number 22 shirt, "to remember one of our own and to inspire others." At the EFL Awards, he was named both Championship Apprentice of the Year and EFL Young Player of the Season.

Borussia Dortmund

It was clear that Bellingham would leave Birmingham, and it was reported that he and his father had visited several major clubs, of which Manchester United and Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund were the favourites. Impressed by Dortmund's record of including young players as regulars in the first team, as evidenced by the likes of Jadon Sancho, Bellingham reportedly settled on the club as his destination of choice. He flew to Germany for a medical, and the transfer was confirmed on 20 July 2020. Bellingham was to join after Birmingham's last match of the season. The undisclosed fee was understood by Sky Sports to be an initial £25 million – making him the most expensive 17-year-old in history – plus "several million more" dependent on performance-related criteria.

Bellingham made his debut on 14 September 2020, starting the first match of the 2020–21 season against third-tier MSV Duisburg in the DFB-Pokal, aged 17 years, 77 days. After half an hour, he scored the second goal in a 5–0 win, becoming the club's youngest goalscorer in the DFB-Pokal, taking six days off Giovanni Reyna's record, as well as their youngest scorer in any competitive match, breaking Nuri Şahin's record by five days. Five days later, he marked his league debut with the assist for Reyna's opening goal in a 3–0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, and was named as Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for September. When Bellingham faced Lazio in the group stage on 20 October, aged 17 years and 113 days, he became the youngest Englishman to start a UEFA Champions League match, breaking the record previously set by Phil Foden.

In the first three months of the season, Bellingham was a regular in all competitions, with six starts and seven substitute appearances in the Bundesliga as well as four Champions League starts. He missed the first two matches of 2021 with a foot injury, but returned to action as an increasingly regular starter. He scored his first Bundesliga goal from Reyna's knock-down to equalise with VfB Stuttgart early in the second half of a 3–2 win on 10 April. His first Champions League goal came four days later against Manchester City in the quarter-final second leg, but Dortmund could not retain their away-goal advantage. Bellingham started in Dortmund's 4–1 victory over RB Leipzig in the 2021 DFB-Pokal final. He was booked in the first half and replaced by Thorgan Hazard at half-time with his team 3–0 ahead. He finished the season with 29 appearances and one goal in the Bundesliga, 46 appearances and four goals in all competitions, and was voted Newcomer of the Season by his fellow players. Bellingham was runner-up to Pedri of Barcelona in the 2021 Kopa Trophy, awarded to the world's best under-21 male player as voted by previous winners of the Ballon d'Or.

Real Madrid

On 14 June 2023, La Liga club Real Madrid announced the signing of Bellingham on a six-year contract. Borussia Dortmund received a base transfer fee of €103 million with potential to rise by 30% to approximately €133.9 million due to add-ons, from which a sell-on clause earned Birmingham City around £6 million. He became the sixth Englishman to join Real Madrid in the professional era.

On 12 August 2023, Bellingham marked his debut with a close-range half-volleyed goal from a corner kick in a 2–0 La Liga win away to Athletic Bilbao. Two goals and an assist for Vinícius Júnior in a 3–1 victory at Almería and the winner at Celta Vigo in the two remaining August matches made him the league's top scorer and the first English recipient of the La Liga Player of the Month award. A 95th-minute winner against Getafe on 2 September in his first match at the newly renovated Santiago Bernabéu made Bellingham the third player (after Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2009–10 season and Pepillo in 1959–60) to score in each of his first four competitive appearances for the club. Bellingham scored 10 goals in his first 10 matches for Madrid, equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's goal tally after his first 10 games for the club in 2009. On 28 October, Bellingham scored a brace, including a stoppage-time winner, to secure Real Madrid a 2–1 away win against their rivals Barcelona, making him the first Real Madrid player to score in their La Liga and Champions League debuts for the club and in El Clásico. His first goal, scored from 30 yards (27 m) was his club's 300th in El Clásico and made him the first Englishman to score in that fixture since Michael Owen in 2005. Bellingham set several records with these goals. His coach Carlo Ancelotti commented: "He seems like a veteran, the goal to level it totally changed the game... Today he was stupendous and shocked everyone with his wonderful goal from the edge of the area." Bellingham was named La Liga Player of the Month for October.

Having received the Kopa Trophy a few weeks earlier, Bellingham was named winner of the Golden Boy for 2023, an award made to the best male under-21 footballer playing in the European top divisions over a calendar year. Bellingham dislocated his left shoulder on 5 November, and returned to action against Cádiz three weeks later only because of an injury crisis at the club. Wearing heavy strapping, he assisted the first goal and scored the third of a 3–0 win, which took Madrid top of the table and his personal total to 14 from his first 15 games, breaking the club record held jointly by Pruden, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Cristiano Ronaldo. In a 4–2 victory against Napoli on 29 November, Bellingham became the first player to score in each of his first four Champions League appearances for Real Madrid.

International career

Youth career

Bellingham was eligible to play for his native England and also for the Republic of Ireland, for which he qualified via a grandparent. He made his England under-15 debut against Turkey in December 2016. In recognition of his captaining that team during the 2017–18 season, he was presented with a Special Achievement Award at the 2018 Birmingham City Academy awards night. By the end of 2018 he had made his first appearance for the England under-16 team, and went on to feature in eleven games, score four goals, and captain the team. He was included in England's under-17 squad for the Syrenka Cup, a friendly tournament held in September 2019 in preparation for the 2020 European Championship qualifiers the following March. He made his debut as a substitute in England's opening match of the tournament, a 5–0 win over Finland in which he scored the third goal, and captained the team in their second fixture, in which they came back from a goal behind to beat Austria 4–2 and qualify for the final. Again, Bellingham scored the third goal. He retained the captaincy for the final, in which England beat hosts Poland on penalties following a 2–2 draw, and was named player of the tournament.

Bellingham received his first call-up to the under-21 squad for European Championship qualifiers against Kosovo and Austria in September 2020. He became the youngest player to appear for England U21 when he came on to replace Tom Davies after 62 minutes of the match against Kosovo on 4 September with England 3–0 ahead, and scored after 85 minutes to complete the 6–0 victory.

Senior career

In November 2020, after James Ward-Prowse and Trent Alexander-Arnold withdrew through injury, Bellingham was called up to the England senior squad for the first time. He made his debut in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on 12 November, replacing Mason Mount after 73 minutes of a 3–0 win. At 17 years, 136 days, he became England's third-youngest full international; only Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney had appeared at a younger age.

Bellingham was named in the England squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, which was delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When he came on as an 82nd-minute substitute in England's opening match, a 1–0 win over Croatia at Wembley on 13 June, aged 17 years and 349 days, he became both the youngest Englishman to play at any major tournament and the youngest of any nationality to play at a European Championship; the latter record was broken by Poland's Kacper Kozłowski just six days later.

Bellingham scored his first senior international goal in England's 6–2 victory over Iran in their first game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 21 November. This made him the first person born in the 21st century to score in a World Cup, and the second youngest scorer for England at a World Cup, only behind Michael Owen. He also made the run and pass to Harry Kane who crossed for Raheem Sterling to score England's third goal, and played the through ball from which Callum Wilson set up their sixth for Jack Grealish. He followed this up during the last-16 game against Senegal with a run through the defence, assisting Jordan Henderson's goal in the 38th minute, and played a key role in Harry Kane's goal in first-half stoppage time, setting up Phil Foden to make the assist.

Bellingham was named in England's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024. His powerful header from Bukayo Saka's deflected cross gave England a 1–0 victory against Serbia, and he was named player of the match.

He scored with a 95th-minute overhead kick in the round of 16 against Slovakia to tie the scores at 1–1 and take the match into extra time. England won 2–1, and Bellingham was again named player of the match. After scoring the equaliser, Bellingham gestured towards the opposing substitutes' bench by grabbing his crotch, claiming it was an inside joke aimed at "some close friends". After an investigation, UEFA found he had "violat[ed] the basic rules of decent conduct", fined him €30,000 and imposed a one-match ban suspended for 12 months.

Player profile

Style of play

Known for his exceptional control of the ball, his physicality, and his technical quality, Bellingham is often regarded as one of the best and most well-rounded midfielders in the world. He is also known for his versatility and vision. He is praised for fulfilling multiple positions and his dynamic playing style, playing both exceptional defence and attack, described by The Analyst as a "do-it-all midfielder". His excellent runs and dribbling abilities have also earned him praise, as have his keen ability to quickly transition from defence to attack. An analysis by Andy Smith for the Bundesliga described Bellingham as "the complete package: a dynamic midfielder who can win the ball and drive it forward, hold up possession, resist the press, find gaps in opposition defences, plus assist and score goals". Bellingham has been described by Philipp Lahm as a "complete midfielder", who can "dribble, pass, shoot and has the urge to score", and who is "physical and fearless, holds his ground in challenges and wins the ball". Phil Foden described Bellingham as "one of the most gifted players I've ever seen". Paul Scholes also praised Bellingham in 2023, saying that "I think Jude Bellingham for his age and what he's accomplished so far in his short career, he's better than anything we've seen". He has been widely compared to the likes of Zinedine Zidane.

Following his move to Madrid in 2023, Bellingham took on a more advanced role in the midfield, often being positioned in the number 10 position as an attacking midfielder, or even as a false 9 or second striker on occasion. This change in position led to Bellingham adopting a more significant role in the final third and scoring goals: 10 in his first 10 matches for Madrid.

Reception

Bellingham's skill as a young player has enabled him to win several awards, including the IFFHS World's Best Youth (U20) Player in 2022 and 2023, and the Golden Boy award and Kopa Trophy in 2023. ESPN rated Bellingham as the number one central midfielder for 2022–23, and 90min rated him as the top central midfielder in 2022.

Outside football

In May 2024, Bellingham signed a multi-year deal with the sports drink, Lucozade, becoming the face of the brand's multi-million pound TV campaign. In June 2024, he appeared in Kim Kardashian's shapewear and clothing brand Skims' campaign; the photoshoot featured Bellingham modelling men's underwear. In July 2024, he was revealed as the cover star for the video game EA Sports FC 25. In the same month, Adidas launched Bellingham's first signature collection, featuring a jersey, tracksuit, ringer tee, and shorts, all adorned with the JB monogram logo. In August 2024, Louis Vuitton named him a "Friend of the House," announcing their partnership. In September 2024. Bellingham started his official channel on YouTube with a behind-the-scenes documentary about his first year in Spain. In December 2024, he appeared in Adidas' documentary film Under the Tongue.

In July 2025, Bellingham was revealed as one of the cover stars for EA Sports FC 26, along with Jamal Musiala and Zlatan Ibrahimović, for the second time. In September 2025, he was announced as a Laureus ambassador. In November 2025, Bellingham launched his own app, "JB5". In April 2026, he bought a minority stake in Birmingham Phoenix.

Personal life

Since 2025, Bellingham has been in a relationship with Ashlyn Castro, an American social media influencer.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 September 2026

International

As of match played 18 July 2026

As of match played 18 July 2026

England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bellingham goal

Honours

Borussia Dortmund

DFB-Pokal: 2020–21

Real Madrid

La Liga: 2023–24

Supercopa de España: 2024

UEFA Champions League: 2023–24

UEFA Super Cup: 2024

FIFA Intercontinental Cup: 2024

England U17

Syrenka Cup: 2019

England

UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2020, 2024

FIFA World Cup third place: 2026

Individual

England Men's Player of the Year: 2024–25

Birmingham City Under-15/16 Goal of the Season: 2018

Birmingham City Special Achievement Award: 2018

Syrenka Cup Player of the Tournament: 2019

EFL Young Player of the Month: November 2019

Birmingham City Young Player of the Year: 2019–20

EFL Young Player of the Season: 2019–20

Championship Apprentice of the Year: 2019–20

Bundesliga Rookie of the Month: September 2020