Former England Players Give Their View On Jude Bellingham
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It does not feel too far-fetched to say that Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham is one of the most polarising players in football. His on-pitch performances cause debate. His off-pitch behaviour causes debate. His body of work for England causes debate. His body of work for Real Madrid causes debate.
Some of the talk can be justified as a healthy debate, particularly when talking about on-pitch matters. However, much of the discourse is very disingenuous, especially when it comes to how he is off the pitch.
Nevertheless, with the 2026 World Cup set to kick off in just five months, one of the big talking points in football media is England's starting XI. Within that, there is a lot of discussion around Bellingham and whether or not he should be in the team.
Under previous manager Gareth Southgate, there was little debate over his place in the side. The only time the 22-year old was on the bench for a major tournament was Euro 2020, a competition he turned 18 midway through. Even then, he briefly became the youngest ever player to play at Euros when he came on against Croatia in the group stages.
Since then, Bellingham started all 12 games at World Cup 2022 and Euro 2024, scoring three goals and providing an assist in those games. He was seen as one of the non-negotiables in the starting XI. His spot in the team was barely a talking point.
Between the World Cup in 2022 and the Euros in 2024, Cole Palmer emerged as a superstar at Chelsea. Yet, with the season Bellingham had just had in the Spanish capital, it was clear that he would remain the starting number ten in Germany. The two even combined for England's goal in the final.
So, one emerging player batted out of the way. The 18 months since have not been quite as smooth for Palmer. However, they have not been as smooth for Bellingham either. Although he has generally played pretty well, he has not reached the heights of his debut season in Spain.
Coupled with the emergence of Morgan Rogers - a childhood friend of Real Madrid's number five - and you have a big, nationwide debate. Many fans have called for Rogers to start in that number ten role.
Back in November, after Bellingham was recalled to the England squad for the first time since surgery, Tuchel still opted to start the Aston Villa midfielder in a World Cup qualifier at home to Serbia. For the next game, away to Albania, Bellingham was recalled to the XI, but it still felt telling that Tuchel hadn't opted to do so in the first game.
Former players speak positively about Jude Bellingham
This increased the debate tenfold. It was already boiling before that game, but it became a huge talking point afterwards. Earlier this week, former Real Madrid winger Steve McManaman, Steven Gerrard, Joleon Lescott, Darren Fletcher, and Ally McCoist were talking on TNT Sports about England at the World Cup.
As expected, Bellingham came up in the discussion. Fletcher asked if Rogers has moved ahead of Bellingham in Tuchel's eyes, with McManaman and Gerrard both suggesting that wasn't the case. The former explained:
"I think what happens is that in England, we don't watch La Liga a lot, [but] I see La Liga a lot, and in a Real Madrid team that are struggling, Jude Bellingham is still exceptional. I mean, he's young and is an exceptional footballer. His ability on the ball and what you can see when he's at close quarters, when he's on the ball, and what he can do... not many people can do that.Steve McManaman
"With all respect, if you're a next [up and coming] footballer and you watch what he can do and see him, it's just really, really nice to do and not many people can do that. So you know, there's something about him that makes him stand out from other people."Steve McManaman
Gerrard concurred, saying:
"If he's fully fit and in the zone, he plays in my team. All day long, he's got something up there [mentally] that not many players have got. As of today, yes [a midfield three of Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson and Bellingham]."Steven Gerrard
It is clear that both McManaman and Gerrard see the Real Madrid man as a starter under Tuchel - at least in their opinion. It is refreshing to see Bellingham being backed by such high-profile players in the English media.
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Tom Vinall is a sports writer covering Real Madrid On SI. Previously, he had worked at FanSided as both a contributor and site expert, covering the likes of Spurs and Bayern Munich. He has also previously written for Transfer News Live. Tom was born and lives in Bristol, South West England, and loves to listen to music as well as learning Spanish.
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