Ruud Gullit Comes To Defence Of Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham
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Over recent months, there has been plenty of noise regarding Real Madrid's number five, Jude Bellingham.
During the November international break, there appeared to be a witch hunt regarding the 22-year-old from the English media. After a 2-0 win over Albania, a journalist told Thomas Tuchel that he had not celebrated England's second goal, despite clear evidence to the contrary.
Such was the scapegoating of Bellingham, English football legend Ian Wright passionately came to his defence on the Stick to Football podcast.
Ruud Guillit Follow Ian Wright In Support Of Jude Bellingham
Well, now another legend of the game has defended Belllingham. Indeed, when speaking on beIN Sports, Ruud Gullit showed his support for the Real Madrid man, who he believes has been scapegoated: "Mbappe is not doing a lot when he doesn't have the ball, nor Vinicius and Rodrygo.
"Mbappe is not doing a lot when he doesn't have the ball, nor Vinicius and Rodrygo. A whole lot of others have to work double [as hard], Bellingham is a victim of that. Yeah [I think so], because he can't play in the same way as he did when Kroos was there in the midfield, Valverde was there in the midfield. Then [as a result] they had balance in there.Ruud Gullit
In response, Richard Keys said "he's an agitator, not a victim - there's a reason Thomas Tuchel won't pick him." to which Gullit responded: "That's a ridiculous suggestion. He's the best player they have."
Provokingly, Keys then said "his attitude is wrong" and asked why two senior England players (allegedly) don't want him around, to which the Dutch legend said: "He works very hard for the team. A year ago, they were also talking about Kane not being in the national team. He's the top scorer you've ever had.
There's always somebody who has an opinion. But, Bellingham is a certainty [starter] in the national team, and if you don't do that [start him], that's the wrong decision for me."
It's good to see such a legendary midfielder come to the defence of the Englishman. It is crazy that he has more support from the media outside England than in his own country. It is very similar for Kane and several other Three Lions players over the years.
On that note, it is worth remembering that last month Kane confirmed that the Real Madrid number five was part of the new-look England leadership group, alongside himself and three other players.
The point he makes about Kroos is interesting. With the German, Bellingham was able to stay more advanced and get the ball in the final third. Now, he has to drop deeper to get the ball in areas where he can do less damage. Furthermore, there are simply more forwards on the pitch than in his first season at Real Madrid. There is less space for him as a result.
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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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