Jude Bellingham, whose transfer to Real Madrid has finally been officialized, might not get to play for the LaLiga team with his desired jersey number.
Since he was a member of the Birmingham City junior academy, Bellingham has chosen to wear No. 22 throughout his club career. However, as of right now, Madrid has a defender named Antonio Rüdiger who has been sporting that number since he arrived from Chelsea last summer.
Bellingham, who can play in a variety of midfield positions, loves wearing No. 22, which combines his numbers 4, 8, and 10. Former Birmingham youth director Mike Dodds said to UK radio station TalkSPORT in 2021: "He would have been about 13 or 14 and like most kids his age, he was a bit of a nerd.
When his eyes glowed, we knew we had him for good. We stated that we believed he could play as a four or a holding midfielder. He may be a box-to-box [midfielder], which is an eight, as well as a scorer and an innovator, which is a ten. And you can see that in his playing, as he has maintained that throughout since he was 13 years old.
Bellingham made 44 first-team appearances for Birmingham before leaving for Borussia Dortmund in 2020, and the club retired his No. 22 jersey. Then, during the course of the last three seasons, the England player wore the number in each of his 132 games for Dortmund.
Possibility of Rüdiger switching?
Could Bellingham convince Rüdiger to give them the number? That outcome appears likely given that the German had never worn the shirt before arriving in Madrid and that it doesn't appear to have any special meaning for him.
Additionally, other summer transfer activity at the Bernabéu may force Rüdiger to switch numbers. With only four appearances for Los Blancos this season, center-back Jess Vallejo, who currently wears Madrid's No. 5 jersey, appears to be a leading possibility to leave the club in the offseason.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0