‘IT’S A NO-BRAINER’
deal worth up to £115million. Ahead of tonight’s quarter-final, second-leg clash at the Etihad Stadium, Bellingham (below) said: “I had good chats with clubs, including Dortmund.
“My family were great because it’s difficult, while you’re still in the season, to take in the information and process it and still have to play at the weekend or in the Champions League.
“I spoke with other teams, but when Madrid came in, it was a no-brainer really. The size of the club, the project, the plan going forward, the chance to play with such amazing players.
“I just jumped at it.” He has thrived at Real, with 20 goals and 10 assists, helping them to an eight-point lead at the top of La Liga.
And he reserved special praise for Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, for helping him take a more advanced position, which has enabled him to score so many goals. He said: “A sign of a good manager is that he makes you believe you’re better than you were before.
“He gives me freedom to roam the pitch and he’s a top person. He makes you feel comfortable. He’s been amazing at helping me adapt and understand my own potential.
“It’s my first time playing as a No.10. At Dortmund I was deeper and at Birmingham I was all over the place, so it’s down to him I’ve had the start I’ve had at Madrid.
“My game is more than goals. I love scoring goals, but I can affect the game in different ways. I didn’t expect to score so many goals, but now I’m here, I want to take on that responsibility.”
But the
England star has called on football’s authorities to do more to address the
“disgusting” racist abuse suffered by players. Team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni was abused after scoring the winner in a 1-0 win at Mallorca at the weekend.
And Bellingham said racism is so commonplace in Spain that he was not even aware of the latest episode at the time.
“I didn’t even know, to be honest,” said Bellingham.
“In the games where we go away, in La Liga especially, you almost get so used to it that I wasn’t even aware of the incident.
“That is a massive problem in itself.
“More has to be done, whether it’s the punishment and how you react to it or how you move proactively to this kind of thing. No one deserves that. It’s definitely a call-out for the people who are in charge to take control.”