Antonio praise for Bellingham
JUDE Bellingham has been hailed as a future England captain by Real Madrid team-mate Antonio Rudiger.
Bellingham, who joined Real from Borussia Dortmund last summer for €135 million, has had a sensational first season with the Spanish giants.
The 20-year-old has scored 20 goals and provided 10 assists, with Real eight points clear at the top of La Liga and taking on holders Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals tonight.
Rudiger admitted he knew little about Bellingham when he joined Real, but said he has been impressed by his maturity and is convinced he will one day be a leader of his country.
Asked if he was surprised at the ease with which Bellingham had adapted to life at Real, Rudiger said:
“At the beginning I was a bit surprised. I didn’t know much about him, to be honest.
“But — wow! — he’s a big personality in our locker room and that’s massive.
“The way he handles himself is very good.
“He’s only 20, but if you talk to him you feel like this guy has already seen everything in life.
“He’s very mature, so I’m not surprised anymore.
“I’m sure he’ll be a leader for you guys [England].
“He’s just professional in everything he does. “He’s a good lad.
“We don’t need to talk about the skills, just hope and pray he stays healthy.
“I’m not worried for him outside of the pitch, because he has great parents who keep his feet on the ground. You have a fantastic player.”
Real boss Carlo Ancelotti admitted he, too, was surprised by Bellingham’s maturity, given the midfielder had just turned 20 when he joined the 14-time European champions.
“The key point is that he’s really mature,” said Ancelotti. “He’s only 20 years old, but he’s more mature than his age. He’s really professional, really humble.
Mature
“We were not surprised with him as a player, but as a person we were surprised in that sense.
“For his age, he’s really mature.”
Bellingham has thrived at Real, playing in a more advanced attacking role, ostensibly as a No 10, which Ancelotti believes has brought out the best in the young superstar.
“Jude has a fantastic ability to arrive in the box at the right time,” said Ancelotti.
“This is why he has scored a lot of goals and helped us a lot.
“He has the ability to do that because physically he’s really strong and he’s helping us a lot on the defensive aspect.
“He’s doing a lot in front with his mobility to create space and create opportunities for us.”