The England international midfielder has looked a shadow of himself in the Spanish capital after a memorable debut year
Jude Bellingham was the next Zinedine Zidane. He had the number to prove it. Then, he was the next Cristiano Ronaldo. He had the goals to prove it. And now, 18 months later, he's struggling. After a magical first campaign in Madrid, the England midfielder has spluttered his way through his second. The sophomore slump is real.
This is nothing new, of course. It is not uncommon for footballers to experience periods of difficulty, whether they're world-class and in their prime, or still figuring out their way in the professional world – the irony is that Bellingham is both. The key difference, though, is that Bellingham was brilliant last year, and he plays for Real Madrid. This is not a club that tends to allow you to take a few games off, never mind endure an entire turbulent campaign.
Bellingham knows this. He is too seasoned by the Madrid sun, too aware of the highs and lows that come with wearing Madrid white. Still, he has been truly woeful at times. His goals are well down, while he spends much of his time on the pitch cutting a frustrated figure, a player who is simply not enjoying this sport as much as he once did.
The reasons for Bellingham's struggles could be multiple. The obvious one is the introduction of Kylian Mbappe to this side, the footballing equivalent of taking a really nice pasta dish and grating in a high end truffle. Intriguing? Sure. Necessary? Absolutely not. It has thrown everything out of whack, and Bellingham is perhaps the one who has suffered the most. Some of it is also down to him. Individual performances have been lacking. That fact cannot be avoided. And perhaps more broadly, there is a real cloud around Madrid at the moment. The vibes are bad. The trophies aren't here.
Perfect time, then, for them to be playing Barcelona in what is surely the biggest game of the season, a Liga clash that could either redeem Bellingham's second season or ensure that it was a campaign to forget.
AFPA slow start
Immediately, the criticisms came. In fairness, we could all see it coming. At its most fundamental form it's a mathematical equation. Real Madrid were always going to score lots of goals. Vinicius Jr was going to score a lot – but not so many, as we have since found out. Kylian Mbappe was going to score more. Rodrygo would get a few, too. A withdrawn Bellingham was always going to be finding the net less.
The issue was, he didn't quite know where he was supposed to be. While Vinicius and Mbappe were doing a pretty good job of getting in each other's way, Bellingham tried to occupy the spaces in between. He did a lot of selfless running, trying to occupy defenders and, at times, outright staying away from the goal. There were already too many cooks in the kitchen – Madrid didn't need another. The issue is, this isn't a club where you get credit for selflessness, or the runs you make to free up space for others. Playing in the Spanish capital is a results-based business, and Bellingham wasn't finding the net.
This, of course, ran in stark contrast to his debut season, where he was, at one point, on pace for 40 goals. He broke records set by Cristiano Ronaldo. His first three months were arguably the best of any Madrid signing . There was always going to be something of a drop off, with Ancelotti defending him ardently at the start of the season.
"He is contributing with work, which is very important for us. Last year it was crucial that he scored goals because we had lost an important striker like Benzema. We don’t have that problem this year because we have a player who can score 45 goals," the manager said in October.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesFinding form
But running isn't sexy in a stats-based world. Bellingham is a brand. He's a celebration, a moment, a bicycle kick to save his country in the Euros, a 30-yard banger to win El Clasico. These are the moments that defined his debut season. And for a while, they were gone.
The best way to silence his critics, it turned out, was to find his mojo again. And he did so in style. He found the net for the first time in 12 contests with a delightful lob against Osasuna on November 9. Even he seemed to know it was a big moment, taking to Instagram to thank fans for their support.
"Even in sh*t times, giving up is not an option. Madridistas, thank you for your incredible support in the good moments and the bad ones," he said following Los Blancos' win.
And then the swagger came back. Bellingham found the net for five straight games – becoming the first Madridista to achieve the feat since Benzema. He provided arguably his biggest moment of the season to date to cap off the streak, a dazzling run and finish against Atalanta to drag Los Blancos into the Champions League knockouts after a dismal start to the European campaign. Injuries only bolstered his numbers. Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo all missed matches, allowing Bellingham to get into more advanced areas. The results were clear to see.
gettyNew Year struggles
Then the good vibes petered out. it's hard to pinpoint an exact moment where it all went wrong. Certainly, the return of Vinicius, Rodrygo and Mbappe left Madrid asking tactical questions once again. But Bellingham was reduced back to a runner, and lost his swagger in front of goal. He missed a few chances, and tried to do too much when he had the ball. The Supercopa de Espana final summed it all up, where the Englishman was run ragged by the Barcelona midfield in a 5-2 battering. He was hammered by fans on social media, and blamed for the defeat, never mind that Vinicius went missing, while Lucas Vazquez was torn apart by Raphinha.
And then came the most baffling moment of Madrid's season. For the millionth time, it does not really matter if Bellingham told a referee to "f*ck off" or said "f*ck you." The fact remains that he singled out an official and went out of his way to say something that is against the rules of the game. That is where the story should end. Bellingham was sent off, and Spanish media went wild. Ultimately, though, rules are rules. The red card was deserved. It all became layered into one massive refereeing debate in Madrid, the club's TV channel using it as further ammunition for the alleged Spanish football federation's agenda against them. True or not – Bellingham made a mistake.
It's one that he hasn't recovered from. He was banned for two matches, and never quite found his best after. In the three months since that incident, he has found the net just twice. Los Blancos have struggled around him, and Bellingham has looked lost.
(C)Getty imagesWho's to blame?
These are problems that can – and will – plague any professional athlete at some point. Bellingham, remember, is not yet 22 years old. He is still immensely talented for his age, and a true superstar. If he isn't the best centre midfielder in the world, there aren't many that are genuinely better than him. This season, it seems to have been a perfect storm of incidents that have seen his form drop off.
Madrid's problems start and end with Mbappe. The forward has thrown a massive spanner into the harmony of this Madrid side. Suddenly, a whole team has to buckle at the ego of one French superstar. He might score 45 goals, but Mbappe is a problem, and he does not make Madrid better. Bellingham is covering all of the ground that his team-mate refuses to. It's an immediate disadvantage. There are other issues, too. Ancelotti, for all of his managerial wisdom, has tinkered with his Blancos system relentlessly, most recently resigning himself to fate, setting up in a 4-4-2, and trusting that everyone else will work hard while Vinicius and Mbappe chill out up front. What, exactly, is Bellingham supposed to do with that?
Combine that with a few knocks, a shoulder injury that won't go away, and increased scrutiny into his personal life, and it must be admittedly difficult to be Bellingham at the moment – especially after his boy-wonder status last year.
