Jude Bellingham, the 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund superstar, has made a £88.5million deal with Real Madrid official, which could reach £115m. Bellingham is no ordinary teenager, with 176 senior appearances to his name and 24 England caps. However, despite his obvious superstar status and Galactico pedigree at such a young age, he still doesn’t quite compare to David Beckham.
Beckham was a certified superstar when he made the trip from Manchester United to the Bernabeu in 2003, and it didn’t take long to see why Real were so keen to pay a then whopping €37m for his services. Instead of taking his customary no.7 shirt which was owned by Raul, Beckham went for 23 due to his admiration for Michael Jordan, and despite the late number reveal, shirts still went flying off the hook.
Real Madrid’s interest in English players is not new. Speaking to The Times, the then-Real president Ramon Calderon said: “We knew that English players are very important for the Asian market. When we introduced him [Beckham] to the press it was in 2003, nearly 1,000 journalists came. We did that at 11am because he could make the broadcast news in Asia where he is very popular. That day we sold 8,000 shirts. The idea was that those players really gave a lot of interest from around the world and that could attract the sponsor to be on the shirt.”
Capitalising on the huge interest in Asia even further, Beckham and Real soon jetted off to their first ever pre-season tour of the continent. Arriving in the Kunming Airport in south China in July, Beckham was surrounded by an astonishing cast of stars including Iker Casillas, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Luis Figo. Yet despite that, all the locals cared about was the ponytailed Englishman. An adidas spokesperson added: “Put Beckham’s name on any product and Real Madrid didn’t stop selling.”
For Bellingham, he’s set to face similar number drama as his trademark no.22 is currently owned by Antonio Rudiger, meaning printers will be on the ready for an official announcement all across Asia.
Headings:
1. Introduction
2. Bellingham’s Real Madrid deal
3. Bellingham’s superstar status
4. Beckham’s move to Real Madrid
5. Beckham’s impact on the Asian market
6. Beckham’s pre-season tour of Asia
7. Bellingham’s number drama
In conclusion, Bellingham has a lot to live up to as he follows in the footsteps of David Beckham, who was a certified superstar when he made the trip from Manchester United to the Bernabeu in 2003. Real Madrid’s interest in English players is not new, and Beckham’s popularity in Asia was a huge factor in his transfer. Bellingham is set to face similar number drama as his trademark no.22 is currently owned by Antonio Rudiger, but with his talent and potential, he could become the next big thing at Real Madrid.