Jude Bellingham says he wants to play with Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid
Holding up the same No. 5 shirt once donned by Zinedine Zidane, Jude Bellingham completed his move to Real Madrid on Thursday after signing a six-year deal with Europe's most successful club.
Bellingham posed with his new shirt before Madrid's packed trophy case after he passed a medical exam and signed the contract alongside club president Florentino Pérez.
"I have said in many interviews how much I admire Zinedine Zidane," Bellingham said about his new number after wearing 22 with his former clubs. "I am not trying to be the same as him, I am just trying to be Jude, but it is definitely a bit of a homage to how great he was."
Another one of Madrid's legendary numbers — the No. 7 — was given to Vinicius Jr. earlier this month, but that number could soon be Kylian Mbappe's. The French superstar has decided not to exercise the option to extend his contract to the 2024-25 season, which has reignited the rumors of him leaving for Real Madrid.
When Bellingham was asked about potentially teaming up with Mbappe, he was honest about his desire to add a talent of Mbappe's caliber.
"I can't really comment, I don't know his situation," Bellingham said of Mbappe. "He's a great player, whatever he chooses to do, all the best to him. Would I like to play with a player like Kylian Mbappe? Who wouldn't?"
Mbappe's contract is set to expire in 2024. He is currently valued at $197 million by Transfer Markt.
[Kylian Mbappe has reportedly told PSG he won't extend contract past 2024]
Despite reportedly being a transfer target for several top European clubs, including Manchester City and Manchester United, Bellingham opted to move to the Spanish club that has won the European Cup a record 14 times.
Pérez called Bellingham one of the "best players in the world" and underscored that while he had other clubs after him, "he is here because this is where he wanted to be."
Madrid did not confirm the transfer fee, but Dortmund said in a statement to the stock exchange last week that it could reach more than 130 million euros ($139 million).
His love for the elegance of the Zidane he watched as a child — combined with Madrid's winning pedigree — was key, Bellingham said, to ignoring calls from English clubs to come back home.
Zidane was a world champion with France, but he had his greatest success with a club at Madrid, where he won the Champions League as a player before coaching the team to three more.
And could there be just a touch of Zidane in those spin moves Bellingham used to slip past confounded defenders in the Bundesliga?
"I really admire Zidane and the legacy he has at this club with the No. 5," he said. "It's a number that inspires me."
Only 19 years old, Bellingham joins a youth movement at Madrid that includes 22-year-old Brazil forwards Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, French internationals Eduardo Camavinga (20) and Aurélien Tchouaméni (23), and Uruguay midfielder Federico Valverde (24).
While he won't be asked to replace the scoring void left by the exit of Karim Benzema, Bellingham may still have some very big boots to fill. Veteran midfielders Luka Modric, a former Ballon d'Or winner, and Toni Kroos, both have contracts that expire at the end of this month.
Bellingham said he would like to learn from Modric and Kroos.
"Their experience is huge and they will be great for me," he said. "I'll be like a sponge around them, trying to steal anything they've got."
Bellingham joined Dortmund from second-division English club Birmingham in 2020. His three-season stay at Dortmund ended after the team lost the German title to Bayern Munich on goal difference. He debuted for England in 2020 and has played 24 times for his national team.
Madrid has also made small deals to buy back former players Brahim Díaz and Fran García as it seeks to recover the Champions League and Spanish league titles that it relinquished last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
