Jude Bellingham is looking to inspire Real Madrid to European glory in the upcoming Champions League final at Wembley.
The Englishman has enjoyed a remarkable debut season in the Spanish capital, registering 23 goals and 12 assists in all competitions from midfield, and helping his side to LaLiga glory.
Bellingham is hungry for more success after landing his first league title in SpainCredit: Getty
Bellingham now has the opportunity to round off a dream campaign by delivering a staggering 15th Champions League trophy for Real with victory over Borussia Dortmund in the decisive encounter.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team are firm favourites heading into the clash and have history on their side, having lifted the competition trophy five times in the last 10 years.
And should the 20-year-old earn his first piece of European silverware against his former team, he could look to emulate an all-time great by kickstarting yet another era of dominance for his club.
When Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Los Blancos for a then world-record transfer fee of £80m in the summer of 2009, expectations were high.
The Spanish giants were hopeful the Portuguese icon would be able to guide them to ‘La Decima’- their 10th Champions League title, after seven years without success in their favourite competition.
And it’s fair to say that Ronaldo had more than surpassed this target by the time he departed Madrid for Juventus in 2018.
His final season at the club culminated in Real scooping their fourth European Cup in five years, having long ended a 12-year wait for tournament glory when they lifted the trophy in 2014.
There can be little doubt that Ronaldo was the talisman throughout this glorious period, as he topped the tournament goalscoring charts in each of these years.
Ronaldo’s world record transfer fee stood for four years, before Real signed Welsh star Gareth Bale in 2013Credit: AFP
The sporting icon added four Champions League titles to his previous 2008 medal with Manchester United whilst in MadridCredit: Getty
In fact, the same can be said about the 39-year-old’s entire stay in the capital, who left the club having scored the most goals in their history, with 450 strikes in just 438 games.
He also won four of his five Ballons d’Or whilst at Madrid, becoming one of football’s all-time greats in the process.
While Ronaldo was the star in his nine years at the Santiago Bernabeu, he was not short of world class teammates alongside him as the club soared to new heights.
The forward formed a devastating attacking trio with Gareth Bale and 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema.
Elsewhere, legendary defender Sergio Ramos and midfield maestros Luka Modric and Toni Kroos brought both security and stability to one of football’s most feared starting line-ups.
And if Bellingham is to take the reigns from Ronaldo as Real’s next modern-day hero, he certainly possesses similarly gifted players around him to do so.
While the 39-year-old Modric and a retiring Kroos may both be in the twilight stages of their careers, it is Los Blancos’ younger talent which leaves fans with huge optimism about the future.
Bellingham is one of a number of exciting players under 25 at the LaLiga champions, which includes Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni.
Brazilian wonderkid Endrick is also set the join their ranks in July 2024, meaning there is every chance that Ancelotti’s group could go on to dominate Europe for years to come.
With recent history suggesting that Madrid are fond of having a figurehead to steer them to success, the English midfielder does not have to look far for inspiration in this respect.