A grand total of 1,057 days separate the moment Birmingham City retired the No 22 from the day Jude Bellingham clutched Real Madrid’s iconic No 5 shirt at his unveiling.
A teenager from Stourbridge following in the footsteps of Zinedine Zidane. Just let that sink in.
“It is a homage to a player I appreciated growing up,” Bellingham, 19, said in Madrid on Thursday. “He was a great player, the best, but I’m trying to have my own path and extend the legacy of the number instead of trying to reach his.”
The number five may have been worn more recently by players including Raphael Varane and Fabio Cannavaro at Real, but it was made famous by the legendary Frenchman, the stencilled “5” adorning the back of the white jersey when time stood still and Zidane scored that volley in the 2002 Champions League final at Hampden Park.
Bellingham hadn’t even been born when Zidane broke Bayer Leverkusen’s hearts and was a few weeks away from celebrating his third birthday when the Frenchman bowed out of football in acrimony during the 2006 World Cup final. Apologies in advance for making any readers feel ancient.
THREAD: Great Champions League volleys!
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 2, 2021
1⃣ Zinédine Zidane's iconic effort in 2002 final@realmadriden | #UCL pic.twitter.com/Uwdswp6N0b
And Bellingham, aware of its history, was therefore thankful to incumbent Jesus Vallejo for relinquishing the number.
“I had some contact with him just to see if it was okay with him and he was a brilliant, brilliant guy, letting me wear it and just being so nice about it. I am very grateful to him,” he added.
“I have said in many interviews how much I admire Zinedine Zidane. The legacy within the club and this number. 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.
“As far as 22 is concerned it is a number I have worn and is a number that has a lot of meaning to me. In my heart I am still a 22 but just wearing five on the back. We will see what happens in the future, but, right now, I am just happy to have been given the honour of wearing that number.”
Birmingham faced widespread ridicule when retiring the No 22 shirt in July 2020 after Bellingham left for Borussia Dortmund.
The midfielder had only made his senior debut for Blues in August 2019, becoming their youngest-ever player at 16 years and 38 days, but ask anyone who coached or witnessed his talent and it was clear he was destined for great things.
“It would be fitting to retire this number, to remember one of our own and to inspire others,” Birmingham said at the time, adding that Bellingham showed “what can be achieved through talent, hard work and dedication”.
Few are laughing at the decision now. It spoke of Blues’ immense pride and also their supreme foresight, for just three years later he has become the most expensive British player ever in a deal that could reach more than £115m – a fee that Birmingham will take five per cent of.
And in Madrid, with essentially a whole career still ahead of him, Bellingham was saying all the right things, initially opting to open his press conference in Spanish before explaining why this was the proudest day of his life.
“It is the greatest football club in the history of the game,” said Bellingham. “Not many players get the opportunity to play at such a brilliant club, such a historic club, so I feel really grateful.
“And, like I said, I am thankful to the people who have brought me here and given me the opportunity to play for this team.”
Inevitably, there were questions about who could follow him through the door at the Bernabeu. “I can’t comment on that,” he said on the Harry Kane to Real Madrid rumours, and on Kylian Mbappe, pretty much the same: “I can’t really comment… I don’t know his situation. Would I like to play with a player like Kylian Mbappe? Who wouldn’t?”
What is perhaps most remarkable about Bellingham’s move at just 19 is that his six-year deal would only take him to 25, presenting the England international with an opportunity to either stay at Real for more than a decade, should performances warrant an extension, or to potentially make a second big-money move after what he hopes will be a spell loaded with silverware – and perhaps the Ballon d’Or too.
Either way, Bellingham is joining a midfield in transition, with Eduardo Camavinga (20), Aurelien Tchouameni (23) and Federico Valverde (24) also tasked with taking the baton from Luka Modric (37) and Toni Kroos (33) – two-thirds of the esteemed trio that won five Champions Leagues along with Casemiro, a pair who Bellingham intends to “annoy” in the coming months.
“I will just be like a sponge around them, trying to steal everything they have got,” Bellingham said. “They will probably be annoyed with me after the first week or so, but I can’t wait to learn from those guys.”
While immensely rewarding for those who seize the opportunity, the Bernabeu stage can also be unforgiving, as Gareth Bale witnessed during his nine-year spell. The Welshman was adored when overhead kicks sealed European glory, but jeered when injuries and below-par performances saw his importance to the side diminish.
Bale went on to depart Real last year, with Bellingham now the seventh men’s British player to join Los Blancos. Laurie Cunningham was the trailblazer and won the league with Real in 1980, as well as the Copa del Rey that same year and also in 1982. He would go on to marry a Spaniard, and tragically lost his life in Madrid after a car crash, aged just 33, in 1989.
Since Cunningham paved the way, the Brits who swapped England for Madrid are Steve McManaman (1999-2003), David Beckham (2003-07), Michael Owen (2004-05), Jonathan Woodgate (2004-07) and Bale (2013-22), while Caroline Weir currently plays for the women’s team.
Few and far between then, are Brits abroad in Spain (footballers, at least), but Bellingham knows that while a move to the Premier League can await, so too does greatness await at Real, providing his world-beating talent that Birmingham always knew was there can help them reclaim both La Liga and the Champions League.
“In the room where I signed the contract, with the trophies. That was the biggest one for me – all 14 of them [European Cup] trophies staring at you,” he added.
“You can’t wait to get your hands on one yourself. It was really exciting, very nice to look at and very motivating.
“Maybe it would be an easier option to go back to England – my native country – and live there and play there in the Premier League. But it is just I couldn’t turn down Real Madrid really.
“It felt like the right move for me. It wasn’t because the other clubs were bad. It was just because Real Madrid was where I wanted to be.”
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