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Young English international midfielder Jude Bellingham, who has recently moved to Real Madrid, revealed the reason for choosing to wear the No. 5 shirt, after he used to appear at No. 22 with his former teams, Borussia Dortmund and Birmingham City.
Bellingham, 19, completed his transfer to Madrid from Dortmund on Wednesday for 103 million euros ($112 million) plus more than 30% of the bonuses, under a 6-year contract.
🤩👕 The number 5️⃣ is adorned with the name Jude Bellingham!
🤍 @BellinghamJude#HeyJude | @adidasfootball pic.twitter.com/gjE5xNpRff– Real Madrid (@realmadridarab) June 15, 2023
During his presentation at the “Santiago Bernabeu” stadium, Thursday, accompanied by the president of the Royal Club, Florentino Perez, Bellingham said that he would wear the number 5 shirt in honor of the Real star and his former French coach, Zinedine Zidane.
And the young English player added, “I have said in many interviews how much I admire Zidane, and the legacy he left in the club with this number. I’m just trying. But this is definitely an appreciation of how great he is.”
He continued, “The number 22 has a lot of meaning for me, and in my heart I am still the number 22, only the number 5 on my back.”
It is noteworthy that Real Madrid defender, German international Antonio Rudiger, currently wears the number 22, while defender Jesús Vallejo carried the number 5, before he gave it up to Bellingham.
🌟 @BellinghamJude 🌟#HeyJude pic.twitter.com/QEJ1CJ4rMW
– Real Madrid (@realmadridarab) June 15, 2023
And Billingham, who will turn twenty on the 29th of this month, added that wearing Zidane’s shirt does not mean that he was trying to emulate the former “midfield maestro”, who won the Champions League 3 times as coach of Real Madrid.
And he continued, “The (Madrid) shirt in itself is enough pressure. For me it is somewhat a tribute to a great player, and perhaps I can extend the legacy of the number, rather than trying to reach it.”
The English international – who starred in the Qatar World Cup last winter – began his career at the age of 16 in Birmingham City, who decided to honor him by pulling his shirt after moving to Dortmund in 2020 for 25 million euros.
And he was chosen as the best player in the German League this season, after he almost led Dortmund to win the title, which he suffered in the last stage, on goal difference from the giants, Bayern Munich.
Jude Bellingham will wear the number 5 shirt at Real Madrid.
His idol was the legendary Zinedine Zidane 🤍 pic.twitter.com/o65c9JZbhs
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 15, 2023
The player – who became the second most expensive deal in Real’s history after Hazard – ignored questions about his large transfer fee, saying, “It doesn’t matter what return you brought here, the goal is the same, to help Real win titles and maintain being the largest club in the world.”
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