JUDE Bellingham's £90m move to Real Madrid in the summer was one of the highest-profile signings made in Europe's top five leagues - and the England international has got off to a flying start at the Bernabeu to match the price tag.
In his first ten matches the midfielder bagged a remarkable ten goals and three assists and, before the month of November was up, hit the 15-goal mark in all competitions.
To put it into some context, when he notched 14 goals in his first 15 games, it meant he'd netted more than anyone in the club's history in their opening 15 matches. The previous record (13) was held jointly by, among others, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alfredo Di Stefano!
Following a mammoth display in Europe against last season's Italian champions Napoli, Bellingham made it 19 goal contributions in 16 matches.
It's a staggering goal/assist record for a 20-year-old central midfielder, who has taken to life as a Galactico like a duck to agua.
Comparatively, in Eden Hazard's injury-plagued four seasons in Madrid, the Belgian attacker only managed seven goals. Bellingham has surpassed Hazard's goal tally already.
Another former Madridsta, Gareth Bale, believes "the sky is the limit" for Bellingham, who followed in the footsteps of the Welsh great by leaving England behind to ply his trade abroad.
Bellingham sparkled for Germany's Borussia Dortmund after leaving boyhood club Birmingham City in 2020 and is now shining even brighter at Madrid.
This story is from the January - February 2024 edition of Late Tackle Football Magazine.
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This story is from the January - February 2024 edition of Late Tackle Football Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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