Jude Bellingham records and stats: How brilliant is the Real Madrid and England midfielder?

Having left his native Birmingham for Dortmund in 2020, Jude Bellingham has blossomed into one of Europe's finest midfield talents.

The 21-year-old is now catching the eye in the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, winning the trophy at the end of his first season at the club, and is an integral cog of an England side that nearly ended a 58-year wait for a EURO/World Cup in the summer. Find out all about him.

What they say

Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach: "This maturity that he has, he makes us forget that he's 20 years old. He's learned very quickly, and he's very happy to be here and is enjoying his time, but always with his feet on the ground and very serious and professional."

Luka Modrić, Real Madrid midfielder: "He exudes personality, character. It's no coincidence that he has adapted so well. He's a top boy, with an extraordinary talent. I don't think even he can believe he's scoring so many goals. I congratulate him and I hope he keeps going; he can't slow down!"

Phil Foden, England midfielder: "He's one of the most gifted players I've ever seen. I don't see a weakness in his game. I think he's got everything. I'm sure he's going to be one of the best midfielders in the world."

Edin Terzić, ex-Dortmund coach: "Borussia Dortmund are well known for developing talent, but Jude, at the age of 19… [he was] the oldest 19-year-old I've ever seen."

Pep Guardiola, Man City coach, after facing Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2021: "Maybe he's a liar [about his age]. He's so good for 17 years old: he's a fantastic player. There was one moment when he didn't get the ball from the central defenders. How he shouts and demands the ball to him at 17 means a lot."

Roy Keane, former Man United midfielder: "The potential for this kid is scary. He is a good size; he looks like a footballer, he looks like a boxer. He is a strong, powerful boy."

Chris Sutton, former England forward: "He makes things look so easy. I remember watching Gazza [Paul Gascoigne] play at Carrow Road and it was like he was playing in his back garden, miles ahead of anything else on the pitch. That's what it's like watching Bellingham. I think he's probably the most exciting prospect I can remember in my lifetime."

Gareth Southgate, ex-England manager: "Jude is in the bracket we love – high performance, low maintenance. He wants to improve. He's an open book in terms of suggesting things that can help his game. In terms of receiving and retaining information, he's really good."

Bellingham in action for Birmingham in July 2020Getty Images

Bellingham's goals and appearances

International: 36 appearances, five goals
UEFA club competition: 36 appearances, 12 goals
Domestic competition: 182 appearances, 39 goals

Statistics up to 15 July 2024

Bellingham's claims to fame

Birmingham City

• First signed to join Birmingham's Under-8 side, Bellingham was playing for the U18s at 14 and the U23s by 15. He became the club's youngest debutant, playing in a League Cup game aged 16 years 38 days, before becoming their youngest scorer (aged 16 years 63 days) in a 2-1 league win against Stoke.

• Following confirmation of the player's move to Dortmund in 2020 after one full season in the first team, Birmingham retired Bellingham's No22 shirt "to remember one of our own and to inspire others". He wore No22 because one of his coaches at Birmingham said he had the skill-set to be a No10, a No8 and a No4; 10+8+4=22!

Dortmund

• Bellingham scored on his Dortmund debut against third-tier MSV Duisburg in the German Cup. Aged 17 years 77 days at the time, that made him BVB's youngest-ever goalscorer in a competitive fixture (a record that has since been broken by Youssoufa Moukoko).

• Made his Champions League debut against Lazio in October 2020, when he was just 17 years 113 days old. He remains the youngest Englishman to start a game in the competition.

• Bellingham opened his Champions League account in the 2020/21 quarter-final second leg against Manchester City, making him Dortmund's youngest scorer in the competition and the youngest English player to find the net in the tournament (17 years 289 days).

• In October 2022, Bellingham became the third-youngest player to captain a Champions League side when he was given the armband in Dortmund's 4-1 group stage victory against Sevilla. He also became the youngest captain to score in a Champions League fixture.

• Scored in each of his first four Champions League appearances in 2022/23, becoming just the third teenager – after Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland – to find the net in four consecutive games in the competition.

• In February 2023, aged 19 years 235 days, Bellingham became the youngest player to reach 50 Bundesliga victories after helping Dortmund to a 4-1 triumph against Hertha Berlin.

• Dortmund missed out on the 2022/23 Bundesliga title as they slipped up on the final day, but Bellingham was voted the league's Player of the Season after being included in the competition's Team of the Year.

Real Madrid

• He made a high-profile move to Real Madrid in June 2023, but made sure BVB fans knew that he appreciated his time at the club, writing: "Even though I look forward to my next destination, I will never forget the journey there. Once a Borusse, always a Borusse."

• Became the fourth player to score on his both his La Liga and Champions League debut for the club in the 21st century, after Cristiano Ronaldo (2009), Isco (2013) and Marco Asensio (2016).

• Scored at Braga on Matchday 3 to become only the second player to score in his first three Champions League games for the club after Christian Karembeu in 1998.

• Scored a terrific equaliser and then scored the winner in his first Clásico, a 2-1 success against Barcelona on 28 October 2023.

• Won the Kopa Trophy as the world's top U21 player and said: "To win this trophy means a lot but for me the important thing is team trophies and the important thing for me is to kick on and help Real Madrid and England win trophies for many years."

• Enjoyed a stellar first season in Spain, scoring a career-best 19 goals to help Madrid to the La Liga title and crowning his campaign with an assist in the 2-0 defeat of former club Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley.

England

• Handed his first senior England appearance in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in November 2020, Bellingham became the Three Lions' third-youngest full international (17 years 136 days) after Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney.

• In 2021, he became the youngest player to appear in a EURO finals tournament (17 years 349 days) when he replaced Harry Kane for the final eight minutes of England's triumph against Croatia at Wembley. Poland's Kacper Kozłowski (17 years 246 days) set a new benchmark just six days later.

• That cameo against Croatia made Bellingham the youngest England player to feature at a major tournament.

• He was 18 years and four days old when he appeared in England's EURO 2020 quarter-final defeat of Ukraine, making him the youngest player to feature in a EURO knockout game.

• Bellingham became the youngest player to score for England at a World Cup when he registered his first senior international goal against Iran at the 2022 finals.

• He then became the youngest player to appear in two EURO final tournaments and two EURO quarter-finals in helping England reach the EURO 2024 final.

What you might not know

• Bellingham's father Mark was a policeman and an extremely prolific scorer in non-league football. In 2016, at the age of 40, he scored what he thought was the 700th goal of his career while playing for Paget Rangers. "I've managed my ability well," he explained. "I've always said I'm not that great a player and although I'm still scoring, I am playing at Step 7 [the 11th level of English football]."

• Aged 10, Bellingham wrote in an essay at Hagley Primary School, near Stourbridge, that he wanted to play for England when he grew up. His former head teacher Vanessa Payne said of him: "He was kind, he was thoughtful and he was a good sport – and he was just somebody people wanted to be around."

• Now at Sunderland, Jude's younger brother Jobe was also a Birmingham player, making his senior debut for the club as a 16-year-old in 2022. The brothers honed their skills together, as Jude told UEFA.com: "We had a patch of grass outside the house that we'd always go and play on. We'd be out there from the morning until night, especially in the summer when we didn't have school, and they would always end with us two as best mates or the worst enemies ever, really. The amount of times we came in with tears streaming down our faces are countless. Every game we played, we always said it was the Champions League final."

• Bellingham's footballing idol was England midfielder Steven Gerrard, who was so keen to persuade Bellingham to join Liverpool in the summer of 2023 that he offered to go out and visit him in Germany, explaining: "I'll fly to Dortmund personally, take him out for a nice dinner, and we'll talk about it!"

• The player's mother Denise helped to look after him following his move to Germany and saved him from embarrassment as BVB held a training camp in Marbella in early 2023, driving to the airport to bring him his passport after he realised he had left it behind.

• His room-mate on England duty is Chelsea right-back Reece James. The pair remain on good terms despite a mistimed challenge Bellingham put in on James in the 2022/23 Champions League round of 16. 

• Fellow Real Madrid new arrival Joselu was moderately impressed with Bellingham's attempts to learn a new language. "He's already slurring and trying to say things," said the striker in October 2023. "He's quite funny in that sense."

What he says

"People are always saying to me how mature I am and I don't really see it, personally. I've won maybe one trophy in my career and it's not enough, really. I want to win way more, and I want to continue to push the boundaries of my own potential and talent."

"For me, it's brilliant to play in [the Champions League]. It's a huge honour. I think I've taken every game in my stride. All of my best performances in BVB colours [came] in the Champions League."

"[Madrid's senior players] always said to me to enjoy the first one, a feeling like no other when you get to the top of the mountain. Never forget your first. They have told me all week. Dortmund had the better of the game, the better chances, but if you don't kill us then we will come back. Champions of Europe, can't get any better than that."

"You create the pressure yourself through lack of preparation and confidence. Luckily, I don't lack confidence and I always try and stay prepared. I'm always quite confident that I can achieve the things I want to achieve."

"If there was one feeling that I got after the defeat [by France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals], and in that moment when I couldn't keep my emotions to myself, it was: I've got to get one [international trophy]. Whether it's the World Cup or EURO. The mentality for me is I've got to get one."