MADRID: New Real Madrid signing Jude Bellingham said he wanted to pay homage to club great Zinedine Zidane by wearing his number five shirt, at his presentation on Thursday in the Spanish capital.
The England international, 19, sealed his move to Madrid from Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday for 103 million euros ($112 million) plus up to 30 percent more in bonuses, on a six-year contract.
Bellingham spoke alongside Madrid president Florentino Perez and explained why he was opting to wear the number five shirt.
Defender Antonio Rudiger currently wears the number 22, which Bellingham has preferred to date through his career, as it is the sum of shirt numbers 10, eight and four, representing his versatility in midfield and wide skill-set.
“I’ve said in many interviews how much I admire Zinedine Zidane, the legacy he’s had at the club with this number — I’m just trying to be Jude, but it’s definitely a bit of a homage to how great he was,” Bellingham told a news conference.
“The number 22 has a big meaning for me, and in my heart I’m still number 22, just with the number 5 on my back.”
Bellingham said wearing Zidane’s previous shirt did not mean he was trying to emulate the French midfield maestro, who went on to win three Champions Leagues as Real Madrid’s manager.
“The (Madrid) shirt itself is enough pressure ... for me it’s a bit of homage to a great player,” said Bellingham.
“Maybe I can extend the legacy of the number, instead of trying to reach his.”
Bellingham has plenty of other reference points still at the club to learn from, including veteran midfielders Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.
“The things I’ll gain especially from the two older lads, Modric and Kroos, will be unbelievable, with their knowledge of the game,” said Bellingham.
“I’ll be like a sponge around them, trying to steal anything they’ve got. They’ll probably get annoyed with me.”
The England international, who shone at the Qatar World Cup last winter, broke through as a 16-year-old at Birmingham City, who retired his shirt number after he moved to Dortmund in 2020 for 25 million euros.
Bellingham said he had other options on the table but quickly decided Real Madrid was his best option.
He said he wanted to stay out of his comfort zone, even though a return to England would have been an easy choice to make.
“I’d always been aware of the interest from England, that’s pretty normal, but it was a bit of a surprise when my dad sat me down and told me, 12 to 15 months ago that you’ve had a bit of interest from Real Madrid,” said the midfielder.
“I had goosebumps, my heart was close to stopping. When that manifests itself it’s such an amazing feeling.”
Bellingham, who turns 20 in June, was named the player of the season in the Bundesliga as he led Dortmund to the verge of the title, although they were pipped by giants Bayern Munich on the final day of the season.
The player said both learning and winning trophies was his aim at Real Madrid, and brushed off questions about his large transfer fee.
“It doesn’t matter how much you come here for, the objective is the same, to help Real Madrid win trophies and keep being the biggest club in the world,” said Bellingham.
“I’m a footballer, not a lawyer or an accountant, my job is to play on the pitch.”
Bellingham paying ‘homage’ to Zidane with Madrid No 5 shirt
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Bellingham paying ‘homage’ to Zidane with Madrid No 5 shirt
- The England international sealed his move to Madrid from Borussia Dortmund for $112 million plus up to 30 percent more in bonuses
- Bellingham spoke alongside Madrid president Florentino Perez and explained why he was opting to wear the number five shirt
Hosts Morocco off to winning start at Africa Cup of Nations
- Soufiane Rahimi had a penalty saved in a frustrating first half for much-fancied Morocco
- Win saw Morocco, Africa’s best team in FIFA rankings in 11th place, to extend world-record winning run to 19 consecutive matches
RABAT: Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El-Kaabi scored second-half goals as hosts Morocco got their Africa Cup of Nations bid off to a winning start by beating minnows Comoros 2-0 in the tournament’s opening game on Sunday.
Soufiane Rahimi had a penalty saved in a frustrating first half for much-fancied Morocco, but Diaz fired home from inside the area 10 minutes after the interval at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital Rabat.
Substitute El-Kaabi then got the second with a stunning overhead kick, and the victory on a wet and cold night sets the Atlas Lions up for the potentially tougher tests to come in Group A against Mali and Zambia.
The result also allowed Morocco, Africa’s best team in the FIFA rankings in 11th place, to extend their world-record winning run to 19 consecutive matches.
The game was played out before a crowd of 60,180, with Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan — who appeared on the pitch ahead of kick-off — and FIFA president Gianni Infantino among those in attendance.
Morocco’s star man and captain Achraf Hakimi also ended up watching the entire game from the bench, with coach Walid Regragui preserving the Paris Saint-Germain full-back who has not played since suffering an ankle injury with his club at the start of November.
It looked set to be a long night for Comoros when Morocco won a penalty in the 10th minute as playmaker Diaz was tripped inside the box by Iyad Mohamed.
But Rahimi’s spot-kick was kept out by the legs of Yannick Pandor as the Comoros goalkeeper dived to his right, and the visitors then succeeded in thwarting their more illustrious hosts for the remainder of the first half.
- Stunning overhead kick -
However Morocco, who also saw veteran center-back Romain Saiss come off injured early on, succeeded in breaking down their opponents after half-time.
Comoros, the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago who are 108th in the world rankings, had their resistance ended as the opening goal arrived on 55 minutes.
Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui, starting at right-back with Hakimi not yet quite fully fit, picked up the ball on the right side of the penalty area and squared for Real Madrid’s Spanish-born number 10 Diaz to score.
Morocco, who had seen Neil El Aynaoui almost break the deadlock just before that, then saw space open up although Comoros had a chance of their own as Rafiki Said was denied when clean through on goal.
Mazraoui forced a good save from Pandor before El-Kaabi, of Greek giants Olympiakos, lit up the occasion by meeting a cross in from the left by Anass Salah-Eddine with a magnificent overhead bicycle kick to make it 2-0.
Morocco’s next game will be on Friday against Mali, who begin their campaign by taking on Zambia in Casablanca on Monday.
Elsewhere on Monday, South Africa face Angola in Marrakech before Mohamed Salah’s Egypt — the record seven-time African champions chasing a first title since 2010 — get their bid up and running against outsiders Zimbabwe in Agadir in Group B.
This latest edition of the Cup of Nations is the first to start in one year and end in another, with the final to take place in Rabat on January 18.
