- Jude Bellingham has scored 21 goals since joining Real Madrid last summer
- He joined for £113m and has guided the Spanish giants to the top of LaLiga
- Does Mo Salah regret not leaving Liverpool last summer? Is he now risking tarnishing his Liverpool career? Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off! podcast
Steve McManaman believes Jude Bellingham has had a ‘greater impact’ on the club compared to three Los Blancos legends Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario and Luis Figo.
The English midfielder joined the Spanish outfit from Borussia Dortmund for £113million and has seemingly taken the mantle of playing for one of the world’s biggest football clubs in his stride, at the mere age of 20.
Bellingham has dazzled this season, scoring 17 goals in LaLiga, to guide Madrid to the top of the Spanish top flight.
He has also scored three goals in two El Clasico matches and also helped Madrid clinch silverware, winning the Super Copa.
McManaman, who made 158 appearances for Madrid in all competitions, lumped praise on the English midfielder, claiming he has had a greater impact on the Real dressing room compared to the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario when they initially joined the club.
Steve McManaman has lumped praise on Real Madrid’s star midfielder Jude Bellingham
He claimed Bellingham has had more influence on Real Madrid than Zinedine Zidane (pictured)
‘Luis Figo came into the dressing room,’ McManaman said to TNT Sports. ‘R9 [Ronaldo Nazario], ‘El Phenomeno’ came into the dressing room. Zizou [Zinedine Zidane] came into the dressing room.
‘Nobody has had an impact like he has [Bellingham] and he’s done it at the age of 20 year old. It’s phenomenal.’
Zidane notably won the Champions League with Madrid as both a player and a manager.
Figo, meanwhile, won two LaLiga titles with Madrid and the 2002 Champions League, while Ronaldo scored 103 goals across 177 appearances for Los Blancos, winning two league titles.
Bellingham has also helped Madrid win the Spanish Super Copa this season and guided Madrid to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Owen Hargreaves, also speaking to TNT Sports, added that Bellingham’s overall demeanour shows just how mature he is as a player.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player do that,’ Hargreaves said to TNT Sports, when asked on how hard it can be to walk into any dressing room let alone Real Madrid’s
‘I mean to take on Zidane’s No 5 – one of the most iconic players ever at Real Madrid. The thing about Jude is that his talent is so undeniably special.
‘His body language and the way he carries himself and the way he walks onto the pitch and the way he walks into the dressing room you would never see a 19-20-year-old do that. He’s so authentic that the guys can tell….
‘And then he plays like he does and you can see that the guy’s really special.’
