During his first introduction at Real Madrid on Thursday, new signing Jude Bellingham stated that he would want to see Kylian Mbappe join him.
The 19-year-old midfielder has signed a six-year contract with Real Madrid and will wear the No. 5 shirt, which was formerly worn by his idol, Zinedine Zidane, next season.
Club president Florentino Perez named Bellingham “one of the best players in the world” during a function at the club’s Real Madrid City training centre, as the former Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund star posed for selfies before receiving questions from the media.
“I can’t really comment, I don’t know his situation,” Bellingham said when asked about Madrid’s links with Mbappe. “If anything, my whole saga has taught me that not everything you see is true.
“He’s a great player, whatever he chooses to do, all the best to him. Would I like to play with a player like Kylian Mbappe? Who wouldn’t?”
On Wednesday, Madrid confirmed the signing of the England midfielder for an initial fee of €103 million ($111 million), with a further €30 million ($32 million) due in variables.
“The reason I’ve said it’s the proudest day of my life is because it’s the greatest football club in the history of the game,” Bellingham said. “Not many players get the opportunity to play at such a brilliant, historic club. I feel really grateful.”
Madrid outbid Premier League clubs Manchester City and Liverpool for Bellingham.
“Money’s not a thing for me,” he said. “I don’t think about money at all when I make these kind of decisions. I spoke with people when I was given permission by Borussia Dortmund; I spoke to [Madrid chief scout] Juni [Calafat] and [managing director] Jose Angel [Sanchez], and I loved the feeling I got… It wasn’t the case that the other teams were bad; it’s just that, for me, Madrid are the greatest.”
He explained that he picked the No. 5 rather than his normal No. 22 because of Zidane’s relationship with it.
“I’ve said in many interviews how much I admire Zinedine Zidane,” Bellingham said. “I’m not trying to be the same as him, I’m just trying to be Jude, but it’s definitely a homage to how great he was.”
Bellingham is the sixth English player to sign for Madrid, following in the footsteps of Laurie Cunningham, Steve McManaman, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate.
Source: ESPN
