Jude Bellingham names Lee Bowyer and Zinédine Zidane among his footballing icons

After winning the Kopa Trophy, Jude Bellingham (20) gave a wide-ranging interview with France Football, in which he named players from Birmingham City’s League Cup winning side, as well as Real Madrid legend Zinédine Zidane as some of his footballing legends when growing up. 

Bellingham succeeded Gavi in winning the prestigious Kopa Trophy at the end of October. The Englishman has seen a meteoric rise in recent months, consolidating his place in the England setup before getting a big-money summer move to Real Madrid. He already has 13 goals in 14 games for the La Liga side. 

He beat players such as Jamal Musiala, Pedir and Eduardo Camavinga to win the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best player in the world under the age of 21. 

Bellingham discovered Zidane on YouTube

Bellingham, who is from Birmingham and came through the ranks at Birmingham City, has spoken about his footballing icons. Naturally, some of the players involved in the club’s League Cup triumph in 2011 feature on his list. “I admired the Birmingham players. My heroes were Seb Larsson, Craig Gardner, Lee Bowyer […] after that, my first models with Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard because they played in England,” began the England international. 

“As I grew up, I started to watch the game more. My Dad had this replica shirt of Zidane that he bought at the beach and he wore it everywhere and at home. One day, I asked, ‘Who is this guy?’ and he said, ‘Go on YouTube and take a look.’ I haven’t stopped since. Zidane represented the player that I wanted to be,” added Bellingham. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle