A viral video features Jude Bellingham sharing his preference between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and it has garnered attention from fans, with some expressing dissatisfaction with the Real Madrid star.
On Saturday, the 20-year-old scored a tap-in at the newly renovated Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to secure a late 2-1 victory over Getafe. Bellingham currently leads the La Liga top-scoring race with five goals and one assist. Trailing closely behind him are Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo with three goals and one assist, as well as 30-year-old Alvaro Morata with three goals and zero assists.
Furthermore, Bellingham’s stoppage-time winner has allowed him to match Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of scoring five goals in his first four games.
In 2009, the Portuguese striker scored his five goals against Villarreal, Espanyol, Deportivo de La Coruna, and Xerez CD.
However, if fans believe that Bellingham is truly following in his hero’s footsteps, they may be in for disappointment.
Before his move to Spain, the Birmingham-born footballer had already expressed his stance in the age-old Lionel Messi vs. Ronaldo debate. While playing for Borussia Dortmund, Bellingham was asked in an interview for the team’s official YouTube channel to choose between the Portuguese and the Argentinian player, and he didn’t hesitate to express his opinion.
He said: “Messi for me, for sure. You can just watch him and think like ‘How does he do that?’ Every time I watch him, he just does something that I just think ‘You can’t be human’.”
The video of the English international pledging his allegiance to Messi has since resurfaced online and fans have been having their say across social media.
One Twitter user wrote: “(sic) Damn .. Why is this on timeline.. You just spoilt in my head.”
Another wrote: “Must be killing Madrid fans that Bellingham is a Messi fan through and through”
Do not Say Anything, Just RT 😂😂pic.twitter.com/Y7FR6dEWdU https://t.co/TdlciEXNHs
— ACE (@FCB_ACEE) September 2, 2023
A third commented: “We all can agree that we wanted to banter him so bad, despite rejecting our club I still love him, but since he’s a Messi fan, he knows ball, so let him ball.”
Elsewhere, another user on the platform has speculated that if you prefer Messi over Ronaldo, then you are ‘destined for greatness’.
They claimed: “Trust me when Messi is your idol, your GOAT, you are destined for greatness. Midfielders idols/goats: Pedri: Messi Enzo: Messi Bellingham: Messi Musiala: Messi.”
“Messi and Barca fans are praising Jude Bellingham,we got double PR,” joked another.