Jude Bellingham declares it ‘the proudest day of my life’ at his Real Madrid unveiling

Jude Bellingham has landed in Madrid. He took on the number five shirt, most famously worn by club legend Zinedine Zidane, declared it to be ‘the best day of his life’ and said he was signing for the ‘biggest club in the world’.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez hailed: ‘One of the best players in the world’ and said he had signed because he had wanted to come despite huge interest from the Premier League.

Welcome to the Club of 14 Champions Leagues. We have won five of the last ten Champions Leagues and we never give up,” said the Spanish supremo.

Father Mark, mother Denise and brother Jobe were listening broadly and smiling and when the time came to speak he added some Spanish. “It’s the most important day of my life to join the biggest club in the world,” he said in a short speech that began with some Spanish: a “Hola a todos” (hello everyone) and ended with a “Hala Madrid ‘.

He had welcomed him on a morning newspaper in Madrid with the headline ‘Galatico to 2029’. It’s been a while since that word was used. And it was never used on a teenager.

The England star will wear the number 5 shirt after completing his £113 million summer transfer

The England star was introduced as a Real Madrid player after a £113 million transfer

When Real Madrid signed Vinicius, Rodrygo, Fede Valverde, Eder Militao, they all came as prospects. But Bellingham’s €134 million (£113 million) fee puts him in a different category.

He won’t be a teenager for long. He will be 20 on June 29. But he’s young – he wasn’t born yet when Real Madrid announced the signing of David Beckham, the last England international midfielder to sign for the club.

They are very enthusiastic about ‘Jude Victor William Bellingham’, as they have already come to call him (as they affectionately did John Benjamin Toshack, another former servant of the club).

The statistics are the basis for that excitement. He led the way in goals, assists and tackles at Borussia Dortmund last season. There were also 88 successful dribbles – the most of any midfielder in Europe’s top leagues.

After passing his medical at the city’s La Moraleja University Hospital, he signed his six-year contract alongside President Perez, who handed him that number five jersey.

The Zidane comparisons started before the World Cup when Spanish football director Andres Manzano, who was with Spanish third division club UE Cornella in 2018 when they had a partnership deal with Birmingham, compared him to the French legend.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez described Bellingham as ‘one of the best in the world’

He had seen Bellingham aged 15 in a U-23 team at the Wast Hills Training Ground in Birmingham and told the Daily Mail: ‘The player I see most in him is Zidane. He’s an all-terrain midfielder with a lot of personality and he’s so good on the ball, but he also has that enviable physique.

Zidane arrived aged 29 and was booed in his first season before winning over supporters. His age should bring him more patience. It is also true that, despite the references in the morning papers, this is no longer the Galatico era. This is a young team full of brilliant young players – and for everything he showed in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and for England, he fits right in.