Jude Bellingham handed iconic Real Madrid shirt number and is set to follow legendary midfielder

Jude Bellingham has been given his new Real Madrid shirt number and will be following in the footsteps of a legendary former Los Blancos star.

The England star finally completed his £113 million transfer to the Bernabeu on Wednesday, after Carlo Ancelotti’s side became front-runners to seal his Borussia Dortmund signature ahead of teams such as Man City and Liverpool.

He is the first British player to sign for Madrid since Gareth Bale in 2013 and also succeeds John Toshack, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Jonathan Woodgate and Steve McManaman in playing for the iconic team.

And having completed his move to the Spanish capital, Bellingham has now figured out which shirt he will be wearing on his back as he prepares to face the likes of Vinicius Jr and Co.

The club held an official unveiling for Bellingham in front of a group of Spanish reporters on Thursday and showed a picture of the player holding up his shirt next to club president Florentino Perez.

The England star will wear the number 5 shirt after completing his £113 million summer transfer – following in Zinedine Zidane’s footsteps

The 19-year-old will wear number 5, meaning he will share the same number Zinedine Zidane had while at the club. Previously, the number was occupied by Raphael Varane and Jesus Vallejo.

Madrid announced the shirt number to fans on Twitter, posting a video of their shirt printing machine and revealing that Bellingham’s number would be No. 5 after the device was lifted to reveal his name on the back of the shirt.

The clip was accompanied by the caption, “And your new No. 5 is… @BELKINGHAMJUDE!”

They then sent out a Tweet with simply the number five written out as fans started getting excited about the prospect of the player wearing their colors.

Perez called Bellingham ‘one of the best players in the world’ and introduced the player by saying, ‘Welcome to the club of 14 Champions Leagues. We have won five of the last ten Champions Leagues and we never give up.

Bellingham is Madrid’s first signing this summer after successfully completing a medical

Bellingham’s number was revealed during his official unveiling to Spanish media

Speaking alongside father Mark, mother Denise and brother Jobe, the teenager said: “It is the most important day of my life to join the biggest club in the world.

“I’ve said in many interviews how much I admire Zinedine Zidane and the legacy he has in the club and this song. I’m not trying to be like him, I’m just trying to be Jude. But it’s certainly a tribute to how great he was.

“As for the 22, it’s the number I’ve been wearing and it has a lot of meaning to me. In my heart I’m still a 22. We’ll see what happens in the future, but right now I’m very happy to be given the honor of wearing this number.”

His short speech started with some Spanish: ‘Hola a todos’ (hello everyone) and ended with ‘Hala Madrid’.

The player called the move to the Bernabeu ‘one of the most important days of my life’

Ancelotti made Bellingham – who has signed a six-year deal – a priority in this summer’s signing as they look to bounce back from a mixed season that saw them finish 10 points behind rivals Barcelona in LaLiga, while also trailing 5 -1 were thrashed by Man City on aggregate in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

It is clear that the deal will guarantee Dortmund £88.5m – but will rise to £113.5m due to £25m in performance-related add-ons – which are believed to be achievable.

Mail sports also revealed in May that Madrid were closing in on a big-money deal for the England star after reportedly accepting details of their offer.

Manchester City and Chelsea were admirers of Bellingham but were not considered by the player, with Liverpool – seen as a more realistic option – withdrawing from the race in April due to rising costs.