Jude Bellingham blasts ‘disgusting’ racist abuse as Aurelien Tchouameni becomes the latest star to be targeted in Spain… and admits he has ‘got used to’ slurs since Real Madrid move

Jude Bellingham branded the continued racist abuse in La Liga as ‘disgusting’ and admitted he has become used to insults in Spain since joining Real Madrid.

The £115million midfielder’s teammate Aurelien Tchouameni was the latest to face racism after scoring in the weekend win over Mallorca.

A tearful Vinicius Junior recently revealed he was ‘losing his desire’ for the game in the wake of persistent abuse, and Bellingham targeted authorities on the eve of Real’s Champions League quarter-final second leg with Manchester City.

“I think in the games we go away, especially in La Liga, you almost get so used to it,” the 20-year-old said. “I think that in itself is a huge problem. More needs to be done, whether it’s about the punishment or how you proactively deal with these kinds of things.

‘I think it’s a terrible way for a player to prepare for a match, knowing he’s probably going to be racially abused. It’s disgusting. It shouldn’t happen.

Aurelien Tchouameni was the latest Real Madrid player to face abuse from supporters in the country

A Mallorca fan made monkey gestures as Real Madrid celebrated Tchouameni’s goal on Saturday – the Spanish broadcaster pixelated their face

“The powers that be must do more, especially with Vini in recent weeks – well, years actually. “I think more of the blame is being shifted to him, maybe because of his playing style and the way he likes to express himself, and I don’t think that’s fair.”

Bellingham added: “The game would miss players like Vini if ​​he decided to take a break because of this thing. More needs to be done to support these players.

“It’s definitely a call for the people in charge to take control. I doubt that will happen. It will be something that I think we will still have to deal with playing games.”

Tchouameni is suspended for Wednesday’s draw at the Etihad Stadium following last week’s pulsating 3-3 draw in the Spanish capital, with Vinicius likely to be deployed again as a central striker.

Bellingham could have worn sky blue but twice rejected City’s advances. Pep Guardiola’s side were behind him last season but were defeated by Madrid, while they also invited the player’s family to the City Football Academy when they played in Birmingham City’s youth set-up.

“I had good conversations with other teams, but once Real came in it was basically a no-brainer,” he said of last year’s chase. ‘The size of the club, the project, the plan for the future, the opportunity to play with such great players. I just jumped at it. That’s why I made my decision. Every time I wear that badge I am grateful.”

Real – possibly the best duo of their generation – head into this match as underdogs, while superstitious coach Carlo Ancelotti has swapped hotels from the Hyatt Regency to the Lowry hoping to erase the memories of last May’s cathartic 4-0 semi-final loss to banish.

“City are great,” added 20-goal Bellingham. ‘Everyone has been talking about it a lot. I’m not a gambler and have never been to the bookmakers so I don’t know the odds, but I know we are Real and have some pretty good players ourselves.

Bellingham jumped to the defense of his teammate, as well as Vinicius Jnr (L), who was also racially abused

The 20-year-old admitted he has grown accustomed to the insults and doubts anything will be done to combat racism.

He also talked about how he had conversations with other teams before coming to Madrid and how he was being monitored by City

‘Carlo gives me confidence and gives me the freedom to be as effective as possible. The mark of a good manager is that he can make you believe that you are better than before.’

City midfielder Bernardo Silva has warned of a Real out for revenge in much the same way City were a year ago – and Guardiola has pushed for an atmosphere similar to last season, something Federico Valverde has described as the toughest that he has ever experienced.

“We feel safe with our people, our people at home will help us a lot,” Guardiola said before a draw against an enemy that affects him like no other. “We know we can ride the momentum and do a lot of things. And I know people in Madrid don’t believe me when I say good things, or when I say jokes, they always think I’m taking the dick.

‘That’s not the point. I’ve always had a good opinion of the history and the people there. I am not afraid of Madrid and if they beat me – which has happened before – we will congratulate them and wish them the best.”

City midfielder Bernardo Silva, meanwhile, admitted his side are in a position to use another potential Treble as inspiration

Silva admitted that City’s squad had a Treble hangover at the start of this season but are now in a position where they are using the prospect of winning it all again as inspiration.

“There is clearly inspiration and motivation, we know how well this team has done and we want to create that legacy,” Silva said. ‘We want to do another Premier League, six in seven years and four in a row, and we want to win the Champions League to do two in a row.

‘I think only Madrid has done it, three times in a row, but no one else has won four consecutive Premier Leagues and if we win two Trebles in a row that would be a legacy.’