Jude Bellingham ‘thinks he is a superstar’ and that his England team-mates ‘are not good enough’, claims former Liverpool star ahead of Euro 2024 final against Spain
A former Liverpool star has accused Jude Bellingham of having an attitude problem and a superiority complex in an extraordinary tirade.
According to the expert, England midfielder Bellingham is convinced he is a ‘superstar’ and that his England teammates are ‘not good enough’.
Bellingham, who scored twice to help England reach the final of Euro 2024, is one of the country’s brightest prospects against Spain tonight.
Yet Markus Babbel, a former Liverpool and Germany star who played in the 1990s and 2000s, has launched a remarkable tirade against the 21-year-old.
“I’m not sure what Jude Bellingham’s best position is because he runs everywhere. I feel like he’s starting to think he’s a superstar now,” Babbel said NewBettingOffers.co.uk.
Jude Bellingham has an attitude problem and a superiority complex, says Markus Babbel
Former Liverpool and Germany star Babbel accused Bellingham of thinking he is a ‘superstar’
“And I don’t like this attitude. You don’t see it in players like Bukayo Saka or Jamal Musiala. With Bellingham, if you touch him a little bit, he always dives, he always falls. His body language is not good when things don’t go his way in games.
‘Bellingham is now 21 and everyone respects him because he is a natural leader, but I worry that he feels the players around him are not good enough.
‘He has to show leadership on the pitch and do everything he can to win the game, but he also has to realise that everyone in the team is important.
‘Bellingham can handle the pressure – he joined Real Madrid and won La Liga and the Champions League. But he doesn’t look the same in an England shirt – there are so many things going through his mind and he may find it hard to motivate himself for games against smaller nations like Serbia and Slovakia.
‘I really hope that after the tournament he has a holiday and thinks: ‘Hey, maybe Markus Babbel is right.”
Perhaps Bellingham won’t pay attention to Babbel. After England’s round of 16 win over Slovakia, he quoted Theodore Roosevelt in a letter on Instagram: ‘It is not the critic who counts. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.’
Although Bellingham may not be in top form like many other England stars at this European Championship, he has certainly shown what he can do at crucial moments.
His header against Serbia secured England’s only victory in Group C, winning the group.
Babbel complimented Saka’s attitude, but believes Bellingham ‘always falls’
Babbel played for Liverpool between 2000 and 2004, winning five trophies, and also played for Germany and Bayern Munich.
‘I really hope that after the tournament he will have a holiday and think: ‘Hey, maybe Markus Babbel is right”
Even more significant was his bicycle kick in what seemed to be the final stretch of the round of 16 against Slovakia, keeping England’s hopes alive and forcing extra time.
Babbel himself had a successful career and won the European Championship with Germany in 1996.
He also won the Bundesliga title three times and was runner-up in the Champions League with Bayern Munich. He won five trophies with Liverpool.
At the club he won the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield between 2000 and 2004.
Since his active career he has been manager of Stuttgart, Hertha BSC, Hoffenheim, Luzern and Western Sydney Wanderers.