- Jude Bellingham starred for club and country at the start of the season
- Rio Ferdinand has praised the £113million Real Madrid star’s ability and mentality
- Listen to the latest episode of the Mail Sport podcast It all starts!
Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Jude Bellingham has the ability and mentality needed to win the Ballon d’Or in the future, adding that the Real Madrid star is already ahead of other English midfield legends at the same age .
Bellingham has enjoyed a stunning start to the season after completing a £113m move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid in June.
The 20-year-old scored five goals in his first four games, helping the Spanish giants top the La Liga goalscoring chart.
Bellingham also played a starring role for England during the international break, with the midfielder scoring and assisting in the Three Lions’ 3-1 win over Scotland.
Ferdinand, speaking on BBC Radio 5Livesuggested that Bellingham’s impact at a young age at the top level was comparable to that of Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.
Jude Bellingham played for both England and Real Madrid at the start of the season
Rio Ferdinand believes the 20-year-old midfielder has the ability to win multiple Ballon d’Ors
Ferdinand praised the mentality of Bellingham, who starred following a £113 million move to Real Madrid
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The former Man United defender suggested that both Owen and Rooney would have an argument for saying Bellingham was not the best English talent at the same age.
However, Ferdinand suggested that as a 20-year-old Bellingham had an advantage over his former Man United teammate Paul Scholes, as well as compatriots Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.
“He will be up against the likes of Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes and I could comfortably say at this point that none of those players did anything like what he is doing at this age and that is the benchmark,” Ferdinand said.
‘So he can go on and win the Ballon d’Ors. I’ll be very surprised if this guy doesn’t finish his career with at least one, maybe two or three Ballon d’Ors, because I think he’s that good.
‘There have been players who stand out in terms of skills, perhaps as good or slightly more than him, and you can argue the case either way.
“But I don’t think, which I think is the most important part of it, there’s been anyone who has come out with the mentality that this kid has to do what he does.
‘To go to Real Madrid and be the best players in his first four or five games is phenomenal, unheard of.’
The comparison of Ferdinand with three big players in the English midfield seems accurate. Scholes made his debut for Man United at the age of 19, before emerging as a regular starter the following year.
Ferdinand said Bellingham was ahead of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard at the same age
An English player has not won the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen earned the award in 2001
The Man United legend made his Three Lions debut as a 22-year-old.
At the age of 20, Lampard was in his second season as an established starter for West Ham but was still awaiting his England debut.
At the same age as Bellingham, Gerrard had become a regular in the Liverpool team and bowed England.
An England player has not won the Ballon d’Or since Owen received the honor in 2001, when the forward was 22.
Lampard and Gerrard finished second and third respectively in 2005 when Ronaldinho was voted the best player in the world.
Ferdinand’s comments are the latest praise Bellingham has received, with former England captain Bryan Robson writing in Mail Sport that we are witnessing someone ‘very special’.
Graeme Souness has stated that Bellingham possesses the “physical attributes and technical skills of Zinedine Zidane”, suggesting he has the ability to become one of the game’s greats.