Jude Bellingham: Full Biography of England’s Rising Midfield Star

Jude Victor William Bellingham is an English footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Spanish club Real Madrid and the England national team. Silver medalist at the 2020 and 2024 European Championships. Participant in the 2022 World Cup. In April 2024, he made history by becoming the first footballer to win the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards in the ‘Breakthrough of the Year category’. He is the owner of numerous other individual awards, including the title of the best player of the 2023/2024 La Liga season and other tournaments.

Jude is considered one of the greatest talents of his generation, with impressive physical attributes, technique and an ability to make unconventional decisions in difficult situations. His extraordinary versatility allows him to operate successfully in a variety of midfield positions, and his goal-scoring instinct makes him a key figure for both the Madrid club and the national team.

Today we will talk in more detail about the 21-year-old star. We will tell you how Jude Bellingham’s biography developed from his earliest years. We will discuss his sporting achievements, life off the field, as well as such curious details as nationality, religion, weight, height and even zodiac sign. We will also touch upon the scandalous act during the celebration of the masterpiece goal at EURO 2024, which could seriously undermine the image of less bright players, and in their case have unpleasant professional consequences. But when you are a special guy, a little daring outrageousness often remains outside the area of ​​responsibility.

Who is Jude Bellingham – Parents, Nationality and Education

The future football genius was born on June 29, 2003, in Stourbridge, a town of 63,300 people lost in the metropolitan landscape of Dudley County in the West Midlands. Jude Bellingham’s star sign is Cancer, but let’s not take the tabloids’ bread and butter. We’ll leave the deciphering of star influences and predictions to the horoscope experts, none of whom, by the way, bought Bitcoin in 2009, when $1 was exchanged for about 1,309 BTC. But that’s another story.

Returning to the biography review, Bellingham’s father, Mark, is a retired West Midlands Police sergeant and a prolific non-league goalscorer. His mother, Denise, runs the family front at home, while younger brother Job, now a midfielder for Sunderland, is keen to keep up with his elder brother. Speaking of nationality, Jude Bellingham is English, probably of African descent on his mother’s side. However, this is a media guess, as information about his mother’s family tree is very limited in public access.

Being a legend of English semi-professional football, the head of the Bellingham family tried to infect his sons with the football virus from a young age, taking them to matches and instilling a love for this sport. But little Jude showed resistance for a long time, remaining an indifferent observer and not sharing his father’s passions.

“To be honest, football didn’t appeal to me at all. I know it seems strange now, considering that without the game I would have gone mad. But as a kid, I was doing more important things during training – collecting all sorts of grass and flowers, making bouquets for my mother,” Bellingham recalled that time with a smile.

In his early years, Jude played for Stourbridge Juniors, a youth team set up by his father and Phil Wooldridge, who became his first coach. Although Bellingham senior had spotted his son’s talent at the age of four, it was difficult to convince Jude that football could be more interesting than floristry.

“Yes, at first he was indifferent to football. We saw his potential when he was only four years old, but it was difficult to get him interested in the game. It took at least six months,” Wooldridge admitted in an interview with the BBC.

Over time, Jude eventually fell under the spell of the leather ball and the green grass. He was inspired by the example of his father, who, although not a star of big sports, madly loved the game and all the magic that it creates. In addition, at the level of Non-League football, Mark scored over 700 goals and grew to the status of a cult figure in narrow circles, so he certainly had talent and authority worthy of imitation.

Jude Bellingham’s parents have done everything in their power to ensure their child’s future is a success. He received his primary education at Priory School, a private school in Edgbaston, Birmingham. In 2021, the footballer graduated from Loughborough College with a BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Sport.

Club Career and Achievements

When Jude was 7 years old, his path crossed with the Birmingham City Academy, where he joined after playing for Stourbridge Juniors. From the age of 14, he was already playing for the Under-18 team, and at 15, he made his debut for the Under-23 team, scoring a goal in his first match against Nottingham Forest U23. The time spent in the youth teams was not in vain: the young footballer steadily progressed, leaving a noticeable mark on the history of the club.

From a young age, Jude became a magnet for top clubs:

• By the age of 9, Bellingham could have been in Liverpool’s academy;
• at 13-14 – try on the Catalan Barcelona uniform;
• at 15 – change into the red Manchester United jersey;
• at 16 – become part of Ajax.

Manchester United even arranged a VIP tour of their training base for the talented midfielder, and Sir Alex Ferguson himself personally took part in the negotiations. It seemed that the whole world lay at the feet of the young footballer. However, the main decisions in Jude’s life were made by his parents. Despite the tempting offers, Denise and Mark believed that it was too early for their son to change clubs and that at Birmingham he would get everything he needed to grow without unnecessary stress. In fact, this is what happened, because otherwise no one would care about Jude Bellingham’s biography now.

By March 2019, he had scored three goals in ten games for Birmingham City’s youth team and was included in FourFourTwo’s list of “The 50 Brightest Teenagers in English Football”. Later, having just celebrated his 16th birthday, he made his debut in the EFL Cup in the main squad, becoming the youngest player in the club’s history, breaking the previous record set by Trevor Francis in 1970. On August 31, in a match against Stoke City, he had another historical maximum to his credit, namely, the earliest goal in a professional career in the colors of the Blues team. Since then, Jude Bellingham has been hoarding awards like a squirrel hoarding nuts, having Golden Boy, Dortmund Player of the Season, Laureus World Sports Awards FIFA FIFPro World XI and more under his belt.

Borussia Dortmund 2020–2021: Transfer and First Season at the Club

At the time, many predicted that Jude would leave his hometown club Birmingham City. The rumours were supported by the fact that his father visited several big clubs, eventually setting his sights on Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund. After lengthy negotiations, Bellingham landed in Germany to undergo a medical, and on 20 July 2020, his transfer was officially confirmed. Thus, the 17-year-old Englishman went to conquer the Bundesliga, and the transfer fee of 25 million pounds sterling was a record for a footballer of his age. Jude Bellingham’s position remained the same – a midfield player.

His debut for Dortmund on 14 September 2020 in the DFB-Pokal against MSV Duisburg was a triumph, as were the events that followed. First, Jude scored a brilliant goal in the DFB-Pokal, and five days later he set up a goal in a 3-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bellingham soon set several age records, including becoming the youngest Briton to start a Champions League game.

In the first three months of the season, Bellingham made six starts and seven substitute appearances, not including four Champions League appearances. He missed the first two games of 2021 with a foot injury but has since returned.

In the Champions League quarter-finals against Manchester City, he cut through the Citizens’ defence in the first leg, setting up Marco Reus for a goal, and scored a point in the second leg, but Dortmund were ultimately eliminated. Having finished the season with 29 appearances and one goal in the Bundesliga, as well as 46 appearances and four goals in all competitions, Bellingham earned the recognition of his colleagues, who named him the best newcomer of the season.

2021–2023: League Player of the Year and German Vice-Champion

On December 4, 2021, in the epic confrontation between Dortmund and Bayern, Jude Bellingham witnessed and directly participated in another controversial victory for the Munich team. His assist only delayed the inevitable: the fate of the match was decided in the 77th minute after a dubious penalty. At the same time, earlier referee Felix Zwayer, as if hypnotized, ignored obvious violations of the rules in the Bayern penalty area, but happily saw a non-existent foul in favor of the opponent. An angry Bellingham did not hide his emotions:

“You’re trusting a man who’s already been involved in match-fixing to referee Der Klassiker (a German classic, the derby between Dortmund and Bayern players). What do you expect?”

The German Football Association (DFB) called Bellingham to task over his harsh statements and later fined him €40,000. However, this did not tarnish his path to success.

After finishing second two years earlier, Jude was awarded the Kopa Cup in 2023 for his performances in the 2022–23 season with Borussia Dortmund and with England at the 2022 World Cup. He became the first Englishman to win the award at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony, finishing 18th in the voting.

New start at Real Madrid

In the summer of 2023, the football world was rocked by the news of Jude Bellingham’s move to Real Madrid. The cost of the pleasure? A trifle – just 134 million euros, including bonuses. So for the third time in history, Los Blancos decided to fork out a sum with three zeros after the one, and previously such generosity was demonstrated only in relation to Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard.

Jude’s debut for Real Madrid came on August 12 against Athletic Bilbao, where he not only started but also scored a brilliant goal in the 36th minute from a brilliant pass by Alaba. By November 26, celebrating his goal against Cadiz (3-0), he became the first player in Real Madrid history to score 14 goals in his first 15 matches.

Jude Bellingham’s Height and Weight: Key Physical Stats

Jude Bellingham does not hide his height and body weight, having received from nature the basic model of a strong athlete, which he intensively modernizes during training. His 186 centimeters of pure charisma from the sole to the top of the head do not leave indifferent among fans. Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham maintains his weight within 75 kilograms, maintaining impeccable shape.

Is Bellingham Waiting for a Divine Pass?

Religion or lack thereof is a personal matter for each person. It seems that the footballer shares the same opinion, since Jude Bellingham has not publicly discussed religion to date, and has not said what denomination he belongs to. But this does not stop fans from constructing theories, arguing who he is: a Christian, a Muslim or an atheist?

The Joy of Celebrating Victories on the Edge of Decency

Although Bellingham is a gentleman as well as a footballer, his character lacks the famous English cool, calm and self-control. His caustic remarks have already gotten him into trouble, and his actions on the pitch have put his reputation at risk. One of the most telling incidents occurred at the last European Football Championship, when Jude Bellingham confused a goal celebration with an “anatomy lesson”, descending into outright provocation.

In the Round of 16 (1/8) match against Slovakia, the footballer saved England’s hopes by leveling the score in the 5th minute of added time at the end of the second half. Unable to contain his emotions and sense of dominance, Jude made a provocative gesture by shaking his hand near his groin area, seemingly taunting his opponents with a display of superiority.