Especially for Real Madrid’s talisman Jude Bellingham, who scored the game-winning goal against Barcelona last night in their 3-2 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu, the last twenty-four hours have been nothing short of extraordinary for Real Madrid.
Bellingham has now been formally honored with the Laureus prize for the Breakthrough of the Year for the year 2024. As if that were not enough, the prize was presented to Bellingham.
When the Englishman transferred from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid in the summer for 103 million euros, he was met with enormous expectations. This was particularly true considering that he had previously turned down offers from numerous Premier League heavyweights, including Liverpool and Manchester City.
Because he has scored 21 goals under Carlo Ancelotti’s experimental 4-3-1-2 formation this season, he has not only lived up to their expectations but also surpassed them by a significant margin. Moreover, he has a total of 10 assists to his credit.
Despite the fact that these stats are remarkable, they do not even begin to depict the wider picture of Bellingham’s effect at Madrid. Bellingham has won matches against Barcelona – twice now – as well as Union Berlin, Getafe, Celta Vigo, and other teams.
A number of other individuals, including Linda Caicedo, Coco Gauff, Qin Haiyang, Josh Kerr, and Salma Paralluelo of Barcelona Femeni, were also considered for the prize.