Everyone knows the story behind Jude Bellingham‘s iconic no.22, but the Real Madrid megastar has now revealed why he opted to change.
In his previous career at Birmingham and Borussia Dortmund, Bellingham wore 22 because his coaches told him he could play as a 10, an 8, and a 4, reinventing a new position for himself.
However, since moving to Spain, Madrid president Florentino Perez likes to push his biggest starts towards a number between 1 and 11, something Bellingham felt obliged to do as a €100million signing.
Taking a number previously worn by all-time footballing legend Zinedine Zidane, the 20-year-old has revealed the call was in fact inspired by his father, Mark.
Mark is now his agent and manager, but was also a footballer himself, mainly semi-pro in the seventh tier of English football.
But as home he had a clear hero, with Jude explaining to UEFA: “My father always wore a Real Madrid shirt at home with Zidane’s number 5.
“It’s funny because the story has turned around and he [Zidane] gave it to me when I signed in the summer.
“I asked my dad who was that player whose shirt he was wearing and he told me that when I was older we would watch him on YouTube. Now, that I’m the no.5 it’s a great story.”
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