When Jude Bellingham departed Borussia Dortmund last summer, the German team would have loved to have signed him, according to former chairman of Bayern Munich Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Real Madrid is counting on him to make them even more upset that they were unable to accomplish so tonight.
Rummenigge said to Diario AS last week, “I can only say that at Dortmund they were very happy when they could be sure that Bayern no longer had a chance to get him.”
He decided to join Real Madrid quite early on, and they deserve praise for acquiring him. He runs, fights, scores, helps, and recovers. He performs all tasks expertly.
Bellingham and his teammate Vinicius Junior are the main reasons Real Madrid is confident heading into tonight’s match.
The 20-year-old has made a significant impact on the team in his first season. While it was a risky move to take on Zinedine Zidane’s former No. 5 shirt, in just a few months he had exceeded the lofty expectations that gesture had created.
In the lead-up to Wednesday’s match, the England midfielder spoke to Spanish television. “It’s funny because, in a way, things have come full circle,” he said. “My dad always wore a Real Madrid shirt around the house with Zidane on the back.”
“Who is this guy on your shirt?” I asked him. And he would always say, “We’ll see him on YouTube when you grow up.”
His respect for Zidane is now very much reciprocated. The Frenchman recently remarked, “He’s an unbelievable player who does unbelievable things.”
Although Zidane’s first league season was not as successful as Bellingham’s, he did win the European Cup at the end of it after scoring the historic volley in the victory over Bayer Leverkusen at Hampden Park.
Bellingham can replicate his first-year achievement of making it to the final on Wednesday. Even though he had one of his less successful nights during the first leg, everyone believes he can light up the stadium like he’s held it in his palm since his debut.
And because of Vinicius’s scorching form, who has shown himself to be a player for the big occasion in this competition, he won’t be Bayern’s only threat.