Jude Bellingham

Jude Bellingham arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2023 from Borussia Dortmund for €103 million, the highest fee the white club has ever paid for a midfielder. The operation was the most high-profile of the 2023 summer transfer market in world football, and Bellingham justified every cent with a stratospheric first season.

The Englishman, born in 2003 and arriving at Madrid aged just 19, completed his first campaign at the club with 23 goals and 12 assists across all competitions, including the last-minute goal against Atlético de Madrid that set the Bernabéu alight. His ability to appear in the area when the team needs him most recalls the benchmark midfielders of the club's history: Zidane in his goalscoring aspect, Scholes in his positional intelligence.

Bellingham is a complete midfielder: physical power, pace, vision, pressing ability without the ball and a goalscoring instinct unusual for a central midfielder. Ancelotti has positioned him as an attacking midfielder within a double-pivot system, giving him freedom to combine with Vinicius and exploit the spaces created by the wingers.

At 20 years old, Bellingham is already England national team captain and has been recognised with the best player of the season award in LaLiga. His future projection is that of a player who can define Real Madrid's next decade with the same influence that Modrić defined the previous one.