Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, has issued his verdict on Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham ahead of their Champions League match on Tuesday, October 25.
In recent years, the 19-year-old has emerged as one of Europe’s most exciting prospects. He started his career at his hometown club, Birmingham City, before moving to the Bundesliga in 2020. He is regarded as one of the world’s most complete midfielders.
Jude Bellingham’s game by numbers vs. Stuttgart:
95 touches
85% pass accuracy
60 passes completed
9/13 ground duels won
4/7 long balls completed
4/6 dribbles completed
4/5 tackles won
2/3 aerial duels won
2 interceptions
2 key passes
2 goals
Since then, Bellingham has only continued to impress and develop on a bigger stage. He has gone on to captain his club, become an England international, and put in some outstanding performances in the Champions League. He played a key role for his national team at the EURO 2020 tournament, in which they reached the final. More recently, he finished second in the prestigious Golden Boy 2022 rankings.
This summer some of the most highly decorated clubs across Europe are expected to take part in a ‘Battle for Bellingham’, as it’s expected the Birmingham-born talent will be seeking a new challenge after two years at the German side. Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Real Madrid are among the clubs interested.
Guardiola gives his verdict on Bellingham:
At a pre-match press conference, Pep Guardiola said: “Borussia Dortmund is the perfect place for young talent to come. Maybe if Jude Bellingham was in England he would go to City, United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, or Tottenham, maybe he would not get the minutes. The best thing for a young player to be better is to play minutes.
“He was 17 when he arrived but it was not just about his quality, how he was leading, his kicking, going to the referee. This guy was something special in terms of his mentality. Now he is 19 and he is already one of the captains. The quality, everybody knows it. The whole package is really good.”
