The Englishman was presented with the World Breakthrough of the Year Award on Monday, April 22.
Jude Bellingham is one of the best young talents in football right now.
In his home city of Madrid, the English midfielder has been recognised for his breakthrough on the world stage at the Laureus World Sports Awards on Monday, April 22.
The 20-year-old was presented with the World Breakthrough of the Year Award, becoming the first football player to win it.
Midlands-born Bellingham has taken the Spanish capital by storm after signing for Real last summer, currently topping the La Liga table and into the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
10 goals in his first 10 starts for the Los Angeles Angels set the precedent for his inaugural season in white, with his rise to senior stardom beginning five years ago.
After spending nine years in the Birmingham City Academy, he made his breakthrough in the 2019/20 campaign, becoming the club’s youngest first-team player at just 16.
Bellingham’s talent was undeniable, and within his first senior season, there were a number of big clubs looking to secure his signature, with Borussia Dortmund eventually obtaining his services.
His impact on the Blues was so significant that his No. 22 shirt was retired upon his departure.
Three years at Dortmund would see the German club lift the DFB-Pokal in Jude’s initial campaign, with a plethora of individual awards to follow.
In 2023, Real Madrid announced they were bringing the Englishman to the Santiago Bernabéu.
Bellingham has comfortably settled into the ‘Galactico’ role and is on course to help the Madristas win a double in his first year in Spain.
Jude Bellingham: Career milestones
Jude Bellingham made his senior debut for Birmingham in the EFL cup on August 6, 2019, in an away trip to Portsmouth. His first Championship start followed later that month in a defeat to Swansea on 25 August.
Five days later, on 31 August, Bellingham scored his first senior goal for the Blues in a 2-1 victory, netting again two weeks later in a 1-0 victory over Preston.
In 2020, the then-teenager signed his first professional contract with Birmingham to ensure they received a transfer fee upon his move to Borussia Dortmund, in which he became the most expensive 17-year-old with a reported 25 million-pound deal agreed between the two clubs.
His switch to Germany would see him soon knock on the door of the England squad, making his senior debut for the Three Lions in a 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on November 12, 2020.
When he featured in Gareth Southgate’s side’s win over Croatia at Euro 2022, he became the youngest Englishman to play at any major tournament, aged 17 years and 349 days.
Bellingham’s first goal for the senior side came two years later, when England trumped Islamic Republic of Iran 6-2 in their 2022 World Cup curtain-raiser on November 21, making him their second-youngest scorer in the history of the tournament.
The 20-year-old has had a triumphant start to his career, and he just keeps getting better. Here are some of the milestones he has already achieved:.