Thomas Tuchel says Jude Bellingham can be ‘repulsive’ and ‘intimidating’ in extraordinary comments | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has said Jude Bellingham’s behaviour can be “repulsive” during extraordinary comments made about his star player in a radio interview.

Speaking with talkSport in a wide-ranging conversation at St George’s Park, in the wake of a disappointing 3-1 defeat by Senegal in which Bellingham came on as a second-half substitute and had a goal disallowed, Tuchel was asked whether he could understand why some fans think England would be better off without the 21-year-old in the team.

“I think it has to be the other way around,” Tuchel replied. “How we can have the best version of him and the best acceptance and that people understand what he's bringing to us and that he's bringing a certain edge.

“But I see that it can create mixed emotions. I see this with my parents, with my mum that she sometimes cannot see the nice and well-educated and well-behaved guy that I see and the smile.

“If he smiles, he wins everyone, but sometimes you see the rage, the hunger and the fire and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive, for example, for my mother when she sits in front of the TV. I see that, but in general we are very happy to have him, he's a special boy.”

Bellingham receives instructions before entering the field of play (EPA)

While the German manager may have misspoken while talking in his second language, he went on to suggest that Bellingham’s on-field behaviour can be “intimidating” for his own teammates.

“I think he has a certain something,” Tuchel said. “I think he brings an edge, which we welcome and which is needed if we want to achieve big things. It needs to be channelled. The edge needs to be channelled toward the opponent, towards our goal and not to intimidate team-mates, or to be over aggressive to team-mates or referees.

“But towards opponents, yes, and always towards the solution, meaning towards winning. We are on that, yes. He has the fire. I don't want to dim this down. He should play with this kind of fire, that's his strength. But the fire comes also with some attributes that can intimidate you, maybe even as a team-mate.”

Tuchel’s comments come after Bellingham was spotted furiously confronting an assistant referee during the loss to Senegal and kicking a drinks cooler.

England’s Jude Bellingham gestures to referee Stephanie Frappart after his goal is disallowed (Mike Egerton/PA)

“You see sometimes the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game, so if he can channel this in the right way, and we can help him in this, then for sure he has the something that we need,” the manager added. “And he has a certain edge that is hard to find.”

Earlier in the week, Tuchel had warned his players that he would not “sugarcoat” his comments in the media.

“What I have told you I have already told the team directly. There are no messages that I give via a press conference. Everything I say here, I already said to the players. Why should we sugarcoat it? You have been in the stadium, why should I tell you that we had a good game and we are happy with what we did if we are not happy? No harm done. We can handle criticism.

“I have always strongly believed that a group of football players can speak honestly to each other, I always include myself. It is always a ‘we’ message we try to give. Now it’s on us to do better. The attitude towards training, the attitude in camp, the commitment from the players, was outstanding. Everybody wanted to be there, everybody wanted to be involved, everybody wanted to start and to play in this game. We then got a little bit stuck. We take our analysis from this and try to do better of course.”

Bellingham now joins up with Real Madrid at the Club World Cup, while England do not convene again until September, when they face Andorra and Serbia in 2026 World Cup qualifying.