Jude Bellingham: family, salary, age, stats and more | OneFootball

Jude Bellingham is the name on every football fan's lips. A footballer who can do it all; the desire of Steven Gerrard; the technique of Paul Scholes; the goalscoring of Frank Lampard and the elegance of Patrick Viera. The 20-year-old has taken every league he has played in by storm, most recently La Liga, after signing for Real Madrid last summer. He is already adored by Madrid fans, justified by his eight goals in as many appearances in La Liga with two assists. Even his celebration has become iconic, with Bellingham standing alone, arms outstretched lapping up the adoration of supporters - resemblant of a gladiator after victory in an amphitheatre.

Not only is Bellingham a hit on the pitch, he is mature beyond his years off it. Very rarely would you see the youngster partying or giving poor interviews. The Englishman seems the ultimate professional and a ready-made superstar. But, how did we get here? What has made Bellingham so good? In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about the Birmingham native.

Stats courtesy of TransferMarkt at the time of publication.

How old is he?

Jude Bellingham is currently 20 years old and was born in Stourbridge, England on 29th June 2003. At the same age, many footballers are yet to experience first-team football.

There are a few high-profile names though that have hit the ground running early on in their careers. The likes of Michael Owen followed a similar trajectory to Bellingham, who made his Premier League debut against Wimbledon in 1997 at just 17 years old - he scored on his first appearance. Owen had already made well over 40 Premier League appearances by 18 years old, then winning the Premier League Golden Boot in 1999 at 19.

However, other players developed a lot later, another England international Ian Wright had yet to make a Premier League appearance at 20, playing for Sunday league club Ten-em-Bee. Another example of late development was Didier Drogba, the Chelsea legend who only signed his first professional at 21 while playing for Marseille. These examples put into perspective how much of an achievement it is for Bellingham to have played for arguably the biggest club in Europe having just turned 20.

Who are his family?

The Bellinghams are a family blessed with footballing talent. First, his father Mark Bellingham was blessed with talent, regularly turning out for a plethora of non-league and semi-professional teams. It is reported that the former Police Officer was one of the most ‘prolific’ goalscorers at his level. One account from Jason Cadden, who was Leamington's manager when (Mark) Bellingham hit 48 goals to secure promotion to the Southern Premier in 2009 said, "Honestly, I don’t know how he did it," he told The Guardian during an interview about Mark Bellingham.

He continued to say, "Evening games, the full-time whistle would blow, and you’d see Mark sprint off the pitch. He’d jump in the shower, get in his car and start his police shift at 10 pm to juggle his job and his family life and yet still do what he did on the pitch – it’s full credit to him as a person. And he played into his forties!" It would be presumed a young Jude Bellingham was inspired by his father, taking on the vital assets of determination and hard work into his career, leading him to the elite level.

"It’s where I started to get that love for football. I think you can see in the way I play that I’ve watched the game from a young age. That non-league style of toughness and being gritty when you need to be is reflected in my game, and I do think that comes from watching my dad play – even though he never tackled!"

Furthermore, Jude is also close with his mother - Denise Bellingham. Quoted by MailOnline, the England international said the following; "The role my mum is playing is massive. I think at the minute it is probably the biggest role of anyone, even probably more than my coaches and managers, to be honest."

Height and weight

According to Real Madrid’s official website, Jude Bellingham is 1.86 metres tall or just over 6 ft 3. Also, his weight has been reported as 75 kgs or 11 st 8 lbs.

Bellingham has looked to bulk up in recent years looking a more muscular figure than in the past. His physique has improved significantly since his early career at Birmingham where it was argued that he was physically not strong enough for the hustle and bustle of the Championship. It must be said Bellingham will still be developing his strength at just 20 years of age. Many greats such as Cristiano Ronaldo struggled with the physicality of the top European leagues early on. To add, Real Madrid will possess elite physical coaches to get Bellingham in optimum shape to cope with the demand of being a world-class midfielder.

Stats

Since making his debut for Birmingham City at just 16 years and 38 days, Bellingham has racked up goals and assists. Playing mainly as a number eight, the Englishman has become known for his late runs into the penalty area and decisive passes

Data taken as of publishing date.

If you are not impressed enough by these ridiculous stats for a 20-year-old, then here are some more facts and figures:

Salary

Spanish news outlet Marca claimed Bellingham had a £1 billion release clause in May, with Bellingham expected to earn a £12 million per year salary - which works out at around £250,000 per week before tax. However, it must be said that getting an accurate figure on wages is always difficult. It would be common practice for his wages to increase incrementally on a yearly basis based on performance and success, not to mention lucrative bonuses written into the contract. With high wages comes huge expectations, and Bellingham has far from disappointed the Bernabeu faithful. In fact, thanks to his stunning goalscoring record at the time of writing, fans have warmed to him more than was likely expected from Bellingham himself.

This is a significant increase compared to what he was earning with the Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, taking home £1.13 million in wages in 2021, broken down as roughly £27,000 per week. This figure did not include any added bonuses.

International career

Bellingham has represented England through the youth ranks since U15 level, and climbed his way up the football pyramid to the first team - making his debut at 17 years old. His first experience of tournament football came in Euro 2020 - delayed until 2021 - coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute during a win against Croatia. Bellingham became both the youngest Englishman to play at any major tournament and the youngest of any nationality to play at a European Championship at the time.

Moving on, the next international tournament came during the winter of 2022 when Bellingham was included in England's World Cup squad. The midfielder played a blinder during the opening game against Iran scoring his first goal for England, as well as providing some key passes for many of the six goals scored in a comfortable victory. England eventually lost to France in a close quarter-final affair, but it was clear to see the potential of Bellingham on the biggest stage of them all.