"Messi and Ronaldo" - Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney delivers Jude Bellingham prediction | OneFootball

Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney has given his verdict on the rise of Jude Bellingham as one of the world’s best players.

The Birmingham manager will know all about the story of the youngster’s rise from St. Andrew’s to the World Cup.

The 20-year-old is now considered one of the world’s best, having come through the academy system of the Championship side.

At 17, he made the switch to Borussia Dortmund before signing for Real Madrid last summer in a deal worth a reported £88.5 million.

He has also featured for England at the World Cup and is set to be a key figure in Gareth Southgate’s team at the European Championship in 2024.

Rooney has predicted that Bellingham will be in the mix for the Ballon D’or next year if he can continue to perform at his current level for the rest of the season.

The Birmingham boss was full of praise for the Englishman, who has 11 La Liga goals for Madrid from just 13 appearances.

“It’s great to see a young English lad take the opportunity to go play abroad, be brave with a move to Germany,” said Rooney, via Sky Sports on Twitter.

“He’s done really well and now [at] one of the biggest clubs in the world and really shining, so really pleased for him.

“Hopefully he can continue that at the Euros and be successful there.

“I think if he keeps doing what he’s doing then why not [win the Ballon D’or]?

“We’ve got the odd cycle of Messi and Ronaldo, where they’ve dominated that.

“I’m sure there will be five or six players who will be fighting out to win the next one and I’m sure if he keeps doing what he’s doing he’ll be right up there.”

Birmingham league position

Rooney is under pressure at Birmingham to deliver results following the controversial nature of his arrival at the second tier side.

The Blues were inside the play-off places when he replaced John Eustace as manager in October.

But they have since dropped to 15th, having won just one of his first eight games in charge.

Supporters were unhappy with the manner of his appointment, with Eustace previously a popular figure among the fans.

Rooney will need to earn results in the coming weeks in order to turn the tide of supporter sentiment.

Next up for Birmingham is a trip to the CBS Arena on 9 December to take on Coventry City.

Important period coming up for Wayne Rooney at Birmingham

Rooney has an important period of games coming up, the first of which is against Coventry this weekend.

Failure to beat Rotherham last weekend was a particularly disappointing result, especially at home, so the 37-year-old really needs a couple of wins to ease the pressure on his position ahead of the January window.

Four of their next five games are all ones where they should be targeting a positive result, so this could be a telling period for the former England star.