I played against Zidane and I think Bellingham will be better at Real Madrid

Jude Bellingham has been told he can become an ‘even better player’ than Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.

The 19-year-old England international completed only the second move of his career this week, by sensationally swapping Borussia Dortmund for Real Madrid to make him the most expensive British player ever.

4

4

Bellingham has already proven to be one of the most promising footballers in the world right now, with his performances for England at the 2022 World Cup alone demonstrating why he had so many suitors ahead of the transfer window.

Nevertheless, fans will be intrigued to see how the £115million signing [potentially, with add-ons] gets on at the Bernabeu – especially now’s he’s been given the no.5 shirt.

Bellingham has been a No.22 for Dortmund, Birmingham, and also England at the World Cup, but has now switched to No.5 – the same shirt his boyhood hero Zinedine Zidane wore when he was at the club.

Stepping into one of football’s greatest ever player’s shoes should be a tough challenge for a teenager.

However, talkSPORT’s Tony Cascarino – who played against a young Zidane during his early career in France – insists that not only can Bellingham get to Zizou’s level, he can surpass it.

Asked what is expected from Bellingham following his big-money move to Spain, the former Chelsea player said on talkSPORT’s Weekend Sports Breakfast: “It’s how he fits into that Real Madrid team.

“Can he get deciding, winning goals? I just think he’s capable of everything from what I’ve watched of him.

“When you look at Zidane, Zidane was 6ft 1 and he was quick, but he didn’t look blisteringly, eye-catchingly quick.

4

“Bellingham’s like that. He’s got a long stride and, once he gets going, he’s moving past people. Declan Rice does that, he can get past people with just a turn of foot.

“I think that’s the quality Zidane had. Is Bellingham as technically gifted as Zidane? No. But can he improve and become an even better player? Of course he can.”

Zidane played 227 games for Los Blancos between 2001 and 2006, netting 49 times in that time and assisting a whopping 69 goals too.

He also represented France 108 times, one of which being against Cascarino’s Republic of Ireland, while they also faced each other in Ligue 1 when Cascarino played for Marseille and Zidane was at Bordeaux.

The former striker has previously labelled Zidane as the best opposition player he’s ever faced.

4

Even so, Cascarino believes Bellingham already has qualities Zidane didn’t possess, despite being at the the start of his career and playing far less games

“One thing he’s got over Zidane is he’s way more versatile,” Cascarino said. “Zidane was normally stuck more on the left wasn’t he as a midfielder and sometimes in a No.10 role.”

He continued: “There are some similarities there because of their height, their upper body strength and the way they play the game.

“Could Bellingham become far better in the air for his size? Zidane got goals, and he did it in World Cup finals, with his head. Can [Bellingham] become better aerially?

“Can he get into the 18-yard box and get his head on a cross and show his heading ability as well?”