Bellingham crowns superb debut season at Real

MADRID : Jude Bellingham has taken Real Madrid by storm in a sparkling debut LaLiga campaign, exceeding sky-high expectations to help his team claim a record-extending 36th Spanish league title.

"It's Bellingham's league" has become a common phrase among football fans and pundits in Spain and that is proof of his stunning start with the Spanish giants.

The England midfielder's impact at the age of 20 after he was signed from Borussia Dortmund last June can be measured by a raft of individual awards.

He was named LaLiga's player of the month in August and October, and is the only man to win the award more than once this season.

Bellingham also picked up the 2023 Golden Boy and Kopa awards before becoming the first player to win the Breakthrough of the Year prize at this year's Laureus awards.

After being named Bundesliga player of the year last season, Bellingham arrived at Real who were coming from a disappointing campaign marked by a humiliating loss at Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals.

With the departure of Casemiro and ageing Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in the final year of their contracts, Bellingham was seen as a key part in revamping Real's midfield.

Following the shock departure of forward Karim Benzema to Saudi Arabia, however, and Real's failure to sign Kylian Mbappe or Harry Kane, coach Carlo Ancelotti had to improvise and saw in Bellingham the potential to be much more than a goalmaker.

The Italian coach changed his line-up from the traditional 4-3-3 formation he and Zinedine Zidane deployed to win five Champions League titles in eight years, giving Bellingham freedom to get forward and link up with Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo.

That unleashed a hidden beast, with Bellingham scoring an astonishing 15 goals