Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham honoured at the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards
The Englishman was presented with the World Breakthrough of the Year Award on Monday 22 April.
Football
Jude Bellingham is one of the best young talents in football right now.
In his home of Madrid, the English midfielder has been recognised for his breakthrough on the world stage at the Laureus World Sports Awards on Monday (22 April).
The 20-year-old was presented with the World Breakthrough of the Year Award, becoming the first football player to win it.
Midlands-born Bellingham has taken the Spanish capital by storm after signing for Real last summer, currently topping the La Liga table and into the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
10 goals in his first 10 starts for Los Blancos set the precedent for his inaugural season in white, with his rise to senior stardom beginning five years ago.
After spending nine years in the Birmingham City Academy, he made his breakthrough in the 2019/20 campaign becoming the club’s youngest first-team player at just 16.
Bellingham’s talent was undeniable and within his first senior season, there were a number of big clubs looking to secure his signature, with Borussia Dortmund eventually obtaining his services.
His impact for the Blues was so significant that his no.22 shirt was retired upon his departure.
Three years at Dortmund would see the German club lift the DFB-Pokal in Jude’s initial campaign, with a plethora of individual awards to follow.
In 2023, Real Madrid announced they were bringing the Englishman to the Santiago Bernabéu.
Bellingham has comfortably settled into the ‘Galactico’ role and is on course to help the Madristas win a double in his first year in Spain.
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - APRIL 10: A mural of former Birmingham City player Jude Bellingham is seen near the stadium prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Birmingham City and Cardiff City at St Andrews Stadium on April 10, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Jude Bellingham: Career milestones
Jude Bellingham made his senior debut for Birmingham in the EFL cup on 06 August 2019 in an away trip to Portsmouth. His first Championship start followed later that month in a defeat to Swansea on 25 August.
Five days later, on 31 August, Bellingham scored his first senior goal for the Blues in a 2-1 victory, netting again two weeks later in a 1-0 victory over Preston.
In 2020, the then-teenager signed his first professional contract with Birmingham to ensure they recieved a transfer fee upon his move to Borussia Dortmund, in which he became the most expensive 17-year-old with a reported 25 million-pound deal agreed between the two clubs.
His switch to Germany would see him soon knock on the door of the England squad, making his senior debut for the Three Lions in a 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on 12 Novemeber 2020.
When he featured in Gareth Southgate's side win over Croatia at Euro 2022, he became the youngest Englishman to play at any major tournament aged 17 years 349 days.
Bellingham's first goal for the senior side came two years later, when England trumped Islamic Republic of Iran 6-2 in their 2022 World Cup curtain raiser on 21 November, making him their second youngest scorer in the history of the tournament.
The 20-year-old has had a triumphant start to his career, and he just keeps getting better. Here are some of the milestones he has already achieved...
- Youngest English player to start a Champions League game (17 years, 113 days)
- Youngest English player to start a Champions League knockout game (17 years, 233 days)
- Second-youngest player to start a Champions League quarter-final (17 years, 281 days)
- Youngest English player to score in the Champions Leauge (17 years, 289 days)
- Second-youngest scorer in a Champions League knockout game (17 years, 289 days)
- Youngest English player to score in a Champions League away game (18 years, 78 days)
- Youngest English player to score in consecutive Champions League games (18 years, 78 days)
- Youngest player to start 10 Champions League games (18 years, 91 days)
- First English teenager to score in three different Champions League campaigns (20/21, 21/22, 22/23)
- Most Champions League goals scored by an English teenager (6)
- Yongest captain to score in a Champions League match (19 years, 98 days)
- Third-youngest captain in Champions League history (19 days, 98 days)
- Youngest player to score a 90th-minute winner for Madrid in Champions League history (20 years, 83 days)
- Third player to score on his first to Champions League games for Real Madrid
- Second player to score on his first three Champions League games for Real Madrid
- First English player to score 10 Champions League goals before his 21st birthday
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 26: Jude Bellingham of England celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the international friendly match between England and Belgium at Wembley Stadium on March 26, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Jude Bellingham: Awards and accolades
Individual Awards
- 2019/20: Birmingham City – Young Player of the Year
- 2019/20: EFL Young Player of the Season
- 2020/21: VDV Bundesliga Newcomer of the Season
- 2021/22: VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season
- 2021/22: Bundesliga Team of the Season
- 2021: Kopa runner-up
- 2022: IFFHS Men’s World’s Best Youth Player
- 2022/23: ESPN Midfielder of the Year
- 2022/23: Bundesliga Team of the Season
- 2022/23: Bundesliga Player of the Season
- 2022/23: VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season
- 2022/23: VDV Bundesliga Player of the Season
- 2023: Kopa Trophy
- 2023: FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11
- 2023: Globe Soccer Awards – Emerging Player of the Year
- 2023: IFFHS Men’s World’s Best Youth Player
- 2023: IFFHS Men’s World Team
- 2024: Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award
Team Trophies
- England U17: Syrenka Cup (2019)
- England: UEFA European Championship Runner-up (2020)
- Borussia Dortmund: DFB-Pokal (2020/2021)
- Real Madrid: Supercopa de España (2023/2024)