Cristiano Ronaldo told he was 'never loved' at Real Madrid like Jude Bellingham as England international hailed for 'Sunday player' attitude

Bellingham rocketed to Madrid stardom immediately after joining the club from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2023, making him a fan favourite alongside star attacker Vinicius Junior as they won a Champions League and La Liga double.

The 21-year-old is still far from repeating the kind of success Ronaldo enjoyed in his nine-year spell at the Santiago Bernabeu, but journalist Andy Brassell believes the Portuguese star was never truly loved by the Madrid faithful. Citing the moment Bellingham whispered into Bukayo Saka's ear during Madrid's Champions League loss to Arsenal, Brassell says Bellingham has earned "unconditional" love in the Spanish capital.

He said on talkSPORT: "It's a little clue to why he's so loved in Madrid in an unconditional way that Cristiano Ronaldo never was. Cristiano Ronaldo was admired and respected, but never loved like Jude Bellingham. Now, you might sit there and think: 'Okay, well Cristiano Ronaldo scored more than a goal a game for nine years, how can that be the case?' "But I think it's the indefinables with Bellingham. And you saw it at Dortmund as well, the way he connected with the crowd. It's not just the way he plays, but the fact he makes the fans in the stadium feel part of it. He plays the game like any of us would if we had the ability. I think that's the important thing. He's a mix between the best player in the world and us playing on a Sunday. And I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean that in an entirely positive way. And I think that's the thing, because the Madrid media would expect anyone to do that for Real Madrid. [Bellingham] doesn't need to be asked. He doesn't care that it's his England team-mate and I think Bukayo Saka would quite respect that."

Bellingham and his Madrid team-mates are looking to reduce the gap to La Liga leaders Barcelona when they face Getafe on Wednesday. Ronaldo and Al-Nassr, meanwhile, will take on Yokohama Marinos in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals this weekend.