Jude Bellingham tipped to ‘retrace’ Lionel Messi steps after matching Cristiano Ronaldo – with former Italy boss joining Real Madrid star’s growing fan club

The Real Madrid midfielder, who moved to Santiago Bernabeu as part of a €103 million (£90m/$109m) transfer in the summer window, continues to see his stock soar. He has netted 10 goals through as many appearances for the Blancos this season – seeing him match Cristiano Ronaldo records along the way.

Bellingham has also been starring for his country – helping the Three Lions to book their place at next summer’s European Championship in Germany. His latest eye-catching outing came against Italy at Wembley, as he won a penalty and teed up a goal for Marcus Rashford in a 3-1 win for England.

Ex-Azzurri boss Sacchi now forms part of Bellingham’s growing fan club, with the legendary Italian coach telling Gazzetta dello Sport: “He was dominant. Damn, he is so strong. He does everything. He always plays for the team. Only Messi had impressed me so much at his age. Of course, Bellingham is different from Leo, but if he remains this humble he can retrace his steps because Bellingham is world-class.”

Bellingham is just 20 years of age, but he is fast closing in on 200 appearances at club level – for Birmingham, Borussia Dortmund and Real – while reaching 27 caps for England. He is the favourite to land the prestigious Golden Boy award in 2023 and may go on to challenge for the Ballon d’Or in years to come – much like Messi, who is about to land his eighth Golden Ball.