Tom Brady has hailed Jude Bellingham after the midfielder won his latest individual honour on Monday and revealed they spoke when he signed for Real Madrid.
Bellingham, 20, won Breakthrough of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid, which comes after he won the 2023 Golden Boy and Ballon d’Or Kopa trophies earlier this season.
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“When he actually transferred from Dortmund to Real Madrid, we struck up a conversation. I was really impressed by his maturity and how talented he is, although of course everyone can see that,” Brady told ESPN Deportes.
“He’s got a great future because of what’s in his brain and what he’s really focused on.”
Brady is a minority investor in Birmingham City, who are in a fight to stave off relegation from England’s second-tier.
Brady was not the only athlete to priase Bellingham at the award ceremony. Tennis star Novak Djokovic, who his record-equalling fifth Laureus sportsman award, said Bellingham has all the features of a “great champion.”
“What I was impressed with is that he was always trying to make these runs, and he was not getting the right balls, and he was getting a little bit frustrated, but then he was waiting for the right opportunity,” Djokovic told a news conference.
“He was serious, professional, dedicated, patient and believed that the chance will come. It came in the right moment and he decided the game. He’s only 20, so that’s a feature or characteristic of a great champion.”
After winning the award on Monday, Bellingham said he is targeting a treble of team honours this season as he seeks a trophy-laden climax to his debut season at Madrid.
Madrid are 11 points clear at the top of LaLiga and are into the Champions League semifinals, and he will be a crucial part in Gareth Southgate’s plan to win the European Championship title with England.
The midfielder scored on Sunday as Madrid beat Barcelona 3-2 in the Clásico to edge ever nearer to the LaLiga title, and will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League after overcoming Manchester City in last week’s quarterfinals.
