Jude Victor William Bellingham (born 29 June 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and the England national team.

[7] Bellingham joined Birmingham City as an under-8, became the club's youngest first-team player when he made his senior debut in August 2019, at the age of 16 years, 38 days, and played regularly during the 2019–20 season.

"[24] By March 2019, he had three goals from ten development squad appearances,[25] had featured in FourFourTwo's list of the "50 most exciting teenagers in English football",[26] and was mentioned as of interest to major European clubs.

[25][27] He was gradually introduced to the first-team environment while still a schoolboy: increasingly training with the seniors, he accompanied them on matchday to observe,[18] and travelled as the "19th man" for a Championship match in March.

[31] On 6 August, when he started the EFL Cup first round visit to Portsmouth, Bellingham became the youngest first-team player in Birmingham City's history.

Replacing the injured Jefferson Montero after half an hour, Bellingham scored the winner – albeit via a generous deflection – as Birmingham came back from 1–0 down to beat Stoke 2–1, and thus became their youngest goalscorer, aged 16 years, 63 days.

[20] He was eased into the team on the left wing, moved into central midfield "where he could gain more confidence", and then used "in a more advanced role" once the staff were sure he could cope with the responsibility.

"[36] Bellingham was linked with moves to numerous major clubs in January 2020;[37] on deadline day, Birmingham were reported to have turned down a £20 million bid from Manchester United.

He remained an integral part of the team once the season resumed behind closed doors,[33] and set up a late equaliser for Lukas Jutkiewicz against Charlton Athletic that made Birmingham's league position less precarious with two matches still to play.

[43] Impressed by Dortmund's record of including young players as regulars in the first team, as evidenced by the likes of Jadon Sancho, Bellingham reportedly settled on the club as his destination of choice.

[44] Five days later, he marked his league debut with the assist for Reyna's opening goal in a 3–0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach,[45] and was named as Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for September.

[46] When Bellingham faced Lazio in the group stage on 20 October, aged 17 years and 113 days, he became the youngest Englishman to start a UEFA Champions League match, breaking the record previously set by Phil Foden.

[52] Bellingham was runner-up to Pedri of Barcelona in the 2021 Kopa Trophy, awarded to the world's best under-21 male player as voted by previous winners of the Ballon d'Or.

[62] Having finished as runner-up two years prior, Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy in 2023 in recognition of his performances over the 2022–23 season for Dortmund and for England in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

[66][A] On 12 August 2023, Bellingham marked his debut with a close-range half-volleyed goal from a corner kick in a 2–0 La Liga win away to Athletic Bilbao.

[67] Two goals and an assist for Vinícius Júnior in a 3–1 victory at Almería[68] and the winner at Celta Vigo in the two remaining August matches made him the league's top scorer and the first English recipient of the La Liga Player of the Month award.

[69] A 95th-minute winner against Getafe on 2 September in his first match at the newly renovated Santiago Bernabéu made Bellingham the third player (after Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2009–10 season and Pepillo in 1959–60) to score in each of his first four competitive appearances for the club.

[79] Having received the Kopa Trophy a few weeks earlier,[9] Bellingham was named winner of the Golden Boy for 2023, an award made to the best male under-21 footballer playing in the European top divisions over a calendar year.

Wearing heavy strapping, he assisted the first goal and scored the third of a 3–0 win, which took Madrid top of the table and his personal total to 14 from his first 15 games, breaking the club record held jointly by Pruden, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Cristiano Ronaldo.

[11] Facing his former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final, Bellingham produced the assist for Vinícius Júnior to complete a 2–0 win.

[90] On 14 August 2024, Bellingham started his second season in Spain, providing the assist for his new Real teammate Kylian Mbappé's debut goal, as Madrid defeated Atalanta 2–0 to win a record-breaking sixth European Super Cup.

[96][97] He was included in England's under-17 squad for the Syrenka Cup, a friendly tournament held in September 2019 in preparation for the 2020 European Championship qualifiers the following March.

He also made the run and pass to Harry Kane who crossed for Raheem Sterling to score England's third goal, and played the through ball from which Callum Wilson set up their sixth for Jack Grealish.

[117] After scoring the equaliser, Bellingham gestured towards the opposing substitutes' bench by grabbing his crotch, claiming it was an inside joke aimed at "some close friends".

[118] After an investigation, UEFA found he had "violat[ed] the basic rules of decent conduct", fined him €30,000 and imposed a one-match ban suspended for 12 months.

Bellingham touched Saka's pass to Cole Palmer who equalised after 73 minutes, but Spain scored a late winner and England ended the tournament as runners-up.

[125] An analysis by Andy Smith for the Bundesliga described Bellingham as "the complete package: a dynamic midfielder who can win the ball and drive it forward, hold up possession, resist the press, find gaps in opposition defences, plus assist and score goals".

[127] Bellingham has been described by Philipp Lahm as a "complete midfielder", who can "dribble, pass, shoot and has the urge to score", and who is "physical and fearless, holds his ground in challenges and wins the ball".

[140] In the same month, Adidas launched Bellingham's first-ever signature collection, featuring a jersey, tracksuit, ringer tee, and shorts, all adorned with the JB monogram logo.