One former Arsenal star has now likened Jude Bellingham’s early progression in his career to his own and Lionel Messi’s.
Jude Bellingham is undoubtedly one of the most exciting young talents in world football at this moment in time.
The 20-year-old is currently in Germany, representing England at Euro 2024, alongside Arsenal stars Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and Aaron Ramsdale.
The midfielder went into the international tournament after a stellar domestic campaign. In his first season at Real Madrid, Bellingham was able to rack up an astonishing 23 goals, on his way to achieving a La Liga and Champions League double.
He made a strong start to the European Championships too, as he grabbed the vital goal in the Three Lions’ 1-0 win over Serbia in their first game of the competition. However, whilst Bellingham stole the show, many Arsenal fans lauded Saka for his contribution in that match, as he provided the assist for the first half strike.
Since then, though, Bellingham has found things tough going in Germany. He turned in disappointing performances as Gareth Southgate’s side stuttered to draws against both Denmark and Slovenia.
Rice has hit back against the criticisms that have been levelled at the England team in recent days, but in truth, they will have to improve dramatically if they are go deep in the competition. That means that talismanic figures such as Bellingham need to stand up and make a difference.
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Arsenal icon Cesc Fabregas compares himself and Jude Bellingham
Despite his pair of poor recent outings, the 32-cap international remains a dazzling talent. Former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas knows what it’s like to burst on to the scene so spectacularly at such a young age, and has now likened Bellingham’s rapid rise to his own.
In an interview with the BBC, the Spaniard was asked if he was better than Bellingham when he was the same age as the Englishman.
Fabregas replied: “It’s difficult to say, isn’t it? I started very young, I had a very big impact at Arsenal, playing Champions League finals at also 19-years-old, winning the Euros at 21-years-old. FA Cups, fighting for leagues. Yeah, I had also a strong personality, having fights at 17-years-old with Alan Shearer, with [Teddy] Sheringham.
“Jude is fantastic. I mean, I can see that. The impact he has at this age is not normal. For this reason, for me, he’s in this bracket of the Rooneys of the past, the Messis, the Cristianos, at that age.”
What Fabregas achieved in his career
Fabregas made his debut for the Gunners in 2003, at just 16-years-old. He went on to make over 300 appearances for the North London club and is remembered as a legend by many at the Emirates Stadium.
Over the course of spells with Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea, Fabregas won many major honours in his career. On the international stage he also triumphed at the Euros in 2008 and 2012, and was part of the Spain side that were crowned world champions in 2010.
Bellingham would be honoured by the comparison with Fabregas. However, Fabregas himself never hit the heights scaled by Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the two greatest players of all time, making their mention in his statement rather odd.