‘Zidane successor’ Bellingham says he’ll ‘carry on the No. 5 tradition’

It wasn’t No. 7, and it wasn’t No. 14. Jude Bellingham’s (Real Madrid) shirt number is five.

Real celebrated the signing of Bellingham on Friday (local time). The club announced the signing of Bellingham on Thursday. Real paid a transfer fee of €130 million to Borussia Dortmund for Bellingham. Real and Bellingham have signed a contract until June 2029.메이저놀이터

Bellingham’s shirt number was not revealed when the signing was announced. Initially, it was suggested that Bellingham could wear the number 7, which was vacant when his move to Real was finalized. However, Real assigned the number 7 to Vinicius Junior. Another option was the number 14. However, Real allocated the number 5. Defender Jesús Vallejo, who wore number 5 in the 2022-2023 season, changed to number 24.

The number 5 has a lot of symbolism for Real. It’s usually worn by defenders, but it’s also the number that “legend” and former coach Zinedine Zidane wore between 2001 and 2006. It’s a defender’s number, and if a midfielder wears it, it’s the number of Zidane’s successor. You can see the expectations Real have for Bellingham.

Bellingham was conscious of the fact that Zidane wore the number. According to Spain”s Marca, he said, “I respect Zidane. I want to continue the tradition of this number. It’s a big responsibility,” he said.

He added: “It’s an honor to come to Real. I’ve always been a Real fan and it’s a team I’ve always wanted to play for,” he said.