It has been described that the way Jude Bellingham celebrated was “a ombination of pure joy, courage and a touch of arrogance” and it perfectly sums up the English midfielder’s playing style.
Jude Bellingham’s iconic celebration style. Photo: Givemesport
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On December 23, 2017, after scoring from the penalty spot to increase the score to 2-0 for Barcelona in the match against Real Madrid, Lionel Messi ran to the corner of the field, celebrated with his teammates before heading to the stands with fans. The host, arms spread out at a diagonal angle, head held high. That match, Barcelona won 3-0 at the Bernabeu Stadium, ruining the day the Royal team introduced to Madridistas the FIFA Club World Cup trophy they had just won.
That is the arrogant image that Messi shows in front of his great rival, but it is not symbolic in the way the legend celebrates.
Argentina. Messi has many different ways to celebrate, but not all players imitate them.
More than 7 years later, on April 21, 2024, also at the now renovated and upgraded Bernabeu, there were also 2 players celebrating in the same way. One is Fermin Lopez – 20 years old, after scoring to increase the score to 2-1 for Barca and jumping on the electronic billboard but… it was a mistake so people couldn’t see any arrogance worthy of the image of Messi. ever created.
Second is Jude Bellingham – also 20 years old, with a goal in the 90+1 minute, sealing a 3-2 victory for Real Madrid. Like Messi, after sharing joy with his teammates, Bellingham turned to the stands and did exactly what the 36-year-old superstar did. Of course, unlike Fermin, the English midfielder’s image and silhouette recreate arrogance and pride.
The begining
But, Bellingham does not imitate Messi. It wasn’t until he joined Real Madrid that he celebrated in this style. It started in 2019, when Bellingham was just 16 years old.
Bellingham’s scoring output exploded when he arrived at Real Madrid but he always had a striker’s instincts running through his veins. Bellingham’s father Mark, who was teased by his son for shedding tears at his Real Madrid debut, scored more than 700 goals in his non-League career while working as a sergeant for West Midlands Police .
In his first match for Birmingham City in the Championship, just 2 months after turning 16 in 2019, Bellingham scored against Stoke City in his home debut, helping Birmingham come back to win 2- first. Overwhelmed with emotion, the teenager celebrated by “grass skating”, before being surrounded by his teammates to congratulate him. That was when he was 16 years, 63 days old.
2 weeks later, in his first start, Bellingham continued to score – this time the only goal of the match, against Charlton. However, he did not kneel down and cover his face anymore, Birmingham’s number 22 ran a few steps closer to the fan area and spread his arms wide in the joy of everyone. And that’s when the Bellingham-branded celebration began.
Many football stars have their own branded way of celebrating, like Cristiano Ronaldo’s “Siuuu” or Cameroonian legend Roger Milla’s dancing at the flagpole… And
Bellingham also had the same thing for himself, whether he later went to Borussia Dortmund or Real Madrid now.
Interestingly, Bellingham himself isn’t sure what inspired him to celebrate that way. “The truth is I don’t know exactly where it came from. I started doing it in Birmingham and from there I continued but for no reason at all. The fact that children imitate me is a source of pride,” he said.
It’s unknown where it came from, but based on Jude’s way of celebrating, it was described as “a combination of pure joy, courage and a bit of arrogance”. It perfectly sums up Bellingham’s style of play. An enjoyment of results after dedication.
Inspire
Earlier this week, Bellingham was present at the Laureus Sports Awards, where he was honored in the “Breakthrough of the Year” category. The person giving him the award was Carlos Alcaraz – the world’s number 3 tennis player and a fan of Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic – the world’s No. 1 tennis player, also a fan of the Royal team, won the “Male Athlete of the Year” category.
The common point of the two superstars in the football industry is that they were also inspired by the way they celebrate
Bellingham shows off. Alcaraz did a similar pose after winning the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2023, and Djokovic also broadcast an image of Bellingham after defeating Holger Rune in December of the same year.
It didn’t stop there, when Bellingham was injured, teammate Brahim Diaz celebrated in his own way after scoring against RB Leipzig in the Champions League. It was such a great goal that the former Borussia Dortmund player had to say: “Oh my God, Brahim!!!”.
Of course, not everyone was impressed with that action, especially the opponents. When the Englishman scored against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames and celebrated as usual, the Basque club’s captain, Iker Muniain, said: “You don’t do that here.” And home team fans expressed anger.
Despite the criticism, the 20-year-old hasn’t shied away from celebrating and it seems like he won’t stop, especially as he continues to score goals in important moments.
And when people remember that Bellingham also scored in stoppage time in the 2-1 win over Barcelona last October, for Madridistas, this is the new symbol for Super Classic matches.