Bellingham is considered one of the most talented young players in world football. Liverpool and Real Madrid, among other clubs, competed for the 20-year-old’s signature this summer, and Los Blancos beat their opponents.
While the English player is famous for his skillful ball handling on the field, his shirt number also attracts the attention of fans. Bellingham has worn the number 22 shirt since joining Birmingham City. This club even hung the number 22 even though he only appeared 44 times before signing a £25 million contract with Dortmund. This midfielder then continued to wear the same shirt number at the Ruhr region team.
Bellingham in Birmingham City colors.
The story behind his unique choice of number begins in his early days in Birmingham. In the early years, the youth coach told Bellingham that he did not need to limit himself to one role – and he could be a number 4 (defensive midfielder), a number 8 (box-to midfielder). -box) and number 10 (attacking midfielder).
Birmingham City’s head of development, Mike Dodds, spoke to talkSPORT 2 to explain the reasoning behind his choice of shirt number:
“He wasn’t outstanding. At that time I just remember this boy was very good. He was about 13 years old and like most boys of that age, they wanted to be number 10. And I remember, they I sat down with him and said he’s limiting himself, we think he can play many roles,” he added.
“We think you can take number 22“His eyes lit up and we knew we had him hooked from then on!”” Dodds explains.
Bellingham used to wear shirt number 22 at Birmingham City, Dortmund and the England team.
The youngster was given the number 5 shirt at new club Real Madrid after joining Merengues in the summer for a record fee of 103 million euros. Antonio Rudiger already held the number 22 in the Spanish capital, so the English midfielder decided to wear Zinedine Zidane’s legendary number 5 shirt.
“I’ve said in many interviews how much I admire Zinedine Zidane, the legacy he has at the club with this number – I’m just trying to be Jude, but it’s definitely a How wonderful a little homage to him is,” Bellingham said at a press conference.
He added: “The number 22 means a lot and in my heart, I am still number 22.”
Bellingham has played spectacularly for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, scoring double-digit goals this season. The youngster has adapted incredibly and emerged as a leader of the team.
Dang Nguyen | 20:53 October 23, 2023
