Joe Cole didn’t compare the English rising star Jude Bellingham to Lionel Messi, but he did point out one quality that Bellingham has that Messi lacked in his early career.
England qualified for next year’s European Championship thanks to a 3-1 victory over Italy at Wembley, and Bellingham was named man of the match for his outstanding performance in that game.
After winning the penalty that set up Harry Kane’s brilliant goal for England, the 20-year-old set up Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford for the game-winning goal.
Despite the early deficit, Bellingham was constantly communicating with his teammates and making attempts to rile up the Wembley fans.
Cole has hailed the midfielder as a ‘leader’ who can steer England to silverware, following his brilliant outings at Real Madrid, where he is presently the leading scorer in La Liga
On Tuesday, Jude Bellingham had another outstanding game for England.
The 20-year-old unhinged Italy’s midfield in a dominant victory for England against Italy
Joe Cole thinks that, like the portrayed Lionel Messi, Bellingham is a natural leader.
Bellingham was a key factor in England’s World Cup win last year, and a former Chelsea and England forward thinks he can do the same for Argentina this time around.
“I won’t compare him to Messi,” Cole said of him on Channel Four, “but when Messi led Argentina to the World Cup, he can be that type of leader, Messi at 20 wasn’t that mature.”
After hinting to Bellingham that he should go from the Spanish top flight to the Premier League, Cole continued to explain why it makes sense for the former Birmingham and Borussia Dortmund star to stay at Madrid.
The highly talented all-around player moved to Madrid in the summer for £113 million and has adjusted to life at the Santiago Bernabeu better than most people expected.
Kylian Mbappe will likely make an appearance for PSG in the upcoming season, as “Don Carlo” Ancelotti will look after him.
After Manchester United’s victory, Marcus Rashford called Bellingham a “unbelievable player.”
Chelsea forward and former England international Cole praised Bellingham’s leadership skills.
After reaching the pinnacle of success in Madrid, I can understand your desire to head back home. There’s no reason to quit a good club, even if you go there and win it all and start thinking you might want to do it at home. He went on, “You are at the top of the tree.”
Bellingham’s teammate, Rashford, agreed with this assessment, calling Bellingham a “unbelievable player.”
The United superstar gushed, “He is an incredible player, full of energy everywhere on pitch, not just qualities.”
It’s fun to play with him, and we hope he keeps it up. The team will still benefit significantly from his apparent influence even if he didn’t score tonight.