Thibaut Courtois has predicted that his Real Madrid team-mate Jude Bellingham will lead both his club and his country to many trophies over the coming years.
Bellingham has enjoyed an excellent 2026, helping England record their best-ever World Cup finish on foreign soil as they took the bronze medal in North America, while rediscovering his club form with Madrid under Jose Mourinho.
Having scored seven goals at the World Cup, Bellingham has scored five goals and supplied five assists this term for Madrid, who are just two points behind Barcelona at the top of LaLiga.
That is after Bellingham – and the rest of his Blancos team-mates – endured a frustrating 2025-26, as Madrid failed to win a major trophy (LaLiga, the Copa del Rey or the Champions League) for a second straight campaign.
But speaking during a web summit in Lisbon, Courtois, who has opted out of Belgium's Nations League fixtures this week, said Bellingham was back to his best.
"He's so important to us. I rate Jude very highly. First of all, he is a great guy, a good friend. Second, he is an amazing player," Courtois said of Bellingham.
"I think his first season [at Madrid] was amazing. Last year, with all the team, I think we all played less well than maybe our qualities are."
Bellingham was recently named England's men's player of the year for 2026, and with the Three Lions serving as one of four host nations for Euro 2028, hopes are high that they could finally end their long wait for a major trophy.
"I think Jude had an amazing World Cup. He was maybe England's best player, from the games I saw," Courtois added.
"He just kept this level. He's very strong on the ball, with his runs, defensively, and he's very young still.
"I'm sure that the day he will retire, he will retire with many more trophies at Real Madrid and hopefully also with England.
"Hopefully it won't be at the Euros, because I hope for Belgium to win! But if they [England] won it, I would be happy for Jude. He's a great player."
England will take on Croatia and Spain in their final group-stage fixtures in the Nations League this week, while Belgium face Turkiye and Italy.
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