Jude Bellingham accused of being two-faced and ‘fake’ after star's spat

Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham has been branded as "fake" by Real Mallorca defender Pablo Maffeo.

The pair faced off when Madrid met Mallorca during the Supercopa de Espana, which was held in Saudi Arabia in January. Speaking out on his encounter with Bellingham, an angered Maffeo boldly declared that the former Borussia Dortmund star is two-faced.

Maffeo, 27, unloaded on the Three Lions star after being asked who he prefers out of Bellingham and Vinicius Jr – two players he has routinely clashed with. "Do I tell you what I think or…? I swear I like Vinicius better, because you see him and he's impulsive like me, he comes at you," Maffeo told La Zona 10.

"The other one [Bellingham] comes from behind. So, it's a bit like what happens to me in real life: ‘Hey, you don't like me. Fine, but say it to my face'. If you play the gentleman, the polite boy, but then you insult or pick on your colleagues from behind, then you're a fake.

"Come face to face, it’s ok. I don't like you, you already know that, but don't act all nice and then.... So who do I prefer of the two? I prefer Vinicius because I know what he is like."

The fallout with Maffeo, who was once in the youth ranks of Manchester City, is not the only controversy that has plagued Bellingham recently. The 21-year-old was shown a red card in Madrid's 1-1 draw with Osasuna last Saturday.

The England midfielder claimed that his dismissal was due to a misunderstanding with referee Jose Munuera. He was deemed to have shown 'disrespect' towards Munuera and has now been banned for two La Liga games.

Speaking after the match, Bellingham said: "I never insulted the referee, I'm glad to see there are videos to show the reality despite the referee's report."

Madrid are currently second in La Liga on goal difference behind rivals Barcelona. However, Los Blancos did book their place in the Champions League last 16 after they blew away Pep Guardiola's City 3-1 (6-3 on aggregate) on Wednesday night in the Spanish capital thanks to a sublime hat-trick by Kylian Mbappe.

Maffeo spent several years with City after joining their U18 side from Espanyol in 2013 but would only make three appearances in their first team. He then had spells out on loan with Girona before then joining German side Stuttgart in 2018. A switch to Mallorca in 2022 followed.