Bellingham argues with teammate 'over Mbappe' & goes against Real Madrid plan

Jude Bellingham has risked upsetting future Real Madrid team-mate Kylian Mbappe by appearing to claim that Erling Haaland is "better" than him.

In a short video which has gone viral on social media, Bellingham and current team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni were heard seemingly debating the two superstars, one of whom - Mbappe - is set to join them at Real. A 15-second clip shows the England international telling pal Tchouameni that a player - whose name gets bleeped out but is widely considered to be Haaland - is a "great guy."

"He's a great guy?" the Frenchman asked while sat across from Bellingham. The 20-year-old Englishman - who played alongside Haaland at Borussia Dortmund before the Norwegian striker's move to Manchester City in 2022 - then doubled down by adding: He's an unbelievable guy."

But Tchouameni, 24, responded bluntly by saying: "We don't care." Weighing in on the debate, another Real player and France international, Eduardo Camavinga, pointed at Tchouameni to say: "Man, shut up." But the latter once again insisted: "We don't care."

Bellingham then jokingly mocked Tchouameni's English-speaking accent before appearing to make his claim about Mbappe, who plays alongside Tchouameni and Camavinga for France. "He's better than your boy," the Birmingham-born midfielder declared.

"Which one?" Tchouameni replied. Then came another censored name - believed to be Mbappe's - which prompted Tchouameni to protest: "Nah, bro," before saying "please" on repeat.

It's unclear when the conversation was recorded, as on February 20 it was widely reported that Mbappe had agreed to sign for the Spanish giants - who've also been tipped to buy Haaland from Manchester City in the future. Real have been pursuing Paris Saint-Germain superstar Mbappe for years and came close in 2022, only for the forward to make a U-turn.

Mbappe instead signed a new 'three-year deal' with PSG, but it turns out that the final year of his contract had to be approved by the player. Last summer, he informed the club that he wouldn't be triggering that clause and would therefore be available on a free transfer in the summer of 2024.

Now we're approaching that stage, Real are braced for his arrival and hope to see Bellingham, Tchouameni, Camavinga and Mbappe all shine in the same team. Los Blancos are currently top of La Liga, six points ahead of arch rivals Barcelona, who they welcome to the Bernabeu on April 21.

PSG boss Luis Enrique appeared to confirm Mbappe's departure following their Champions League round-of-16 victory over Real Sociedad earlier this month. Coincidentally, they'll play Barca in the semi-finals.

"He's the best player in the world," Luis Enrique claimed post-match. "He'll score 50 goals and provide 25 assists in any team with any coach and unfortunately he won't be here in the near future so we will have to test other teammates of his."

A few days later, the PSG manager told Prime Video Sport: "I wish all the best to Kylian Mbappe for his future. He's a fantastic player and even more as a person. I really wish him all the best."