As it was Father’s Day, my football-mad sons came round my house on Sunday night to watch England kick off their Euro 2024 campaign.
And when Jude Bellingham strutted cockily away after scoring England’s crucial winning goal, my youngest boy Bertie, 23, turned to me and exclaimed: ‘Dad, he’s three years younger than me!’
We both laughed loudly at the sheer absurdity of this statement.
It’s impossible to comprehend just how young Bellingham is given his awesome size, power, astounding talent, and swaggering self-confidence.
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Bellingham doesn’t do doubt, or fear, or anxiety.
He knows exactly how good he is.
In my favourite movie Top Gun, Captain Tom ‘Stinger’ Jordan sneers at Maverick’s dangerous risk-taking fighter jet antics: ‘Son, your ego is writing cheques your body can’t cash!’
But in Bellingham’s case, his ego is writing cheques his body CAN cash.
After he scored, England fans serenaded their new hero with another rousing rendition of the iconic Beatles anthem Hey Jude, rocking the stadium with the chorus line: : 'Na..na..na.nananana... nananana... HEY JUDE!'
Some players might shy away from being linked to the world’s greatest ever pop band.
Not Bellingham, a young man whose media appearances are like his football - wise beyond his years, dazzlingly charismatic, and seemingly effortless.
'I like the Beatles,’ he smiled at the post-match press conference. ‘I listen to the Beatles a lot - my style of music is a bit old, so that's right up my street.’
Ironically, the Beatles were at their performing peak when England’s footballers were last at their performing peak, in 1966 when we won the World Cup.
And just as the Beatles perfected their craft in Germany, in the clubs of Hamburg, so Bellingham perfected his craft in Germany, at Borussia Dortmund.
As for his style of music being a ‘bit old’, the same could be said of his style of football.
Because Bellingham is a stunning hybrid version of some of the greatest to ever pull on an England shirt.
He’s Duncan Edwards with a dash of Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, David Beckham, Paul Gascoigne, Brian Robson, Paul Scholes, Glenn Hoddle, Gary Lineker and Wayne Rooney.
If this sounds like ridiculous hyperbole, consider this: on a night when he played for an England team many people think is our best since ’66, Bellingham wasn’t just Man of the Match, he was the best player in every single department on either side.
He was the best tackler, the best attacker, the best playmaker, the best passer, the best finisher, the best leader, the best warrior, the best everything.
He was graceful, elegant and silky-smooth but also rough and ruthless when he had to be, too.
My favourite moment wasn’t his thunderbolt header goal, it was when Serbia’s Filip Kostic tried to mix it with him a few minutes later.
Bellingham towered over the Juventus star, verbally spray-gunned him back, then deliberately shoulder-barged him.
The message was clear: I’m the Boss here, and don’t you forget it sunshine.
Kostic limped off in the 43rd minute, a broken man.
Bellingham’s combination of eloquent charm and belligerent bravado is very Beatles-esque.
John, Paul, George and Ringo didn’t just walk the walk on the global stage with their brilliant music, they talked the talked too.
They were unashamedly arrogant, took no prisoners if challenged, and had a world-beating ambition that they fulfilled.
But like Bellingham, their egos were born from hard graft.
The Beatles famously did over 10,000 hours of practice before they hit the big time.
Bellingham did even more, and still reportedly trains like a fiend.
That’s why the Fab Four became the biggest stars on the planet, and why he is heading the same way fast.
And it’s hard to think of a better role model.
Bellingham is a handsome, polite and well-educated young man with a strong, tight-knit and supportive family whose parents urged him to work hard and pursue his dreams.
Yes, he has the cock-of-the-walk swag that comes with being a genius player and the stand-out star of a Real Madrid team that just won the Champions League.
But all my favourite footballers have had that, from Cristiano Ronaldo to Thierry Henry.
And their success wasn’t an accident either - they all share the same ferocious work ethic.
Bellingham also has a big, compassionate and empathetic heart.
Back in January, he was sitting on the Madrid subs’ bench in freezing cold, keeping himself warm with a large blanket, when he noticed a young ballboy standing and shivering nearby.
He beckoned the boy to come towards him, but the boy said he wasn’t allowed to leave his post, so Bellingham got up, walked over to him and placed the blanket around him.
‘This is the happiest day of my life,’ the boy said later.
Small gestures like speak volumes about someone’s character.
Coincidentally, Paul McCartney wrote Hey Jude for John Lennon’s 5-year-old son Julian because he wanted to keep his spirits up as his parents went through a messy divorce.
A concern for a young boy’s distress, whether from marital discord or inclement weather, neatly rounds off the Beatles comparisons.
Jude Bellingham is the real deal, on and off the pitch.
