A Borussia Dortmund icon has recalled his interactions with Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham
Paul Lambert has revealed Jude Bellingham once reached out to offer him his shirt after a game. He met Bellingham during a visit to Borussia Dortmund and the young star demonstrated his respect for Lambert, who won the Champions League with the German club in 1997.
Bellingham emerged as a teenage prodigy at Birmingham City, making his first team debut as a 16-year-old. Following his breakthrough season, he was snapped up by Dortmund for £25million in 2020.
Despite his tender age, Bellingham made an instant impact for his new club, where he linked up with the likes of Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho. It was during Bellingham’s first season that Lambert crossed paths with the future England midfielder, who surprised the former Aston Villa boss with a classy gesture.
“I just saw a really humble, really nice kid,” Lambert told Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction. “He actually wrote me a text one day, a few years back when I was at a Dortmund game.
“It just said ‘Paul I don’t know if you collect jerseys, but I’d like to give you mine after the game’. And that’s what he did. He gave it to me straight after the game, so it was soaking wet… I just said to him the secret of a good player is not to get that much sweat on your jersey!
“Now he’s gone on to do what he’s done in the game, it’s probably worth a few quid, but I might just keep it! It was really kind of him to do that for me, though, and I think it says a lot about the type of person he is. To see him go on to become this global talent has been great… hopefully his brother does the same.”
Bellingham spent three years at Dortmund, making 132 appearances and winning the 2021 DFB-Pokal. His younger brother Jobe followed in Jude’s footsteps this summer, joining Dortmund from Sunderland.
It was shortly after meeting Lambert that Bellingham made his England debut. The 22-year-old has already collected 46 caps for his country and been to three major tournaments, including reaching two Euro finals.
Bellingham will be determined to help the Three Lions win the World Cup next summer. Meanwhile, Lambert never had any doubts that he would become a key player for club and country.
“I remember seeing Jude in the dressing room area, and it’s funny because you forget how young they are at the time, but he was calling me a legend, and all of that kind of thing,” Lambert said. “I just said to him, ‘No, my time’s gone; it’s your time to go and do what you’ve got to do.’
“He wasn’t an England player at the time, but he was getting talked about a bit. I remember telling him he’d get in the England squad. I knew it because of the fact he was playing regularly for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, in front of huge, huge crowds.
“I knew it was only ever going to be a matter of time before he got in. And now he’s developing into a really top player, but I could see it in training back then, to be honest.”