Bellingham’s Irish links, how he could have played for Ireland and Keane praise

Jude Bellingham has been one of Real Madrid’s key players this season and is expected to play a starring role for England at this summer’s Euros.

However, the midfielder could have played for Ireland – but he made his debut against the Boys In Green instead. The 20-year-old is eligible to play for Ireland through a grandparent.

So good has Bellingham been for Carlo Ancelotti’s men this season that he is currently second favourite behind teammate Vinicius Junior to win the Ballon d’Or. He will be hoping to help the Spanish side be crowned European champions for a 15th time on Saturday night.

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Bellingham’s father, a policeman who was also a prolific non-league striker, once posted a photo of his son in an Ireland jersey.

Mark tweeted as the pandemic raged in September 2020: “This half Irish kid [Mark] is going to go online and watch his mixed race England U21 international son [Jude] make his competitive debut in the German Cup.”

Proud dad Mark watched on You Tube as his then 17-year-old son Jude scored in his first match for Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.

Jude, who had joined Dortmund from Birmingham City in July 2020 for an initial £25m (€29m), scored his side’s second goal in a 5-0 rout of third-division Duisburg in the German Cup first round.

After watching Bellingham at the 2022 World Cup, former Ireland captain Roy Keane (51), who was working as a pundit at the tournament, said: “He’s going to be a superstar, that kid.”

Bellingham could have played for Ireland but, instead, he made his England debut against them in November 2020 when he was aged only 17.

England won the friendly 3-0 at Wembley Stadium and Bellingham became the third youngest to play for England.

Only younger were Theo Walcott (33), who was 17 when he went to the 2006 World Cup, and Wayne Rooney (37) – another player who could have played for Ireland due to his Irish heritage.

He is the eldest child of Denise and Mark Bellingham and was born in 2003 in Stourbridge, Dudley, in the West Midlands.

West Midlands Police sergeant Mark had a 20-year career as a prolific non-league striker, scoring over 700 goals with clubs including Stourbridge, Halesowen, Bromsgrove, Leamington and Sutton Coldfield.

After he retired in 2017, son Jude said: “I used to watch him play all the time. It’s where I started to get that love for football.

“I think you can see in the way I play that I’ve watched the game from a young age.

“That non-league style of toughness and being gritty when you need to be is reflected in my game, and I do think that comes from watching my dad.”

Like Keane, Jude could have played for all-time Premier League champions Manchester United, who lined up a £20m (€23m) bid for him in 2020 when he was just 17.

After signing for Dortmund, Jude revealed in November 2020 that he turned down United because he wanted to get first team football like his then Dortmund teammate Jadon Sancho (22) – who subsequently left to join United and has since re-joined the Germans.

Jude said at the time: “We’re all trying to play but, specifically, we’re trying to make that next step into Europe’s elite.

“I think Jadon has done that perfectly and he was a massive factor in looking at his journey. Hopefully, I can mirror it.”

The 20-year-old joined Real Madrid on a six-year contract last June, with Dortmund receiving a base transfer fee of €103 million, with potential to rise by 30% to approximately €133.9 million due to add-ons.

Bellingham has had a remarkable debut season at the Bernabeu, scoring 23 goals in all competitions and could cap it off by winning the Champions League on home soil at Wembley on Saturday against Borussia Dortmund.

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