An England midfield star signing for Real Madrid amid a blaze of expectations and global publicity - it's something David Beckham can relate to.
Perhaps it should not come as a surprise then, that the Inter Miami owner got in touch with the 20-year-old sensation to wish him good luck. Back in 2003, long before transfer fees became as extortionate as they are in the present day, Beckham's move commanded a fee of around £30 million, less than half of the £88.5 million (with add ons) that Real have forked out to Borussia Dortmund for Bellingham.
The youngster is now the seventh British player to join the 14-time European champions. As well as the former Manchester United star, other big names to have preceded him include the likes of Steve McManaman, Gareth Bale, and Michael Owen.
And the latest Bernabeu star was grateful for the contact from the man who won the La Liga title with Real back in the 2006/07 season: “David Beckham messaged me briefly to wish me all the best,” he told the PA news agency.
“It is one of those moves where everyone has their input from the outside so you do hear a lot of things and advice, I am quite good at filtering out the good from the bad, so far it has been really positive from ex-players. I will try and take that on board and at some point maybe get in touch with them and see how they adapted to life in Spain.”
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It was Gary Lineker, who enjoyed a successful stint at Barcelona, who once publicly advised Bale to "learn the language" ahead of his own move to Spain. And sure enough, Bellingham himself has started using a learning app, aiming to build on what he has already picked up in school.
“I have got it on my phone, I’ve got a good little streak going at the minute,” he continued. “It’s nine days since I started taking it properly seriously. It is one of those things where you hear it and you start to pick up little things and you see it on TV with interviews of other players, so it comes a bit more naturally than you think."
And after three years in the Bundesliga, Bellingham is grateful for one small mercy: “It is a lot easier than trying to learn German at least. I did Spanish at school up to year 9, obviously, in hindsight, I would have carried it on.”
Beckham played 155 times for the side infamously dubbed the 'galacticos', scoring 20 times. His time in Spain ended with a move to LA Galaxy, although he then returned to Europe intermittently on loan spells at AC Milan before ending his career at PSG.
Bellingham, already with 24 international caps to his name, has signed a six year deal. Upon signing, he claimed the "respect that England has for Real Madrid is so high” and cited his desire to add to the “great history” of the club.
