Jude Bellingham has played an unprecedented number of minutes as a teenager. The England international’s current club, Borussia Dortmund, as well as potential suitors like Liverpool and Real Madrid may want to take heed and manage his future load accordingly.
The midfielder doesn’t turn 20 until the summer. He looks set to make it to over 200 appearances played as a teenager – a tally that’s pretty much unprecedented.
To date, Bellingham has made 192 senior appearances, 158 senior starts and 13,787 minutes for club and country in all competitions.
To put that in context, Lionel Messi had played almost 10,000 fewer minutes as a teenager, Erling Haaland had made 100 fewer starts and the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Bukayo Saka – all of whom burst onto the scene at a young age – racked up considerably fewer appearances.
England icon David Beckham had only made five senior appearances prior to his 20th birthday, Paul Scholes just 19, and Frank Lampard 46.
Steven Gerrard, who Bellingham has cited as his idol, didn’t break through to start regularly for Liverpool and England until his early twenties.
The legendary former Liverpool captain made just 43 appearances (31 starts) as a teenager – a tiny fraction of the number Bellingham has already tallied.
“Well let me tell you, you’re a lot further ahead than I was at your age. So you’re going in the right direction, that’s for sure,” Gerrard said, speaking to Bellingham as a pundit on Channel 4’s coverage of England’s 2-0 World Cup qualifier victory over Ukraine.
“Well for one he’s got a better body than what I had at 19. I’m being serious! I never had that power and strength until I was 22-23.
“So he’s definitely more physically developed than me. He’s more confident than me on the ball, in terms of trying stuff. I’m not just saying that to be modest, but I think he’s further on than what I was at 19.
“Don’t get me wrong, I got to where I wanted to get to, and he’s going to get to where he wants to if he keeps doing what he’s doing.
“He’s a fantastic player. He just needs to keep playing well, keep playing well and the rest will take care of itself.”
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READ: Jude Bellingham’s stunning dribble made Gerrard and Liverpool swoon
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Bellingham has already made 24 appearances for England, including knockout matches at two major tournaments.
He burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old at Birmingham City and quickly began…
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