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Carlo Ancelotti has lavished praise on Jude Bellingham, claiming that the England international is the future of Real Madrid ahead of their crunch UEFA Champions League clash against Manchester City on Wednesday (April 17).
Los Blancos played out a six-goal thriller with Pep Guardiola's side at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on April 10. The match saw both sides gain and lose their leads before ending in a 3-3 draw.
Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, and Josko Gvardiol scored once each for Manchester City, while a shot that deflected off of Ruben Dias saw him get on the wrong side of the scoresheet. Meanwhile, Rodrygo and Federico Valverde found the back of the net for Real Madrid.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the second leg at the Etihad, Ancelotti lauded Bellingham for his impact and influence on the team. The Real Madrid manager said (via Managing Madrid):
“Bellingham is really good, he will be one of the most important players for the future of Real Madrid, also because he’s 20 years old. He’s really mature and very professional. A fantastic player for us.”
Los Blancos secured Bellingham's services from Borussia Dortmund last summer for a reported initial fee of £88.5 million. The England international has been in excellent form in the Spanish capital this season, contributing 20 goals and ten assists in 34 appearances across all competitions.
"It’s disgusting" - Jude Bellingham calls for serious action after Aurelien Tchouameni receives racist abuse in Real Madrid's win over Mallorca
Jude Bellingham has called for serious action to be taken against racism after his teammate Aurelien Tchouameni was the victim of racist abuse in Real Madrid's 1-0 win over Mallorca.
The French midfielder scored in the 48th minute to secure all three points for his side, but was the target of racist abuse after finding the back of the net. This comes after Vinicius Jr.'s repeated calls for action against this problem, breaking down in tears in a press conference a month ago.
Bellingham was appalled by the way Mallorca fans treated Tchouameni and criticized the footballing authorities for not doing enough to prevent this. He said at a press conference (via GOAL):
"It’s mad you say that. I didn’t know. In the games you get used to it. I wasn’t even aware of the incident. It’s a massive problem, more has to be done. It’s a horrible way for a player to prepare for a game, knowing you're going to be racially abused."
The Real Madrid star added:
"It’s disgusting, people in the game need to do more. Vini gets attention, the game would miss players like him if he decided to take a break from the game. More needs to be done. No one deserves that so it’s a call out for the people who run the game. I doubt it will happen. You have to play your game and hope the people look after you – they are not doing it well enough at the moment."
