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Former Real Madrid star Isco has claimed that Jude Bellingham deserved to win the Golden Boy award.
Bellingham bagged the award, presented to the best player under the age of 21 playing in Europe, earlier this month by a massive 200-point margin over Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala. 50 reputed journalists from around Europe voted to decide the winner of the award, with the Englishman securing 97% of the votes.
The annual award, created by Tuttosport around two decades ago, will be presented to Bellingham in Turin on 4 December. He scored 485 points out of a possible 500 and was by far the voters' favorite to bag the coveted trophy.
Some, including former Barcelona star Hristo Stoichkov, have questioned if he was the deserving winner over the other candidates. Isco, however, seems to be in no doubt about Bellingham's credentials for the Golden Boy award.
The Spaniard, who signed for Real Betis this summer, said (h/t @MadridXtra on X):
"Jude Bellingham winning the Golden Boy award? We’ve all seen how he performs, right? He’s the clear winner. I don’t think anyone deserves it as much as him."
Isco, like Bellingham, operates in an attacking role from midfield. The 31-year-old made 353 appearances for Los Blancos during his nine-year stay at the club before joining Sevilla in 2022. He won the Golden Boy award in 2012 while he was playing for Malaga.
What Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham said after winning the Golden Boy award
Jude Bellingham has had a stunning start to life at Real Madrid after his €103 million move from Borussia Dortmund this summer.
The 20-year-old has netted 13 goals and laid out four assists in 14 games across competitions, with many of them being match-winning goals. After winning the prestigious award, he told Tuttosport.com in a video message (h/t the Guardian):
"I just wanted to thank everyone who voted for me for the 2023 Golden Boy. I really appreciate it. I’d like to thank everyone that’s been part of my journey so far at Birmingham, Dortmund and now Madrid.
"It wouldn’t be possible without them. There’s so many, I’d be here for hours naming them all. “Lastly and most importantly my family, who give me the support and the motivation and the love every day to keep striving.
"Now that I’ve got this beautiful award, I want to keep going and keep pushing the limits of my potential and hopefully many more trophies to come."
Bellingham is only the third English player to lay hands on the trophy after Raheem Sterling (2014) and Wayne Rooney (2004). He is also the first player to win the award while playing for Real Madrid.
