Jude Bellingham reveals why he ‘lost his smile’ playing football and it’s really sad to hear

Jude Bellingham has opened up on why he lost his smile playing football ahead of Real Madrid's clash against Liverpool.

On Wednesday night, reigning European champions Madrid will arrive at Anfield to take on Liverpool, who are currently top of the Champions League table having won all four matches so far.

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti's men are down in 20th place, having won twice and also lost twice in their opening four fixtures.

Ahead of what is billed to be a mouth-watering clash of the giants, Englishman Bellingham spoke in front of the media.

During the press conference, the 21-year-old revealed that he has got his smile back after a tough summer on the back of England's Euro 2024 campaign.

Bellingham said: "I lost my smile a lot playing for England after the Euros as I felt I was a little mistreated compared to what I contributed.

"[The] smile is back [now]. I think it was a bit harsh on me. I felt a bit like the scapegoat. Maybe I felt a bit sorry for myself."

He added: "I felt I contributed some pretty big moments, but it felt like the whole world was crumbling down on me, especially in the three days after the final. It wasn't a nice feeling."

Bellingham also touched on reports claiming he didn't want to speak to the media during the tournament in Germany.

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He continued: "That was reported in a way that made it sound like I think I'm above it, but it's not that at all. I had some personal things going on where journalists had gone to see members of my family while I was at the tournament, my grandparents.

"I don't think that's fair, it crosses the line of respect. That's where I took it a little bit personally and decided I would just focus on the football and let that do the talking, instead of talking in the press to people that seemingly don't respect me.

"My family comes first - my nan didn't want to leave her house for the whole summer. Maybe I should have communicated that so people understood my situation, but that was a little bit more personal to me so that's why I decided to keep my mouth shut."