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Topics: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid, England, Ballon d'Or, La Liga
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid, England, Ballon d'Or, La Liga
Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has recorded a quite remarkable 'goals per shot' stat this season – and it proves he is a genuine Ballon d'Or contender.
The 20-year-old is enjoying the most prolific campaign of his career to date. He's currently leading the La Liga goalscoring charts with 16 goals in 22 games.
And his season total stands at 20 goals and nine assists in 30 games across all competitions – an output that will put him in the frame for the 2024 Ballon d'Or.
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To put his impact into perspective, former Madrid striker Ronaldo Nazario paid the ultimate compliment to the Birmingham-born midfielder in a recent interview.
"I was watching a few matches in the Bernabeu stadium and I was looking for Bellingham. He surprised me a lot with his quality," the Brazilian told the Daily Mail.
"The speed at which he runs into the area, you can see he wants to score goals all the time. He reminds me a little bit of Zinedine Zidane with his quality.”
For many, it's Bellingham's decisiveness in front of goal that separates him from the rest. Take his remarkable 'goals to shot' record, for example.
Bellingham has needed an average of just 3.25 shots to score, while Los Blancos teammates Rodrgyo [9.25] and Joselu [6.37] have struggled to find the net in comparison.
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The midfielder is also on par with Chelsea and England forward Cole Palmer for U21 players with the most assists and goals across Europe's top five leagues this season.
Despite all of his achievements this season, Bellingham would still not be at the same level as Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes – even if he did win the Ballon d'Or in 2024.
That's according to Michael Owen, who revealed his admiration for the England international.
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“Jude Bellingham wouldn't automatically be better than Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard, and Scholes if he wins La Liga, the Champions League, and Euro 2024 next year," he told BoyleSports.
"Those players did it for years and years and they never dropped their level. They won multiple titles and they were also Champions League winners. Jude is amazing and there's no bigger admirer of him than me, but we can't talk about him being more decorated than those players just yet.
"He needs to do it for five, six, or seven years to be up there with them.”