Fans are just finding out who Jude Bellingham's dad is ahead of Champions League clash vs Man City
Jude Bellingham is one of the best football players on the planet - though some may not be aware that he isn't the first sporting figure in his family.
The 21-year-old midfielder has scored seven league goals for Real Madrid this season and provided six assists.
A return to English football was sealed for Bellingham when Los Blancos drew Manchester City in the play-off round of this season's Champions League.
The England international came through the youth ranks at Birmingham City, playing a season for the then Championship side at senior level before Borussia Dortmund came calling.
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Bellingham was often used on the left side of a four-man midfield at the Blues in order to help him adapt to senior football.
He then moved in central midfield at Dortmund, though has had to show his versatility in other positions since joining Real.
That has included playing as a centre forward - with his father Mark Bellingham no doubt having shared some advice about how to be an effective presence in the role.
The elder Bellingham appeared for over 20 clubs during his own playing career in English non-league football, and played well into his 40s.
While playing for Midland League Division Two side Paget Rangers, he scored his 700th career goal - though joked in an interview with the Non-League Paper that he had 'started to score a lot more tap-ins' as he got older.
Bellingham continued: "I needed 38 goals [to reach 700] last season but got to 36, and then was banned for the last game because of a red card - my first sending-off!"
The striker combined his football career with working as a police sergeant for West Midlands Police. He is now retired from both.
One of his former managers, Jason Cadden, was in charge of Bellingham when he played for Leamington, and told the Birmingham Post: "Evening games, the full-time whistle would blow and you'd see Mark sprint off the pitch.
"He'd jump in the shower, get in his car and start his police shift at 10pm.
"To juggle his job, family life and yet still do what he did on the pitch - it's full credit to him as a person, really."
The elder Bellingham turned 43 during his one-season spell at Leamington, who were in the eighth tier of English football at the time, between 2008 and 2009. He still managed 38 goals, though.
Now, he is involved in his son's career as his agent, and is regularly seen at Jude's matches for Real Madrid and England. He also acts as an agent for Jude's younger brother, Jobe, who also came through the youth ranks at Birmingham and is now playing for Championship side Sunderland.
Financial statements via Companies House showed Mark's firm, Belloball Ltd, had net assets of £8.1 million for the year to the end of March 2024.
Topics: Jude Bellingham, England, Real Madrid, Champions League
Ryan Smart