Jude Bellingham snubbed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when naming one player he wishes he played with

Jude Bellingham barely hesitated after being asked to name a player in football history that he wishes he played alongside.

The 21-year-old, who has established himself as one of Real Madrid's most important players since his £88.5 million move from Borussia Dortmund, is surrounded by some of the world's best players at Los Blancos.

From the likes of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappe in forward areas, to a midfield that consists of Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouameni; the Spanish side have an abundance of talent at their disposal.

But if he could play alongside any football legend, from any period of history, then Bellingham would pick former Real Madrid and France midfielder Zinedine Zidane.

After being asked the question in an interview with FIFA, the England international said: "Zidane, easily. I’d just give him the ball and watch him."

He added: It’d be like watching YouTube up close. Mind you, I wouldn’t want to play a whole season with him because I wouldn’t get any minutes."

Bellingham has previously opened up on an admiration for Zidane that stems from his childhood, when his dad, Mark, used to wear the colours of Los Blancos.

"My dad always wore a Madrid [shirt] around the house, with 'Zidane 5' on the back, which is funny because it's kind of gone full circle and he gifted it to me when I joined in the summer.," he told UEFA in 2024.

"I was like. 'Who's this guy that you're always wearing on your shirt?' And he was like, 'Well, when you're old enough, we'll get you onto YouTube.' Now that I wear the No5, it's ended up being quite a significant story."

Back in 2021, Bellingham also named Zidane in his dream five-a-side team.

Speaking to SportsJOE at the Sports Personality of the Year awards, he picked the former Real Madrid and France midfielder alongside former Borussia Dortmund teammates Erling Haaland, Marco Reus and Jadon Sancho.

Eden Hazard, Aitana Bonmati, Zinedine Zidane, Endrick Felipe and Jude Bellingham at the FC25 game release. Image credit: Getty

Last year, Zidane was full of praise for Bellingham as he used his locker ahead of a Real Madrid legends' game against Porto.

"From five to five, we are not the same age but the same number," he said before kick-off. "He is spectacular, we are lucky to have him at Real Madrid, he is very good and I hope he brings us many trophies."