Jude Bellingham divides Real Madrid fans with response to Cristiano Ronaldo v Lionel Messi debate

A video of Jude Bellingham declaring whether he prefers Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo has gone viral - and some fans aren’t impressed with the Real Madrid star.

On Saturday, the 20-year-old scored a tap-in at Los Blancos’ newly renovated Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to seal a late 2-1 victory over Getafe.

With five goals and a single assist to his name, Bellingham is currently leading in the La Liga top-scoring race. Just behind him are Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo (three goals, one assist) and 30-year-old Alvaro Morata (three goals, zero assists).

Moreover, the stoppage-time winner has also successfully allowed the No. 5 to successfully match Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of scoring five goals in his first four games.

In 2009, the Portuguese striker bagged his five against Villarreal, Espanyol, Deportivo de La Coruna and Xerez CD.

However, if fans believe that Bellingham is truly stepping into his hero's shoes then they could be sorely disappointed.

Prior to his arrival in Spain, the Birmingham-born baller had previously made his stance on the age-old Lionel Messi vs. Ronaldo debate loud and clear.

While playing for Borussia Dortmund, Bellingham was asked in an interview for the team’s official YouTube channel whether he preferred the Portuguese or the Argentinian player. And he truly wasted no time putting his opinion across.

He said: "Messi for me, for sure. You can just watch him and think like 'How does he do that?' Every time I watch him, he just does something that I just think 'You can't be human'.”

The video of the English international pledging his allegiance to Messi has since resurfaced online and fans have been having their say across social media.

One Twitter user wrote: “(sic) Damn .. Why is this on timeline.. You just spoilt in my head.”

Another wrote: “Must be killing Madrid fans that Bellingham is a Messi fan through and through”

Do not Say Anything, Just RT 😂😂pic.twitter.com/Y7FR6dEWdU https://t.co/TdlciEXNHs

— ACE (@FCB_ACEE) September 2, 2023

A third commented: “We all can agree that we wanted to banter him so bad, despite rejecting our club I still love him, but since he's a Messi fan, he knows ball, so let him ball.”

Elsewhere, another user on the platform has speculated that if you prefer Messi over Ronaldo, then you are ‘destined for greatness’.

They claimed: “Trust me when Messi is your idol, your GOAT, you are destined for greatness. Midfielders idols/goats: Pedri: Messi Enzo: Messi Bellingham: Messi Musiala: Messi.”

"Messi and Barca fans are praising Jude Bellingham,we got double PR," joked another.