Bellingham & Vini Jr: A friendship to drive Real Madrid into new era

Jude Bellingham has needed no adaptation time after joining Real Madrid in the summer.

The England international has taken LALIGA EA SPORTS by storm, having already scored eight goals in nine games. Bellingham has also recorded three assists across all competitions, two of which served for Vini Jr. to get his name on the scoresheet. The connection between the two men is blossoming on and off the pitch, but everything started way before Bellingham penned his Real Madrid contract.

Convincing Bellingham to join Real Madrid

When it became clear that Bellingham would be leaving Borussia Dortmund, several European powerhouses approached the midfielder in their bid to acquire his services. Despite having received more lucrative offers from other teams, Bellingham decided to move Los Blancos and explained the reasoning behind his decision in his presentation. "Money's not a big thing for me," he noted. "I don't think about money when I make these kinds of decisions. I play for the love of the game. I loved the feeling I got from the club. I told them straight away what I felt about the club. It's not the case that the other teams were bad or not good, but Real Madrid is the greatest."

Real Madrid directors had presented the Englishman with an attractive sporting project, but Vini Jr. also operated behind the scenes, messaging the Englishman relentlessly in his bid to convince him that Los Blancos would be the best option. "I wanted Bellingham at Real Madrid," the Brazilian forward declared earlier this month. "I sent a lot of messages to Jude last year. I was texting him almost every day and telling him to come to Madrid."

Their connection on the pitch

Following Karim Benzema's departure, coach Carlo Ancelotti has