Bellingham Sets 10-Year Goal With England 

Jude Bellingham is a star for Real Madrid, but he also has a lofty “goal in the next 10-15 years” for England. The 20-year-old midfielder from Borussia Dortmund arrived at Santiago Bernabeu in the summer for €103 million (£89 million/$109 million), and in less than a year, the youngster has begun to make an impact for Madrid.

England are hoping that his impressive club form can be transferred onto the international stage. Bellingham have spoken about his long term goal with the Three Lions:

“My goal for the next 12 months with the England team will be the same for the next 10-15 years: try to win major tournaments. I think we can’t shy away from saying that now. We’ve come close in the last few tournaments, and to now go back and say: ‘Ah yeah, that was enjoyable, but now we have to be more realistic’…I don’t see the point.”

“We should use the experiences we’ve got from previous tournaments to push on and bring some silverware home. That’s the common goal that we are striving towards and we aren’t afraid to say that anymore. In the last few years it’s been a case of hiding that expectation, so that we never fail. We’ve got to be willing to say it, so we can achieve it.”

Bellingham appears to have unwavering confidence in his own abilities as well as those of the England team as a whole. The pursuit of international honours also included as one of the team’s brightest prospects.

“If you look at the progress we’ve made in the last few tournaments, it’s important that we have that mentality. We do believe we can win the tournament. Of course, there is a sense of humility and having our feet on the ground in whatever game we go into. You’re not going to play seven of the top seven teams every tournament. It’s important that you approach every game like it’s the last game of the tournament.”

“That’s how we approach friendly games and qualifier games. If we don’t get the result we want, you can see how much it hurts us. And when we do, you can see how rewarding it is for the whole squad. There definitely has to be a belief that we can win trophies because that’s what we are here to do and that’s the standard of the team that we’ve now got. In a humble way, of course.”

Bellingham is a member of the most recent England team. They are getting ready for a friendly match against Australia on Friday and a Euro 2024 qualifying match against Italy at Wembley on October 17.