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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand declared “we haven’t seen” a player like Jude Bellingham at his age after the Borussia Dortmund teenager helped guide his team to a 4-1 Champions League win at Sevilla.
Bellingham scored one and assisted one as Dortmund eased to victory in Spain on Wednesday, with other goals coming from Raphael Guerreiro, Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt, while Youssef En-Nesyri pulled one back for the hosts.
Bellingham, 19, who captained the Bundesliga side, became just the second teenager to score in the first three games of a Champions League campaign.
The only other player to achieve that feat is his former BVB team-mate Erling Haaland, who did so with Salzburg in the 2019-20 season.
Bellingham’s tally of three Champions League goals this season is already a joint-high among English teenagers for a single campaign, along with Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, back in 2004-05.
“What he’s doing in his position at his age, we haven’t seen,” Ferdinand said, working as a pundit for BT Sport.
“The best of our generation, [Frank] Lampard, [Steven] Gerrard, [Paul] Scholes, [Patrick] Vieira, Roy Keane, they weren’t doing this.
“He’s still got to go on and prove it over a long period of time, but they weren’t doing what he is doing right now [at the same age].
“Influencing games at this level, captaining teams at this level, and mentally this kid’s a beast.”
Fellow pundit and former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole added: “Along with Erling Haaland, he’s the best young player in the world, that’s for sure.
“I watched him play for England over the two [Nations League] games [against Italy and Germany] and he was our best player.
“His dad I believe was a semi-pro footballer so he’s obviously been guided right… When we grew up with Frank [Lampard] and his dad was a footballer obviously, a top footballer, and Frank had this maturity about him… Bellingham’s got that as well, coupled with his undoubted God-given talent and his drive, he’s unstoppable.”
Bellingham has long been linked with a move back to England, having joined Dortmund from Birmingham City in 2020, with Liverpool, Manchester City, United and Chelsea all reportedly keeping an eye on developments, along with LaLiga giants Real Madrid.
“One thing that’s for sure – whoever gets him – is [his] temperament,” Ferdinand said.
“When you’re making big transfers and big moves like that in the spotlight, temperament is a key element you need to get right. This kid has already proved that it isn’t a question mark.”
