Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham scored a total of 24 Champions League goals and assists in Wednesday night’s win over Red Bull Salzburg – the same tally as Lionel Messi at the same age.
Bellingham inadvertently set up Rodrygo’s opener in midweek by miscontrolling Vinicius Junior’s cross into the path of the Brazilian, who gave Madrid the lead midway through the first half. Ten minutes later the two were clearly on the same wavelength.
The England international deflected a mischievous pass between two attacking Salzburg players with his backheel to Rodrygo, who fired the ball into the bottom corner for the first time.
In the end, Madrid won 5-1, which secured their place in the knockout rounds and made Carlo Ancelotti rave: “The individual talent we have is immense.”
Stop and look at Jude Bellingham’s assist 🥶#BBCFootball #UCL pic.twitter.com/R5HwYJ6UN1
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 22, 2025
Bellingham’s talent is greater than most. After Wednesday’s heroics, the 21-year-old can look back on 13 Champions League assists and 11 goals in Europe’s premier club competition. Ex-Barcelona icon Messi, as many Madrid faithful were quick to point out, was directly involved in the same number of goals in the Champions League before he was 22, scoring 17 and striking out seven.
The towering striker would eventually end his career in European football with 169 direct goal contributions in the Champions League (129 goals and 40 assists) – a tally only Cristiano Ronaldo can surpass. However, the Portuguese striker has been a slow starter on the continental stage.
When Ronaldo turned 22 in February 2007, he had an impressive record of zero Champions League goals and just six assists for Manchester United.
Neither Messi nor Bellingham top the list of the most prolific wonder talents among the European elite. Erling Haaland racked up 26 direct contributions before turning 22, while Kylian Mbappe is alone at the top with 37.
Bellingham doesn’t turn 22 until June and will therefore have to spend the rest of the season trying to contain his teammate’s incredible performance.
rank | player | U21 goals and assists |
|---|---|---|
1. | Kylian Mbappe | 37 |
2. | Erling Haaland | 26 |
3= | Lionel Messi | 24 |
3= | Jew Bellingham | 24 |
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