Jude Bellingham may have been edgy about meeting David Beckham thanks to the slogan ‘don’t meet your heroes’ – but the Stourbridge-born talent had an incredibly pleasant experience
Bellingham has spoken about his meeting with David Beckham (Image: Icon Sport via Getty Images)
Jude Bellingham has put the old adage ‘don’t meet your heroes’ to bed after sharing an experience with David Beckham.
The duo joined forces for the unveiling of EA Sports’ latest release, FC 25, gracing the Ultimate Edition’s cover with other legends like Gianluigi Buffon, Aitana Bonmati, and Zinedine Zidane. Contrary to the popular belief of avoiding encounters with idols, Bellingham revealed that Beckham was incredibly humble, despite his illustrious football history.
In his ‘Out Of The Floodlights’ YouTube series, Birmingham icon Bellingham said: “It’s an honour really you know. There’s always that thing about don’t meet your heroes and he’s [Beckham’s] one that I’ve met and I’ve actually thought ‘He’s amazing and he seems like a really down to earth guy’ regardless of how famous he is and what he’s achieved in his career and in his life.
“He makes me look a little bit uglier, but you can learn to deal with that if it’s on the cover of video games.” Meeting Beckham was evidently a highlight for Bellingham, who also mentioned growing up admiring some of the world’s best players. He added: “I’ve played every single EA since I was six, seven,” reports the Mirror.
“Some of your best memories are sitting around a tiny little telly with a couple of controllers on their last legs because they’ve been bashed around the room, having games with players you never think you’d play against – you never think you’d meet. And then all of a sudden, I’m on the cover and I’m meeting and playing amongst these players. It’s really surreal and I’m really grateful that I’ve been given a chance to do it.”
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In a light-hearted moment, Beckham quipped to Bellingham’s parents, “What are you feeding the boys? ” after being taken aback by Jude and his brother Jobe’s height. Beckham’s illustrious football career began at Manchester United’s youth academy before he signed for the first team in 1992.
He went on to win numerous titles, including six Premier Leagues, two FA Cups, and a Champions League under Sir Alex Ferguson. In 2003, he made a £25million move to Real Madrid, where he won a Supercopa de Espana and a La Liga trophy. Beckham then joined LA Galaxy in 2007, with loan stints at AC Milan in 2009 and 2010.
Jude Bellingham and David Beckham (Image: EA FC)
Bellingham made a name for himself at Birmingham City (Image: Getty Images)
He finished his career at Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, retiring with a Ligue 1 trophy. Bellingham’s rise to fame has also been nothing short of meteoric. The 21-year-old began his senior career with Birmingham City in 2019 at the tender age of 16, before catching the eye of Bundesliga heavyweights Borussia Dortmund after just one season.
In honour of his departure to Germany in a reported £20million deal, the Blues retired his number 22 shirt. The midfielder was then snapped up by Real Madrid in 2023 for a whopping £89million, and he enjoyed a sensational first season at the Bernabeu.
Bellingham not only lifted the La Liga title, a Champions League trophy, a Supercopa de Espana and a Super Cup in his debut year with Los Blancos, but he did so in style – netting 23 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions. He also donned the Three Lions jersey under Gareth Southgate in the recent Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, scoring two goals from attacking midfield and helping England secure their place in the final, where they were ultimately defeated by Spain.
