Jude Bellingham has hired a member of FA staff to help him continue his rapid rise at Real Madrid.
The England midfielder made a mega-money switch to the Spanish capital recently following three years in Germany with Borussia Dortmund. His stock on and off the pitch continues to grow and the teenage star has bought Lewis Maddison on board.
Maddison is currently the FA’s Player Relations Lead, but will leave his job with the Three Lions this week and help Bellingham further his career. The former Birmingham City man is currently looking to settle in Madrid with his family looking for a new place to call home.
Maddison's role will range as he takes care of Bellingham's social channels and marketing opportunities whilst also helping him settle, reports The Sun. The 31-year-old, who began his career at Nike, joined the FA as senior commercial manager in 2018 and worked at that summer’s World Cup in Russia as the Three Lions made the semi-finals.
He was again part of the camp at Euro 2020, later earning a promotion. Maddison has become a very popular member of the group in his role of Player Relations Lead at the FA and has worked more closely with the Three Lions’ talents, including at the recent World Cup in Qatar.
Bellingham was on the radar of several Premier League clubs but found Madrid's interest too good to turn down. The midfielder will join a team whose options in that area are highly regarded with the likes of Luka Modric, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Toni Kroos now team-mates.
The 19-year-old's public speaking has earned him huge praise, whilst he's constantly delivered on the pitch. He took on the No 5 shirt with Los Blancos, which has previously been donned by legendary figure Zinedine Zidane, but Bellingham is not overawed by the history of it.
He said: “I’d like to thank Jesús Vallejo for letting me wear the No.5. I had some contact with him to see if it was ok to take it. He was very nice about it, so I’m thankful to him. I’ve always said how much I admire Zinedine Zidane and I’m not trying to be the same as him, as I’m just trying to be Jude, but it is a type of homage to a player I really appreciated growing up."
Bellingham also added: “I see it as a brilliant responsibility rather than pressure. So I’ll embrace that. In terms of my maturity, I think when you’re playing in a professional environment and with grown men from the age of 15 or 16 then you learn to grow up fast and understand responsibility sooner.
"At Dortmund, I’ve been given bigger roles with each year and I’ve adapted well to them because of the teammates, because of my family, because of the coaches. They tell me what it takes to be able to carry this responsibility, so I hope to continue that here.”
