Jude Bellingham has played down suggestions he came close to a move to Liverpool, although the Real Madrid star will be aiming to emulate his Reds hero at Anfield on Wednesday.
Liverpool was among the clubs heavily linked with Bellingham when it became clear he would be moving on from Borussia Dortmund in 2023. As well as reports touting him with a move to Merseyside, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold looked to be doing their bit to try and convince him on a transfer during the World Cup in Qatar.
Not only that, but Bellingham had shown his appreciation of Liverpool in the past, and in particular club legend Steven Gerrard. As the season wore on though, it became clear that the Reds wouldn’t be in the race for his signature, with Real instead landing the lucrative signing.
Nearly 18 months on from him securing his move to the Bernabeu, Bellingham will finally get the chance to play at Anfield with Los Blancos. Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the game, the 21-year-old has insisted he wasn’t as close to a move to Liverpool as it appeared – although he does now want to follow in the footsteps of his hero.
“I think it wasn’t as close as people made out in the media, I think maybe they led people on a little bit,” Bellingham said.
“When Madrid came knocking, I felt like that was the perfect club for me, but Steven Gerrard is a massive hero of mine. It would be nice to have a Steven Gerrard-esque performance, but it will be very difficult so we’ll see.”
Jude Bellingham is aiming to emulate Steven Gerrard at Anfield
Jude Bellingham is aiming to emulate Steven Gerrard at Anfield (Image: Getty Images)
Asked whether he would rule out a move to Anfield in the future, Bellingham responded: “I think I’m happy at Madrid, I think the next 10 or 15 years will be in white for me.”
There will be plenty of eyes on Bellingham on Wednesday – not least to see whether he speaks to Trent Alexander-Arnold at any point. The Liverpool vice-captain is being hotly linked with joining his friend at the Bernabeu, although Bellingham wasn’t prepared to entertain the idea when speaking to the media on Tuesday.
“He's a Liverpool player, and I think it's disrespectful to come to his home today and speak about something that could be misconstrued, so I think it's important to take that pressure off him,” Bellingham said.
“He's a really good mate of mine, and I want him to do well normally, obviously not tomorrow night. We'll see what happens, but as I said, he's a Liverpool player.”