Jude Bellingham’s season has been derailed by injury but sections of the Spanish media have claimed that’s actually been a boost for Real Madrid
Jude Bellingham has been slammed by Spanish media as he recovers from yet another injury setback for Real Madrid. It’s been suggested the club are better off without the England international, with the difference in their win-loss ratio speaking volumes.
Bellingham remains absent with a hamstring injury that has pushed his return date back to late March or even April, according to AS. The 22-year-old last appeared for the La Liga side at the beginning of February against Rayo Vallecano.
He managed just 10 minutes of action before leaving the pitch in tears and could well end up being sidelined for more of the campaign than he’s been available for. Despite these injury issues, the Spanish media have not held back in criticising his performances when he has been available.
Mundo Deportivo suggested that Madrid are “better off without” the English midfielder, given his impact on their win ratio. Prior to Monday night’s home clash with Getafe, the outlet pointed out that Bellingham has been on the pitch for 22 defeats and 86 wins.
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However, without the young star, Madrid have won 28 out of 34 matches and only lost three, giving them a positive 82.4% win ratio compared to a 67.2% with Bellingham. The goal statistics, meanwhile, are even more damning.
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Without Bellingham on the pitch, Madrid have scored in every single game and kept a clean sheet half of the time. The report is using a much smaller pool of results than the games the midfielder has played, given he’s appeared 128 times and been absent for 34 games.
However, the Spanish outlet claim “a growing number of voices” are thinking the same thing about Bellingham. Journalist Julio Maldonado, who gave his thoughts on his Mundo Maldini YouTube channel, also believes that the 22-year-old’s injury “hasn’t been bad news” for the club.
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The Spaniard believes Bellingham’s absence has “stabilised the midfield much more,” and highlighted Madrid’s win over Benfica as a key example. Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni were the three in the centre of the park for the 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Tchouameni and Vinicius Jr getting on the scoresheet.
Despite these damning verdicts of Bellingham’s impact, boss Alvaro Arbeloa insisted his absence will be felt. Speaking after the Rayo Vallecano clash, he said: “[Bellingham] has made a great effort in every game since I’ve been here.
“It’s a very important loss, but we have an extraordinary squad.” Highlighting Bellingham’s qualities earlier in January, Arbeloa added: “It’s my turn to speak about what I’ve experienced.
“In matches with him, even in training sessions, he’s demonstrated his ability, his technique, his leadership, his character. The effort he put in was tremendous; he has a winning mentality, he has everything a Real Madrid player needs. I’m delighted with him.”
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