Jude Bellingham named an ‘underrated’ teammate as the ‘most gifted player’ at Real Madrid after the club’s Champions League victory over Manchester City.
The reigning champions booked their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League with an emphatic 6-3 aggregate win over struggling Man City.
Real Madrid flattered to deceive during the revamped group phase – finishing 11th, outside the automatic qualification spots – but looked back to their best as they dispatched Pep Guardiola’s City with ease.
Kylian Mbappe scored a sensational hat-trick for the Spanish giants and Bellingham admitted afterwards that is a ‘pleasure’ playing with the ‘special’ Frenchman.
However, England midfielder Bellingham does not view Mbappe as the ‘most gifted player’ at Real Madrid, instead reserving that accolade for Brazilian winger Rodrygo.
Rodrygo has been a mainstay in the Madrid side since joining the club from Santos in 2019, making more than 250 appearances for Los Blancos.
Bellingham says the 24-year-old deserves more credit and does things in training that leave him and his teammates stunned.
Asked about Mbappe and Rodrygo’s ability after Real Madrid knocked Man City out of Europe, Bellingham told CBS Sports: ‘Kylian is unbelievable. Everyone knows what a special player he is.
‘That start of the season was difficult for him, adjusting to a new team, incredible pressure, unimaginable for most players.
‘But it was only a matter of time before he got started and as soon as the goals came, it was always going to be a different level of player.
‘You give him the ball and he can make something happen in any situation. It’s terrifying for most defenders to play against.
‘Rodrygo is so underrated. For me, he’s probably the most talented and most gifted player in the squad. The things he can do with a football…
‘We’ll be messing around in training and he’ll flick the ball up and we’re all like, “how did you do that?” I’m trying to copy him and I’m twisting my ankles.
‘It’s a pleasure to play with both of them. They affect and win games for us. Another thing to mention with Rodrygo is he sacrifices the most.
‘It’s clear that his favourite position is on the left but he does a lot for the team defensively on the right side and he never complains, he just gets on with it.’
Real Madrid will face city rivals Atletico or German club Bayer Leverkusen in the last-16 of the Champions League.
Assessing Madrid’s performance against Man City, Bernabeu boss Carlo Ancelotti said: ‘This has been the complete performance.
‘Attack, defence, with the ball and without the ball, we showed such high levels of quality. We created so many goal chances. Almost the perfect night.’
Player of the Match Mbappe added: ‘This was a perfect night. We wanted to win and this was how to do it.
‘To us, it’s logical that Madrid are in the quarter-final. We gave everything in front of our home fans and we won because we produced a great performance against City, who are always difficult to play.’
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