Is Jude Bellingham overrated?

It has been a topsy turvy 2025/26 season for Real Madrid in La Liga, and while they are still in the league title race, they have already lost out on two major trophies in the Spanish Supercup and Copa del Rey.

For any other club, the situation would not have been a sackable offense for manager Xabi Alonso, but the players had already turned on the new manager mere months – or even less – into his reign.

One of those players pinpointed by fans as part of the mutiny against Alonso was Jude Bellingham, who is no stranger to being a target of media criticism. A lot of the personal dislike has bled into Bellingham being called “overrated”.

So let’s analyze how true that is. Is Jude Bellingham overrated? Why do people say that? And how good is Jude actually?

Why people say Jude Bellingham is overrated

There are a bajillion threads on sites like Reddit and X.com where a bunch of people ask if Jude Bellingham is overrated, straight up, and there are plenty of people willing to indulge in the debate and pretty definitively state that they think the Real Madrid No. 5 isn’t all that.

When Bellingham first moved to Real Madrid, the transfer was universally praised as a strong one, even at 100 million euros for a teenager. He also had a very hot to start to life in Madrid, scoring brilliant goals in Clasicos to deliver triumph to Real Madrid over Barcelona, en route to an easy La Liga title in his first season at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid, though, have not won any titles since Jude’s first season in 2023/24. That season, Bellingham got to play closer towards the goal and was even a Pichichi candidate as something between a hyrbid No. 10 and center forward, bombing into the box and playing close to the twin forward duo of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes.

He has kept trying to play as a No. 10 thereafter, but critics say that he is not creative enough of a playmaker to be in this role with a traditional front three ahead of him, pointing out Arda Guler’s superior assists and key pass averages.

Furthermore, Bellingham has been criticized for neglecting his duties in defense and not carrying the ball progressively enough in midfield, since he wants to focus more on statistical output, specifically goals.

What has Jude Bellingham achieved in his career?

For such a young player in world football, Jude Bellingham has actually accomplished quite a bit. Aside from winning the double of a La Liga and Champions League trophy in the 2023/24 season for Real Madrid, Jude also reached the European Championship that season.

England didn’t beat an incredible and more well rounded Spain team, but Bellingham pretty much carried a disappointing England side in which Premier League superstars like Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka flopped. And nothing typified his importance more than a famous last minute bicycle kick to sink Slovakia.

Before all that, Bellingham won the DFB Pokal with Borussia Dortmund in the 2020/21 season. Two years later, as the main superstar of the team with both Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho gone, Bellingham nearly carried Dortmund to the Bundesliga title.

But BVB lost on the last day of the season, as Jude was unable to even play due to an injury. Jamal Musiala scored a lovely goal against FC Koln, and that was that for Dortmund’s best title challenge since they last won the title in 2011/12.

As an individual, Jude’s record book is actually even more impressive. He made back to back Bundesliga Team of the Season in 2021/22 and 2022/23, winning both the Kopa Trophy and the overall Bundesliga Player of the Season above Robert Lewandowski in 2022/23

In La Liga, Bellingham immediately won the Player of the Season in the 2023/24 campaign, and, like in the Bundesliga, he has been a back to back member of the La Liga Team of the Season in his only two seasons in the Spanish top flight thus far.

Bellingham’s strengths

What makes Jude Bellingham so good is his athleticism, effort, and his understanding of timing. Bellingham was one of the best players in the Bundesliga at carrying the ball and taking defenders on from a No. 8 position as a true box to box center midfielder, and his intensity and ability to win the ball also made him one of the most successful defensive players in midfield.

He had 2.5 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, and just 0.5 dribbles completed allowed per game in his final season of the Bundesliga, and he has carried over that ball winning well to the Spanish top flight with more than two tackles per game in the 2024/25 and so far in the 2025/26 season since transitioning back to more of a traditional midfielder from that hybrid 10 role in 2023/24 under Carlo Ancelotti.

Bellingham’s dribbles per game averages have fallen from around 1.7 and 1.8 in his last season with Dortmund and first with Real Madrid to the 1.3 range, but that is still an above average level for a player who is also generating nearly two fouls drawn per game, compared to nearly three at Dortmund.

Naturally, on a better team where Bellingham does not get to have as much of the ball in comparison to his teammates, the carrying numbers are going to go down. But even when he shares the spotlight with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior in terms of progression into the final third, among others, his numbers remain strong.

Of course, Bellingham is a great finisher beyond what most midifelders are capable of. He quietly had eight goals in his final season with Dortmund before exploding for 19 goals in the 2023/24 season.

While he clearly benefited from playing closer to goal, some of those chances, like the bomb from outside the box against Barcelona, were not easy. And the tap ins that were cannot be ascribed to luck entirely, as Bellingham is so good at moving off the ball and anticipating rebounds or finding areas to tap the ball in – and Real Madrid have not been as successful since 2023/24 as they have missed some of that presence Jude brings in the box.

Finally, as much as Bellingham is criticized for not being a top creator, that is only in comparison to special playmakers like an Arda Guler or a Kevin De Bruyne. With eight assists last season and an average of 1.8 key passes per game, Jude’s chance creation is more than adequate for a player whose best roles are a pure No. 8 or a hybrid center forward.

The biggest area for improvement

If there is one thing that hurts Jude’s perception and reputation the most, then it is how his attitude is perceived. Bellingham is one of those athletes who wants to win at all costs, and he will put his head down and work his socks off for his teams.

We have seen Bellingham work harder than anyone else at both Dortmund now Real Madrid. His desire and drive to win can rub others the wrong way, because, like legends of the past in other sports like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, Bellingham expects a lot from his teammates and can upset them when he feels they are not performing up to the right standard.

At Real Madrid, Bellingham does not run into that issue, since the personalities attracted to the allure and prestige of the Santiago Bernabeu, as well as its insane levels of pressure, tend to have the same mentality.

But teams like Dortmund and England don’t, and going back to his days as a teenager at Dortmund, veteran players in the locker room were very miffed by Bellingham’s terse attitude; they were happy to see him go, despite how obviously important he was to BVB’s title hopes.

It is easier to hate on players who cruse at referees, yell at teammates, and generally look upset all the time. Cristiano Ronaldo dealt with the same issue, and people tend to conflate their personal feelings for a player, especially if they are at a successful rival.

The bottom line

Honestly, it is pretty outrageous for people to consider Jude Bellingham overrated. Now, a player who is a star for both Engalnd and Real Madrid is bound to get a lot of hate just by virtue of playing for two teams that most people love to root against, and the fact that he wears his emotions and competitiveness on his sleeve does not help either.

Bellingham, though, has quite obviously been worth the hype – and then some. He pretty much carried Dortmund to league title contention, as they have been nowhere close since he left in 2023.

It is also hard to call a player with two Player of the Season titles in two different leagues overrated. If anything, Bellingham’s 2023/24 season ended up being underrated, because even though he was better than Vinicius Junior that season, winning the Player of the Season over his teammate, even Real Madrid fans were fully aboard the Vinicius Jr. for Ballon d’Or bandwagon.

Bellingham has been overshadowed by his forward teammates at Real Madrid since he does so much defensive work behind them that often gets underappreciated, and even when he was scoring a lot of goals and assists, the attention went to Vinicius and hten Kylian Mbappe.