Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has hit out at the media claiming he was made a scapegoat for England’s Euro 2024 failure.
England lost out to Spain in the finals of Euro 2024 and it was a dissapponting moment for Bellingham who had enjoyed a brilliant season with Real Madrid.
Though Bellingham has been silent about the tournament, ahead of Madrid’s Champions League clash with Liverpool, Bellingham spoke extensively about the situation.
“I’ve got to be honest, I think I lost my smile a lot after the Euros when it came to playing for England because I felt like I was a little bit mistreated in comparison to what I contributed,” said Bellingham. “I felt like some of it was a bit harsh on me. I felt I was a bit like the scapegoat. Maybe I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself.
“I think that [last England] camp, with a lot of new faces, really brought out the joy in my game again and I think you can see that in the two games. In general, I haven’t lost my smile in the Madrid shirt. I am annoyed when we lose and I get frustrated, but it is never a case of not being happy. I’m the luckiest lad in the world. I get to play week in week out for the biggest club in the world and represent my country. I think it [the social media post] was more to do with a little bit of how I was treated on the back of the Euros. The smile is back.”
Jude Bellingham of England celebrates scoring for England (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Bellingham was asked to expand upon how he was scapegoated last summer.
“For me, pressure is not a problem, I understand that playing for Real Madrid, the expectations are going to be high for me wherever I go with the national team,” said Bellingham. “I felt like I contributed some pretty big moments and, in the end, it kind of felt like the whole world was crumbling down on me after the Euros, especially after the three days following the final. It wasn’t a nice feeling.
“There were a few things that happened during the tournament. I think one of the big criticisms of me was that I didn’t speak to the media, I didn’t want to do press conferences. That was reported in a way that it made out I was above it, but that’s not it at all. I had some personal things going on, journalists who went to go and see members of my family whilst I was at the tournament, went to visit my grandparents, and that’s something I kept to myself. I don’t think that’s fair. I think that crosses the line of respect.
“That’s, for me, where I took it a little bit personally and decided I was going to focus on the football and try to let that do the talking, instead of talking in the press to people who seemingly don’t respect me. That was a thing for me. Family comes first. My nan didn’t want to leave her house for the whole summer, bless her. Maybe I should have communicated that before, so people understood my situation, but that was a little bit more personal and that’s why I decided to keep my mouth shut.”
England have since moved on from Euro 2024 disappointment, Gareth Southgate left his role as the manager while Thomas Tuchel has been appointed as the new manager.
Bellingham will be eager to make a statement under the former Chelsea, Bayern Munich and PSG manager as he hopes to win an international trophy.
