Goals, celebrity and super stardom - What a year for Stourbridge's Jude Bellingham

In fact the last two years have been stellar ones for Jude, who transferred to Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in August 2023 after making 92 appearances for the Germans.

It would seem to have been the start of a breakthrough to super-stardom for Bellingham, who in the 2023-24 season in the Spanish La Liga scored 19 goals in 28 appearances and 23 in 42 in all competitions including the Champions League.

In 2024 he starred with the Galacticos who would win the UEFA Champions League in front of 86,000 people at Wembley Stadium where they beat his former club Dortmund 2-0 with two second half goals, an intervention and pass by Bellingham setting up the second.

But if it was a successful year domestically playing with one of the biggest teams in the world, Bellingham fever reached its height during the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, where fans packed venues in his home town of Stourbridge to shout him and the England team on.

One of them, The Green Duck Brewery in Rufford Road gave away a free drink when 'Our Jude' scored a goal as people packed in to watch https://plus.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/dudley/stourbridge/2024/06/20/brewery-delighted-to-honour-free-beer-in-celebration-of-jude/ the England games.

He managed to do that in the very first game, the winner against Serbia, and the venue continued the promotion throughout the tournament.

Owner Alex Hill said: "The idea we put out to people was that if you watch the Serbia game with us and if Jude scores then, on your way out, you'll get given a token and then, at the next game we show, you'll get a free pint of Blonde.

"When we realised that Jude had scored, there were mixed emotions as we were delighted that he'd scored and put England ahead, but then realised we'd be giving away free beer, but we also knew it was probably going to happen as he is so good.

"At the end of the day, it's a nice little give away and a bit of fun and will mean that we can get people to come in for the next game and, if he scores again, we'll honour a free pint for the next game."

Fans also packed in to the clubhouse at Stourbridge FC where the young Bellingham, and his brother Jobe, cut their teeth as footballers, starting out as seven-year olds with the club.

Bellingham would score again in the tournament, a penalty in the shoot out of the quarter final against Switzerland but would ultimately have to settle for a runners up medal as England lost in the final to Spain.

Recently he has been named in the world's best team of the year, one of six from the Spanish La Liga with five from the English Premier League including Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Outside of football, Bellingham's profile has ensured he is much sought after in terms of modelling, social media and personal appearances,

In June he appeared in Kim Kardashian's shapewear and clothing brand Skims' campaign modelling men's underwear and boosting his burgeoning bank account.

The next month he was revealed as the cover star for the best selling football video game EA Sports FC 25. 

And his long term sponsor Adidas launched Bellingham's first ever signature collection featuring a jersey, tracksuit, ringer tee and short, all adorned with a JB monogram logo.

In August, when the new football season started, he was announced as a partner of Louis Vitton, who called him a 'Friend of the House.'

He then started his official channel on YouTube with a behind the scenes documentary of his first year in Spain and this month appeared in Adidas' documentary fill Under the Tongue. Closer to home, in December The Lockside Steak House owner Matt Lemm launched the 'Bellingham Burger,' though the superstar wasn't on site to try out the new dish

Romantically, last month Bellingham went public on his relationship with Dutch influence and model Laura Celia Valk on Instagram.

He was hoping to crown a very successful 2024 by winning the coveted Sports Personality of the Year award but it was taken by athlete Keely Hodgkinson. 

But professionally and personally 2024 was a great year for the youngster and 2025 could be even bigger.