Euro 84 winner Michel Platini believes England star Jude Bellingham reminds him of another French icon as he lavished praise on the young Three Lions star.
Bellingham is set to be a key part of England’s Euro 2024 tilt following a debut season with Real Madrid that saw him named as La Liga’s best player on his way to claiming a league title and win the Champions League.
Operating as a No.10 for Madrid this year, the former Birmingham City man netted 23 goals, with former France and Juventus star Platini sitting up and taking notice.
“I don’t know if there are any No.10s like me today,” Platini tells FourFourTwo. “Andrea Pirlo was a sort of withdrawn No.10, organising the game at Juventus. But the game is different now. Football used to belong to the players – now it belongs to the coaches.
“The players play according to what the manager tells them. There are still good No.10s out there, but the coaches don’t know how to play them any more.
“Right now, I’m following Jude Bellingham – an attacking midfielder, a No.10, who scores a lot of goals and reminds me of Antoine Griezmann. At the beginning with Griezmann, we wondered if he was lucky to always be in the right place at the right time, or if it was because he knew where to place himself. After a while, we knew it wasn’t luck.
“I like to watch those players who have a feel for the game; who adapt to the team.”
Bellingham will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Griezmann, who won the Euro 2016 Player of the Tournament award, although the French did lose the final to Portugal.
England kick off their Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday evening when they take on Serbia in Gelsenkirchen before taking on Denmark and Slovenia in Group C.
More England stories
Euro 2024 wall chart: Free to download with full schedule and dates
Jack Wilshere 'should be at Euros' - former Arsenal star gets sublime Soccer Aid assist
Quiz! Can you name every player to score for England under Gareth Southgate?
‘He could have been another Thierry Henry if he’d stayed at Arsenal. It was up to him what he wanted because he was 6ft 1in, quick and unbelievable’: Ray Parlour claims Champions League winner could have enjoyed even greater success with Gunners
‘I don’t think we’ll see Marcus Rashford at Manchester United again – when you’re not seeing eye to eye with a manager, it can hinder your training, but a loan can work, it did for me’ Ex-Premier League star on parallels with forward’s Aston Villa switch
