Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on how Jude Bellingham differs to Zinedine Zidane

Carlo Ancelotti and Jude Bellingham during Real Madrid's match against Villarreal in December 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has called Jude Bellingham "the best thing about this season" and has addressed comparisons between the midfielder and Los Blancos legend Zinedine Zidane.

Bellingham scored twice for Real Madrid in their 4-0 win at home to Girona in LaLiga on Saturday and the England midfielder has now netted 20 goals for Los Blancos in just 29 appearances for the Spanish side.

The 20-year-old now looks set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury on Saturday, but he has helped Madrid build up a five-point lead in LaLiga and should be back for key fixtures in a few weeks.

Speaking after Madrid's win on Saturday, Ancelotti said: "Jude Bellingham is the best thing about this season. He's doing things so well and we are very pleased.

"We are a family, we are more together than ever and we have to continue that way [if we want] to win big things."

Bellingham, like Zidane before him, wears the number 5 shirt at Real Madrid and Ancelotti has coached both players, having been in charge at Juventus when the Frenchman played for the Italian giants.

On comparisons between the two players, the Italian said: "There are things [about Bellingham] that remind me [of Zidane].

"Zidane was superior technically. Jude arrives better [in the area], as he showed in the first goal [against Girona]."

Zidane scored 49 goals in 230 appearances for Real Madrid between 2001 and 2006, winning six trophies in his time as a player at the Santiago Bernabeu.

More Jude Bellingham stories

Jude Bellingham ahead of Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo? A former team-mate of the Real Madrid legends has explained how the England midfielder has the edge on the Frenchman and the Portuguese.

Meanwhile, it has been claimed that Bellingham rejected Manchester United because the Red Devils were unable to guarantee him first-team football at Old Trafford.

And following his heroics in El Clasico for Real Madrid recently, the England midfielder has been compared to Los Blancos legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.

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