I’m one of Jude Bellingham’s best friends and I know his biggest weakness… but it won’t help Barcelona in El Clasico
JUDE BELLINGHAM may be on his way to becoming a footballing legend — but stick a golf club in his hand and it is a different story.
For the England and Real Madrid superstar would hack his way around a course as his big mate revealed the thing he is no good at.
Dominating opponents at club and international level may be par for the course for the Birmingham-raised midfielder.
Odin Bailey, however, says it is a very different story once he sets off on a different course.
Asked if Bellingham is bad at anything, Bailey said: “Golf!
“He’s terrible at golf. I’m trying to convince him to play but he’s not having any of it.
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“He can’t be good at everything, can he?”
Bailey first heard and saw Bellingham’s talent when they were pals at Priory School in Birmingham. He was three years above his now-famous friend but even back then, it was clear he was something special.
That carried on when both were at Birmingham City — where Bailey spent 15 years — but there was a playful side behind the precocious skill.
Bailey said: “Jude was too young to play in my age group at school but when he was 15 years old, he played up in mine.
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“I’d like to think I took him under my wing because of the age difference, looked after him and it was clear how good at football he was — there was no hiding his ability.
“He’d come up and train with us and he’d be one of the best players, if not the best. Even as a 14 or 15-year-old.
“Admittedly, no one would probably have said he’d go on to score ten goals or however many it is for Real Madrid but he’s doing Birmingham, his friends and his family proud.
“It’s good to see someone you grew up with, someone you played in the same team with, go on to be a superstar.
“And from what he’s said to me, he feels at home in Madrid. I don’t blame him, he’s probably at the biggest club in the world and he’s learning from some incredible players.”
Bailey, currently on loan at Stockport from Salford, has three different numbers for Bellingham in his phone. Whenever his name does come up on his screen, though, he is speaking to a pal rather than a superstar.
The 23-year-old, aiming for an 11th straight win against Tranmere tomorrow, said: “There’s no ‘I’m Jude Bellingham’.
“It’s weird for me as a lot of people are like, ‘What’s he like? What’s he like?’ For me, he’s just Jude as I know him so well.
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“He’s a great kid but he is so advanced for his age and so ahead of the curve in so many different aspects.
“He was as a 16-year-old. What he’s gone on to is unbelievable.”
