England manager Gareth Southgate has insisted that Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham is ‘authentic’ amid a strange online conspiracy theory.
Bellingham, 20, has just helped Real Madrid land the La Liga title and Champions League trophy in his first season after joining the club from Borussia Dortmund.
Given his incredible success so quickly at such a young age, supporters have taken to social media to claim that Bellingham’s rise is ‘fake’ and the player is a ‘plant’.
‘Fake tears while having the perfect reply for every question, we’ve never seen media training like this,’ @MadnessFc4 posted on X about Bellingham’s post-match interview, which has racked up over 82,000 likes and 6,500 retweets.
‘Biggest #plant ever,’ he added. ‘At Wembley as well, holy mother of script.’
‘Winning it against his former club that he left a year ago, script writers really cooked with Jude’s career storyline,’ @eflyoungboy added.
Southgate, though, has been quick to shut down those rumours and insists that what you see with Bellingham is what you get.
‘You saw him with his family,’ Southgate said. ‘They have to take enormous credit because he is how he comes across in interviews.
‘He’s authentic in his interviews. That’s how he is every day, interacting with our staff and players.
‘He’s got the humility, the understanding. Joining a club like Real Madrid, he recognised he had to earn the respect of players like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.
‘But he would’ve also had little respect on the training pitch and attacked that challenge! That’s why he has adapted as well as he has, I’m sure.
‘He’s had a fanastic season. To join the biggest club in the world and perform in the way he has throughout the season, it’s been an incredible year for him. I’m absolutely delighted for him to win last night.
‘Obviously Jadon Sancho was playing on the other side, and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, so we didn’t have any favourites as such. But for him to cap that season with winning a Champions League, it’s phenomenal. I’m delighted for him.’
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