Jude Bellingham has been sensational since joining Real Madrid but he’s not the first high-profile player to hit the ground running at a new club
Jude Bellingham has made the Santiago Bernabeu his home. The English midfielder bagged the winner against Getafe last weekend, and raised his arms in celebration before 90,000 adoring fans, most of whom joined in a rousing — if rather cliched — rendition of ‘Hey Jude’ as Los Blancos saw out the game.
Bellingham has only been in the Spanish capital for two months, but already looks like one of the best acquisitions in recent memory. These assertions are, of course, slightly hasty. A lot could go wrong from here. But this is a 20-year-old who has taken Zinedine Zidane’s number, and lived up to the shirt. That is not an easy thing to do.
Of course, he is not the only player in recent memory to hit the ground running at a massive club. Some of the best teams in Europe have relied on new faces to bring about success.
As we’ve previously seen with the signings of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson that carried Liverpool to back-to-back major trophies, or the extra edge that Erling Haaland brought a Man City side that so badly coveted a Champions League title, newcomers can – and indeed have – made an immense impact from day one.
But who has made the biggest splash for a top side? And how far, exactly, have they carried their team? GOAL looks at the 10 most impactful signings of the last 10 years…
