Jude Bellingham has thanked Eden Hazard for presenting him with the 2023 Kopa Trophy – an award given to the best young player under the age of 21.
The 20-year-old midfielder, who has enjoyed a superb start to the season at Real Madrid, became the first Englishman to win the prize at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on Monday, October 30, 2023.
Ahead of the likes of Jamal Musiala and Rasmus Hojlund, Bellingham became the fifth player to win the trophy alongside Gavi, Pedri, Matthijs de Ligt and Kylian Mbappe.
To mark the occasion, the England international uploaded various celebratory posts to his Instagram – and one of which caught the attention of Chelsea supporters.
Showing his appreciation for the Chelsea legend, the Los Blancos star captioned the picture: “From a legend! [white heart emoji]”
While Bellingham has previously ruled out an exit from the Santiago Bernabeu for ‘at least 10 to 15 years’, the Blues have been given fresh hope – albeit small – of one day signing the youngster. And that’s because Hazard helped Chelsea sign Romeo Lavia in the summer!
According to the Express, the former Southampton midfielder spoke to his fellow countryman about his time at Stamford Bridge before the World Cup in December. The report states that Hazard ‘actively encouraged’ Lavia to take the chance to join the west London outfit if the opportunity ever arose in the future.
Fast forward a couple of months and, upon his unveiling at Cobham training ground, Lavia phoned him to celebrate a transfer to Chelsea. While it’s unlikely that Hazard will be able to help Mauricio Pochettino sign a player of Bellingham’s calibre, the Real Madrid midfielder is certainly a big fan of the Blues icon.
In fact, before joining Carlo Ancelotti’s side, the youngster was subject to long-term interest from Chelsea, football.london understands.
The west Londoners watched Bellingham during his time as an academy player at Birmingham City but, after deciding against a bid, Borussia Dortmund swooped in and signed him instead.
Chelsea have been left to rue the decision to not sign Bellingham when they had the chance, and now he’s been recognised as the most exciting young player in Europe.
Source: Football.london.com
