Real Madrid attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham has taken the footballing world by storm. Even though he was already one of the world’s best players in 2022/23 when he carried Borussia Dortmund to the doorstep of the Bundesliga title, Jude has been even more transcendent in 2023/24 with his new club.
Bellingham, despite being a midfielder who still averages more than two tackles and interceptions per game, is in the race for LaLiga’s Pichichi Trophy as the Spanish top flight’s leading goal-scorer with 17. He has won important matches for Real Madrid on multiple occasions, including both Clasicos.
But is Bellingham already better than Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne? His Real Madrid side did knock the Citizens out of the Champions League quarterfinals in an act of revenge, but KDB’s claim to being the best attacking midfielder in the world is close to airtight.
For years, De Bruyne has dominated the Premier League, winning title after title for Pep Guardiola while providing the footballing world with assists the rest of the playmakers on this planet can only dream of.
Here is a comparison between Jude Bellingham and Kevin De Bruyne with arguments in favor of either player. Feel free to bring up these points to your friends.
What makes Jude Bellingham better
Simply put, Jude Bellingham has made the greatest impact in the 2023/24 season. His 17 goals are simply outrageous for a midfielder, even with the qualifier that he is playing a highly attacking role in the Real Madrid system under Carlo Ancelotti.
The reality is that Bellingham is putting up a striker’s haul of goals while still defending like a midfielder, winning more than two combined tackles and interceptions per match in the middle of the park.
Bellingham has always been one willing to provide his team with legs, as he frequently recovered possession for his team in the 8 role during his years in Dortmund. For example, Bellingham averaged 2.5 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game for Die Schwarzgelben in 2022/23.
The English sensation has become the most captivating player on the planet. He is the man of the moment and the most clutch player in the world, given what he has done not once but twice in El Clasico and countless times throughout the season against less famous opponents in LaLiga.
Bellingham is averaging 2.1 key passes and 2.0 dribbles completed per game in the Champions League, elevating his already-elite game to something on the plane of a footballing diety on the big European nights – just as a Real Madrid icon should.
Head-to-head with Kevin De Bruyne, Bellingham has been healthier, scored more goals, drawn many more fouls, and been significantly better defensively. Statistically speaking and when comparing their all-around impact, Jude is blowing KDB out of the water. KDB doesn’t even average 1.0 dribbles completed, tackles, or fouls drawn per game.
Although Bellingham has only been at the highest level of football for a couple of seasons, he has made a two-way impact in attack and defense, as a progress and ball-winner, that De Bruyne has never reached. In the modern game, KDB set the blueprint, but Bellingham may have very well upgraded it, especially with his poacher-like scoring prowess at Real Madrid.
What makes Kevin De Bruyne better
Jude Bellingham may be filling out the stat sheet in more varied ways, but Kevin De Bruyne had to start the season overcoming a serious injury. Furthermore, De Bruyne still has Bellingham beat in the most important statistic a playmaker.
The primary job of an attacking midfielder is to create chances for his teammates, and while that role is a bit blurred for Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid since they don’t play with an out-and-out No. 9, anyone arguing for the Belgian legend will quickly point to his chance-creation.
Kevin De Bruyne is averaging a ludicrous 3.5 key passes per game in the Premier League this season, even though his per-game average is weighed down by the fact that he has made 3 of his 12 appearances off the bench for Manchester City.
While Jude has the advantage when looking at all-around statistics, De Bruyne has never been a slouch in those departments either when looking at the historical data.
To wit, De Bruyne has regularly averaged a dribble per game for Manchester City in the English top flight, including once putting up nearly two dribbles completed per match in the 2020/21 season.
KDB is an assist-machine to a degree Jude Bellingham has never come close to approaching in his career. De Bruyne has notched 20 assists in a league campaign on two separate occasions in two different leagues for Man City and Wolfsburg.
He’s reached 15 assists in a league season five times in his career – a number most playmakers never reach once. Bellingham has never even hit double-digit assists in a campaign.
While Kevin De Bruyne has never scored 17 goals in a league campaign, the 32-year-old has reached double-figures four times. He is more than capable of scoring a copious number of goals – and bangers, at that.
De Bruyne has a track record of more than a decade of success in European football, hitting 19 goal contributions in a single league season as early as the 2012/13 campaign when he was a little-known standout for Werder Bremen.
For those who believe footballers need a little more time before calling themselves the best in the world, they will readily hold up Kevin De Bruyne as superior due to his years of dominance as a Player of the Season-caliber star in both the Bundesliga and the Premier League.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.
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Too early for this debate. De Bruyne has been up there & consistent for many seasons, Bellingham has not even completed a season yet at Madrid. Maybe after 2 or 3 seasons we may have a debate.