"Zidane is my inspiration and I would love to do what he did in the final"

Real Madrid's England midfielder Jude Bellingham said his side's late comeback against Bayern Munich to qualify for the Champions League final was down to "character" and a "summary" of their season.

"Character sums up tonight's game. It is the summary of our season. We have quality and talent in abundance, but, in some of these games where we seem to be on the outside, we have players who come off the bench and can get the job done and still win a game," Bellingham was quoted as saying by media outlets such as 'DAZN' and 'TNT Sports'.

"It's a dream come true. One of the guys just said, 'If I had told you in pre-season, would you have believed me?' Probably not. I'm a little bit excited, a little bit surprised still. I'll probably take tonight to take it in," he added. Bellingham will play in the Champions League final against his former club, where he played until last season before joining Real Madrid.

"It's crazy. I can't believe it. It could only happen like this. My first final. In England, against Dortmund. Credit to them, they deserve their place in the final. It will be nice to see some old friends. I think I'll switch off my phone and leave the messages for tomorrow," he said. He also set himself the goal of emulating his idol, Zinedine Zidane, in the final at Wembley on 1st June.

"Zidane is my inspiration and I would love to do what he did in the Champions League final with Madrid. I'm very happy, my family was here today and that makes it even sweeter. It's going to be exciting to play my first Champions League final with Real Madrid," he said.

 

May 8, 2024