From Birmingham to Madrid - How Bellingham became the most valuable player in the world

Jude Bellingham’s stratospheric rise shows no signs of ending anytime soon as he’s been named the most valuable player in the world. The Englishman has joined Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe with a valuation of €180 million after an increase of €30m in the latest Transfermarkt update - Bellingham ranks higher than Mbappe and Haaland due to being younger.

Bellingham has been a revelation since completing his €103m move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid and he’s been worth every penny to the Spanish giants. Bellingham has scored 17 goals and provided five assists to firmly cement himself as one of the best players in the world. Despite being a midfielder, Bellingham is the top goalscorer in La Liga with a season highlight two stunning late goals to secure victory against Barcelona in El Classico.

"He looks like a veteran out there because of his attitude,” Carlo Ancelotti raved about Bellingham after his heroic contribution. "I can't deny that we are all surprised with his vein of form, especially with his level and his effectiveness. He is everywhere on the field. Today he was stupendous and shocked everyone with his wonderful goal from the edge of the area. Bellingham's ceiling is easily scoring 20 or 25 goals this season. Even though we don't think of him as a goal scorer, at the moment he is scoring a lot of goals but we are expecting goals from the strikers as well."

From Birmingham to the Bernabeu: Jude Bellingham’s meteoric rise 

Bellingham progressed through the youth ranks at hometown club Birmingham City and he became their youngest ever player when he debuted against Portsmouth in August 2019, aged just 16 years and 38 days. Bellingham landed his first ever Transfermarkt valuation of €2.5m in October 2019 and it’s risen exponentially ever since. 

Bellingham’s valuation stood at €11m when Dortmund spent €30.15m to acquire his services in July 2020. The Englishman excelled in the Bundesliga and his valuation more than doubled by the end of his first season in Germany to €55m. Bellingham scored six goals and provided 14 assists during the 2021/22 season and his valuation rose to €80m by the end of that season and it increased by €40m to €120m during his final season at Dortmund. Real paid €17m lower than his Transfermarkt valuation to sign Bellingham this summer and he’s now been rated at €180m in the latest La Liga update - a record high for a midfielder. 

The biggest market value increases across 2023

Unsurprisingly, Bellingham’s market value has increased more than any other player in 2023. The Real Madrid star’s phenomenal output has seen his valuation increased by an incredible €70m over the calendar year. Evan Ferguson has enjoyed the second highest increase of €64m - €6m less than Bellingham - with Lamine Yamal in third. The Barcelona sensation only gained his first market value this season after making his breakthrough at just 16 and his valuation now sits at €60m after the recent La Liga update. Six English Premier League comprise the top ten including Chelsea’s Moses Caicedo, Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund and Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku.