MADRID – Jude Bellingham came, saw and conquered Spain in his first season with Real Madrid, with the English midfielder becoming the key figure in the club’s record-extending 36th La Liga triumph.

Real had won only three of the last 11 Spanish titles, but Bellingham’s goals helped them whisk away the crown from rivals Barcelona, who lost 4-2 at Girona on May 4, with four games to spare.

That handed the title to Real, who had beaten Cadiz 3-0 at home just hours earlier.

When Los Blancos agreed the €103 million (S$149.6 million) deal with Borussia Dortmund for the midfielder, he was only 19 and opponents could be forgiven for underestimating him.

Even coach Carlo Ancelotti did, in some ways.

Bellingham was the Bundesliga Player of the Season and an undoubted talent, but nobody anticipated such a successful start to life in Spain, or him becoming such a potent threat in the final third.

Ancelotti, who noted the potential for Bellingham to cause havoc in attacking areas and deployed him as part of Real’s front line, later admitted his surprise at Bellingham’s goalscoring exploits – he is the team’s top scorer in La Liga with 18 goals.

The Englishman netted only 16 goals across four league campaigns with Birmingham and Dortmund.

He showed impeccable cool before the world’s media at his presentation last June, demonstrating he already knew how to get fans onside, something with which Welsh winger Gareth Bale struggled.

Bellingham chose the No. 5 shirt in homage to former Real great Zinedine Zidane, whom he has drawn comparisons to for his technical ability.

“It’s not the case that other teams are bad, it’s just that Real Madrid are the greatest,” said Bellingham.

He became the first English player to score for Real, since David Beckham in 2007, on his debut at Athletic Bilbao.

That unleashed a hidden beast, with Bellingham scoring an astonishing 14 goals in his first 15 games, surpassing Real greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Alfredo di Stefano who scored 13 goals in their first 15 games.

He scored two and set up another in Real’s following game at Almeria, grabbed the winner at Celta Vigo the week after and then repeated the trick in his first home appearance against Getafe.

Real opened their renovated Santiago Bernabeu and played with the newly installed roof closed – Bellingham nearly blew it off with his 95th-minute winner sealing a 2-1 comeback victory.

The England international opened his arms wide in celebration, one that has become his own, with a necessary hint of arrogance to show he deserves the adulation beaming back at him.

Real fans serenaded him with the famous Beatles track bearing his name.

“When they were singing ‘Hey Jude’, I got goosebumps. I don’t know what I have done to deserve it, I’m just so grateful,” said Bellingham, humble when he speaks.

For much of the season, Catalan minnows Girona were Real’s closest title rivals and Bellingham helped deliver a statement victory at Estadi Montilivi where the sides met in October.

The 20-year-old’s sublime cross helped Real take the lead through Joselu and he wrapped up a 3-0 victory to take his team top. They have not looked back since. Nor has Bellingham, who delivered a brace in his first Clasico to help his side claim a vital victory.

His first against Barcelona was brilliant, thrashing home from distance, but he did not celebrate in his usual fashion – he knew more was to follow. Bellingham drove Los Blancos on and volleyed home the winner in the 92nd minute to leave the champions four points off the pace, a gap that would widen.

“I’ve just phoned home. There was a bit of emotion thinking about all the times I watched this game on the sofa... it was my turn to experience it, to make an impression,” Bellingham said after that game.

He again stepped up to the plate, netting twice in Real’s 4-0 win over Girona, a decisive moment in the title race, before striking the killer blow against Barcelona, with another stoppage-time winner, earning Real a 3-2 win in April that virtually sealed their crown.

Although Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo were out of form, he kept scoring and Real kept winning.

“He has quality and it looks like he’s lucky. (But) he’s smarter than others when attacking from the second line,” Ancelotti mused.

He was named La Liga’s Player of the Month in August and October, and is the only man to win the award more than once this season.

Besides picking up the 2023 Golden Boy and Kopa awards, he also became the first footballer to win the Breakthrough of the Year prize at the 2024 Laureus Awards.

Until May 4, the only major silverware Bellingham had won was the German Cup and Spanish Super Cup. But he could now win the Champions League and Euro 2024 to complete a glorious campaign.

Meanwhile, coach Michel Sanchez hailed his players after Girona qualified for next season’s Champions League for the first time.

“All the praise we give to the Girona players will fall short. They have entered Girona’s history books,” he said. “They have played a historic season at a level that will be very difficult to equal.”

The coach added that bringing silverware to the club, who returned to La Liga in 2022 after three years in the second division, was his next aim.

“Winning a trophy with Girona is the next step, but it’s a challenge that is quite difficult. That’s the next step for the club to take – although it remains a dream,” he said. AFP, REUTERS