‘Couldn’t touch him’ – Jude Bellingham has played against Kylian Mbappe, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric but will never forget tough test genius Man City favourite gave him

Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham might only be at the start of his career but he is already regarded as one of the best players in the world.

Nevertheless, the 20-year-old has still come up against some of the best of the best in the business with Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

Across his short career, he has already faced players like Kylian Mbappe, Jamal Musiala and Pedri as some of the other young prodigies in the world in addition to experienced veterans like Gareth Bale and Luka Modric, who is now his teammate.

But it was Ilkay Gundogan who left Bellingham chasing shadows when he faced him as a Borussia Dortmund player in a game against Manchester City.

Dortmund played City in the Champions League in 2022 with the German side losing the first match at the Etihad before a 0-0 draw at the Signal Iduna Park.

Speaking to his barber of HD Cutz in 2023, Bellingham, now at Real Madrid, opened up on coming up against Gundogan, who has since moved to Barcelona.

"I'll never forget facing Gundogan. We played them away and he was really good," he said.

"We played him at home and he played more like a six. Honestly, I couldn't get anywhere near him.

"The amount of times I went to press him thinking that he weren't looking, like I could nick it off him.

"Then he was just gone on one touch, he was so smart. It was the first time I thought 'oh my god, I can't get near him, I can't touch him'."

Gundogan might be a surprise choice but the midfielder had arguably his best season of his career last year when he led City to the treble as captain in 2023.

He scored the fastest goal in FA Cup final history when he netted a volley from outside the area after 12 seconds before grabbing another to help City beat Manchester United 2-1.

Pep Guardiola's men also won the Premier League and the Champions League to immortalise themselves in City history but it would be Gundogan's last year at the Etihad as he signed for Barcelona on a free transfer.

In the same summer, Bellingham joined Real Madrid to make them rivals in LaLiga where they have already faced off in El Clasico.

Real won 2-1 at the Nou Camp where Gundogan scored early in the contest.

However, Bellingham took the plaudits as he went on to bag twice - including a last-gasp winner to further underline his status as one of the best players in the world.