Ruud Gullit offered a thoughtful and, at times, critical perspective on Real Madrid and Jude Bellingham while speaking at the Laureus World Sports Awards, touching on the team’s evolution and the demands placed on its biggest stars.
Gullit began by focusing on Bellingham, drawing comparisons to his own career while acknowledging the differences in their styles. The Dutch legend noted that Bellingham operates in a more structured role, which has influenced his impact on the pitch.
“He’s a bit more static than I was, so naturally the way he plays is different,” Gullit explained. “But I also see similarities, especially in how he’s had to deal with injury.”
Bellingham’s recent return from injury, according to Gullit, has come with added pressure — particularly given the high standards he set during his debut season.
“When you come back from an injury like that, it’s not easy,” he said. “People expect you to immediately be the same player again. In his first season, he scored a lot of goals, and that creates expectations.”
However, Gullit suggested that the drop in output isn’t solely down to the player. Instead, he pointed to structural changes within the team that have altered Bellingham’s role.
“There have been changes in the team, and now he can’t do exactly what he did before,” Gullit said. “He naturally wants to be more attacking, but for different reasons, that hasn’t always been possible. It’s not entirely his fault.”
The conversation then widened to Real Madrid as a whole, with Gullit highlighting what he sees as a shift in identity over the past two seasons.
“Before, they played much more as a team,” he observed. “Now it feels like they rely more on individual quality.
“They still have incredible players with technique and presence,” he said. “But when you face teams that work harder and run more, you can run into problems.”
To illustrate his point, Gullit referenced Barcelona, drawing parallels between two elite teams with distinct but vulnerable styles.
“Barcelona play very high and leave a lot of space behind, and they get caught out often,” he noted. “So both teams have their own style, but also their own risks.
“They’re a team that adjusts to who they’re playing,” he said. “Sometimes they don’t look better, but they still win. That’s part of football.”
“Football isn’t always fair,” Gullit concluded. “You can play better and still lose. You have to accept that, and you have to stay humble — even when things don’t go your way.”