Jude Bellingham says his career arc is evidence of the mindset that anything is possible as the England teenager looks to win it all.
From homegrown hero with Birmingham to teenage star at German giants Borussia Dortmund, the 19-year-old midfielder’s inexorable rise shows few signs of abating.
There are few more exciting prospects in world football than Bellingham, who has already established himself as a key component for trophy-hungry England and was named Bundesliga Player of the Year after just missing out on the league title.
“The goal has always been winning,” Bellingham told the PA news agency. “When you ask me what my biggest ambitions are in the game, it’s to win everything. And I’m not afraid to say that.
“You know, everyone should have that goal I feel like as professional footballers.
“I’ll do my best to try and make it happen and if it doesn’t then it won’t be because I haven’t worked hard for it.
“But, yeah, I’d say records and stuff and individual records don’t excite me like trophies do, so I think that’s the goal for me.”
Bellingham, who was speaking before the Bundesliga finale, knows individual honours and records may well come along the years, with England team-mates often suggesting he could break Peter Shilton’s 125-cap record given he has made 24 appearances already.
But accomplishments like that are at the back of his mind as he looks to maximise his ability and opportunities.
“Football’s my life, really,” said Bellingham, who hopes to inspire the next generation in his role as ambassador for the McDonald’s Fun Football programme – a programme that provides free, inclusive football coaching for children aged five to 11 across more than 1,500 locations in the UK.
“I think I’ve put too much into it so far just to stop and accept that I’m going to play at a certain level and only going to win so much.
“So, I feel like the mentality that my parents and friends around me have always put into me is go after everything.”
That mindset and his whirlwind journey to date means he has little chance to take stock on his career – something he hopes to do with family and friends this summer.
“There are things I had to deal with as part of German life,” Bellingham said of the move to Dortmund in 2020.
“I probably dealt with that more behind the scenes than in front of cameras and stuff like that, so I’m really grateful that I had such good people around me.
“I had good club staff at the time, obviously I had Jadon (Sancho) who was here before me from England and he kind of showed me the ropes and made me feel comfortable. As soon as I was comfortable, really, I just let my football do the talking.”
Bellingham has certainly done that, thriving in BVB’s famous black and yellow shirt with his leadership qualities helping him to become the youngest ever player to captain the side.
“I think the key to that has been availability,” Bellingham said in a self-deprecating manner.
“I think because I’m available a lot of the time it means that I’m on the pitch and I can show what I do every game. Whilst the team around me gets rotated, I’m more of a mainstay.
“I think you gain respect from that, in all honesty, and obviously my performance has been good enough to warrant that.
“The coach must have seen other things that he likes to give me that responsibility and whenever I’ve played, I don’t think the armband changes me.
“So, yeah, you’re taking a little bit more responsibility, but I enjoy it. It’s a beautiful pressure that you want on you that I wanted since I started playing football.
“Especially in the Champions League games – it’s the biggest stage, for me – and to have that pressure is really enjoyable.”
Bellingham takes a lot of pride in his path from St Andrew’s to Signal Iduna Park.
Life in Germany has been eye-opening and his success there has silenced those that attempted to dissuade him from fulfilling his lofty aspirations.
When put to Bellingham that he seems to have the mentality that anything is possible, he said: “Well, I think that I am kind evidence of that, really.
“I think if I didn’t have that mentality I wouldn’t have been able to get from the Championship to where I’m at now, thankfully, in the space of two or three years.
“When you’re saying it three years ago everyone’s calling you naive and telling you that you need to slow down a little bit.
“But when you put your mind to it and you work hard at it, it doesn’t seem so crazy when it actually happens. So that’s the goal for me to try and continue to chase my dreams.”
:: Jude Bellingham was speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football session to announce his role as an ambassador for the UK’s largest grassroots participation programme for 5-11 year-olds. Find your nearest free session at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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