Jude Bellingham labelled the persistent racist abuse in La Liga ‘disgusting’ and admitted he has become accustomed to slurs in Spain since joining Real Madrid.
The £115million midfielder’s team mate, Aurelien Tchouameni, was the latest to suffer racism after scoring during the weekend victory at Mallorca.
A tearful Vinicius Junior recently revealed that he was ‘losing his desire’ for the game in the wake of consistent abuse and Bellingham took aim at the authorities on the eve of Real’s Champions League quarter-final second leg with Manchester City.
‘I think in the games where we go away, in La Liga especially, you almost get so used to it,’ the 20-year-old said. ‘I think that’s a massive problem in itself. More has got to be done, whether it’s the punishment or how you move proactively to this kind of thing.
‘I think it’s a horrible way for a player to prepare for a game, knowing that they’re probably going to get racially abused. It’s disgusting. It shouldn’t happen.
Jude Bellingham has slammed the persistent racist abuse in Spain after another of his team-mates was targeted
Aurelien Tchouameni was the latest Real Madrid player to face abuse from supporters in the country
A Mallorca fan was seen making monkey gestures as Real Madrid celebrated Tchouameni’s goal on Saturday – the Spanish broadcaster pixellated their face
‘The people in power need to do more, especially with Vini in the recent weeks – well, years actually. I think the blame gets shifted more onto him because of maybe his playing style and the way he likes to express himself and I don’t think that’s fair.’
Bellingham added: ‘The game would miss players like Vini if he decided to take a break because of this thing. More needs to be done to support these players.
‘It’s definitely a call-out for the people who are in charge to take control. I doubt that will happen. It’s going to be something that I imagine we will still have to just deal with going into games.’
Tchouameni is suspended for Wednesday’s tie at the Etihad Stadium after last week’s pulsating 3-3 draw in the Spanish capital, with Vinicius likely to be deployed as a central striker again.
Bellingham could have been wearing sky blue but has twice spurned City’s advances. Pep Guardiola’s side trailed him last season but were beaten by Madrid, while they had also invited the player’s family to the City Football Academy when in the Birmingham City youth set-up.
‘I had good conversations with other teams but as soon as Real came in it was a no brainer really,’ he said of last year’s pursuit. ‘The size of the club, the project, the plan going forward, the chance to play with such amazing players. I just jumped at it. That’s why I made my decision. I feel grateful every time I wear that badge.’
Real head into this match up – potentially the greatest pairing of its generation – as underdogs, while superstitious coach Carlo Ancelotti has switched hotels from the Hyatt Regency to the Lowry in the hope of banishing all memories of last May’s chastening 4-0 semi-final defeat.
‘City are amazing,’ 20-goal Bellingham added. ‘Everyone has spoken a lot about them. I’m not a gambler and never been to the bookies so I don’t know the odds but I know we’re Real and have pretty good players ourselves.
Bellingham leapt to the defence of his team-mate, as well as Vinicius Jnr (L), who has also suffered racist abuse
The 20-year-old admitted he has become accustomed to the slurs and doubts anything will be done to combat them racism
He also spoke about how he had conversations with other teams prior to joining Madrid and was monitored by City
‘Carlo fills me with confidence and gives me freedom to be as effective as possible. The sign of a good manager is that he can make you believe you’re better than you were before.’
City midfielder Bernardo Silva warned of a Real out for revenge, in much the same way City were a year ago – and Guardiola has urged an atmosphere akin to last season, something Federico Valverde has described as the harshest he’s ever experienced.
‘We feel safe with our people, our people at home will help us a lot,’ Guardiola said before a tie against a foe that hits him like no other. ‘We know we can handle the momentums and do a lot of things. And I know people in Madrid don’t believe me when I say good things, or when I say jokes, they always think I am taking the p***.
‘It’s not about that. I’ve always had a good opinion of the history and the people who are there. I’m not scared of Madrid and if they beat me – it has happened many times – we will say congratulations and wish them well.’
City midfielder Bernardo Silva, meanwhile, admitted his side are in a position to use another potential Treble as inspiration
Silva admitted that the City squad suffered a Treble hangover at the beginning of this term yet are now in a position where they are using the prospect of winning it all again as an inspiration.
‘Obviously there is inspiration and motivation, we know how well this team has done and we want to create that legacy,’ Silva said. ‘To do another Premier League, six in seven years and four in a row, and we want to win the Champions League to do two in a row.
‘I think that only Madrid did it, three in a row, but no one else won four consecutive Premier Leagues and if we win two Trebles in a row that would be legacy.’
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