Birmingham City's bold Jude Bellingham decision now makes complete sense | OneFootball

The Blues were a laughingstock for this call when Bellingham joined Borussia Dortmund – nobody’s laughing now

Birmingham City were understandably emotional when academy starlet Jude Bellingham left for pastures new in 2020.

It’s never easy waving goodbye to a young prospect showing such promise, but at 17 years old, it was already clear the midfielder was outgrowing the club.

He needed to move on to take the next steps in his young career, something Blues fans would understand, but it’s normal to regret not getting to see more of a player like Bellingham, especially with Birmingham being his boyhood club.

But even under those circumstances, for a departing teenager, the Blues’ decision to retire his number felt like a step too far for many outsiders, a call that was ridiculed by many. Now, it makes complete sense.

Jude was a one-in-a-million find for Birmingham

Nobody was in any doubt that Bellingham was a glittering prospect.

He became the club’s youngest-ever player at 16 years and 38 days, before becoming the most expensive 17-year-old in history when he signed for Dortmund.

Bellingham did all that with the no.22 on his back, with the club later deciding it was “fitting” to retire the number.

In a statement, the club said: “In such a remarkably short space of time Jude has become an iconic figure at Blues, showing what can be achieved through talent, hard work and dedication.”

He was showing signs of being a special talent, and had just netted the club at least £25m, but for a player who had played just 44 games for the club, registering six goal involvements, for some, it felt like he hadn’t yet proved enough to warrant such special treatment.

The reaction to Bellingham’s shirt retirement was harsh

The decision drew no end of criticism from those outside St. Andrew’s.

Institutions like TNT Sports, who have by now broadcast plenty of Bellingham’s elite-level minutes, labelled it “one of the most bizarre things a football club has ever done”.

Even some Birmingham fans were bemused, calling it “embarrassing”, while the Daily Mail compared him to the likes of Paolo Maldini, Diego Maradona and Bobby Moore, as other players who have had the same honour for various teams.

If Bellingham’s career continues on the same trajectory it has been doing, putting him in similar brackets of players may not seem as stupid as it did at the time.

Bellingham has shown why the respect was warranted

The call has since been validated by the immense career Bellingham had already built by the age of 22.

He had since moved to the biggest club in the world, Real Madrid, for £88.5m just three years on from his Dortmund move, taking the pressure-cooker Bernabeu environment in his stride, looking like a player far beyond his years.

Not only that, he’s racked up dozens of caps for England, most memorably netting an overhead kick in Euro 2024 in stoppage time of extra-time against Slovakia to keep the Three Lions in the competition.

Those inside St. Andrew’s had obviously spent more time around Bellingham than critics back in 2020, so they knew exactly what the midfielder was going to become.

In almost no time at all, they have been vindicated in the respect they showed to the now Real Madrid and England star, the retirement serving as a wonderful reminder of where Bellingham’s career began, and the impact Birmingham’s academy has had on football’s main stage.