‘Jude Bellingham is a mix between three iconic players but he didn’t deserve Golden Boy award’
Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham did not deserve to win the 2023 Golden Boy award, according to Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov.
The 20-year-old was recently rewarded with the 2023 Kopa Trophy, awarded by France Football to the best young player in the world.
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Bellingham then followed it up after being crowned winner of the 2023 Golden Boy award, given by Italian outlet Tuttosport for the best under-21 player in Europe's top flight.
When asked if the England international should have won, Stoichkov simply told SPORT: “No."
“I do not dispute the value of [Bellingham], he is one of the strongest talents in the world: he has a lot of class and a lot of brain.
“For me he is a mix between [Michael] Laudrup, Kaka and the first [Paul] Pogba. The future is his.
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"He will fight with Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland for the next Ballon d'Or, but I would like to know what he won in 2023 between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. Nothing."
Bellingham has had a bright start to life in the Spanish capital, managing 13 goals in 14 appearances since his arrival.
He has also scored three in three Champions League matches and been given the man-of-the-match award 10 times.
Despite his goalscoring exploits, Stoichkov still stands by his claims.
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“He did it for three months... [on scoring] And what success have all these goals brought to Real Madrid You know well what my friend Mourinho would say about 'titles," he added.
“Do we want to talk about how the last Bundesliga ended? Borussia Dortmund had a two-point lead over Bayern with 90 minutes to go in the final [game] of the championship. They were playing at home against Mainz and the Bavarians were playing away in Cologne.
“What happened five minutes from the end? Tuchel brought on [Jamal] Musiala, who in the last minutes scored to make it 3-2 for Bayern while Borussia drew 2-2 at home and said goodbye to the title due to goal difference.
“Since Gavi, the current winner, was not eligible by regulation, I would have given the prize to Musiala or [Alejandro] Balde.”