Jude Bellingham beats Jamal Musiala to win 2023 Kopa Trophy
England and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has won the 2023 Kopa Trophy, given to the best young player under the age of 21, after a stunning start to life at Real Madrid.
Bellingham scored twice in Saturday’s 2-1 El Clasico win at Barcelona, which included an incredible equaliser and a stoppage-time winner, to give him a goal-a-game record in his first 13 matches.
The 20-year-old finished 18th for the Ballon d’Or award before becoming the first English player to win the Kopa Trophy since its inception in 2018.
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The Kopa Trophy is, however, awarded for his form last season, when Bellingham helped Borussia Dortmund to finish second in the Bundesliga and starred for England at the World Cup in Qatar.
Bellingham moved to Real from Dortmund in June after the Spanish giants paid an initial £88.5m with the transfer fee potentially rising to £115m a record deal for a British player.
Spanish football expert Semra Hunter says the Spanish public is coming to terms with the phenomenal ability that Bellingham has shown
The former Birmingham midfielder has continued to impress for the Three Lions following his move to Real after player-of-the-match performances in England’s recent wins over Scotland and Italy.
“I just want to thank everyone who has helped me get to this point from Birmingham to Dortmund and now Real Madrid and the national team,” Bellingham said at the Ballon d’Or event in Paris.
“Thanks for the support, it means a lot – and more to come.”
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His form at both international and club level has seen Bellingham become the fifth winner of the Kopa Trophy with Kylian Mbappe (2018), Matthijs de Ligt (2019), Pedri (2021) and Gavi (2022) the previous winners of the prize.
Bellingham beat Bayern Munich forward and former England youth team-mate Jamal Musiala to the honour, while Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund was amongst this year’s nominees.