Bellingham has 'Kaka similarities' says Ancelotti
Cameron Smith
- 1 Dec 2023 20:00 GMT
- 3 min read
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has compared summer signing Jude Bellingham to his former AC Milan pupil Kaka, just days after admitting the similarities between the Englishman and Zinedine Zidane.
Bellingham, 20, joined Los Blancos for €103 million during the most recent transfer window and he has scored 15 goals and provided four assists in just 16 games for his new club.
After his latest heroics, against Napoli, Ancelotti compared Bellingham to Real Madrid legend Zidane. The England international currently wears Zidane’s famous No.5 shirt at the Santiago Bernabeu and wore the Frenchman’s Adidas Predator boots during the win over Napoli too.
Now, Ancelotti has revealed that Bellingham is also similar to Milan legend and former Real attacking midfielder Kaka.
What has Ancelotti said?
Speaking ahead of Real Madrid’s LaLiga clash against Granada on Saturday, Ancelotti was questioned whether Bellingham was informed his role would be that of Los Blancos’ chief goal-scorer. He responded, as per Football Espana: “No, I don’t think we have ever asked Bellingham to score goals.
“He is doing it because he has this fantastic ability to reach the opponent’s area at the right time. The respect we have for him is for the work he does… not for the goals.
“He is greatly respected for what he does on the field, which goes far beyond goals. He is a humble and hardworking boy. Entering the Madrid dressing room is easy.”
Ancelotti was then asked to compare Bellingham to one of Real Madrid’s former greats.
“I have never seen [Alfredo] Di Stefano play,” the Italian revealed. “In the previous press conference I made the comparison with [Zinedine] Zidane and, well, I am surprised by him.
“I would say the closest thing is like the first time I saw Kaka. I’m not saying that he is similar to him, but he has similarities to Kaka.”
Kaka made his name under Ancelotti’s tutelage at AC Milan, and his tally of 104 goals and 81 assists in 307 appearances for the club were all notched up with Ancelotti in the dugout.
The pair both left San Siro in 2009 - with the former joining Real Madrid for €67m and the latter becoming Chelsea’s new head coach.
