Micah Richards Makes Superb Claim on Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham

It's safe to say that Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is having quite the international break. 

After registering an assist in England's narrow defeat to European and World Champions Spain, he followed this up with a goal, three assists and five big chances created in England's resounding 7-0 victory away to Croatia, which was his next start having come off the bench away to Czechia. 

It has been a very good year with the national team in general for Bellingham. At the FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, he became the first ever English player to score seven goals in a single World Cup tournament, with the likes of Gary Lineker and Harry Kane managing six. 

Four of these goals came in consecutive knockouts. Firstly against Mexico at the iconic Azteca Stadium with a hostile home crowd and plenty of altitude, he scored two goals in 38 seconds. Then, when England again needed a hero in the quarter final against Norway, he scored two goals to turn the game around from 1-0 down. 

As a result of his performances in a Three Lions shirt, the inevitable comparisons to the likes of Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are often discussed at length in the media. 

One media outlet to chime in on this debate is the Rest is Football podcast, who were discussing Bellingham's merits on the pod on Monday (the 5th of October 2026). During this discourse, former England defender Micah Richards made a superb claim on the Real Madrid midfielder. 

"Jude Bellingham has done more than them all (Gerrard, Scholes, Lampard) for England. It's not controversial to say that." Meanwhile, the aforementioned Lineker was also incredibly complementary, and made a good point himself: "Jude Bellingham has the power, pace and ability of Gerrard. 

He's almost got the passing ability of Paul Scholes. He's got the finishing (ability) of Frank Lampard." High praise indeed from both, and it is hard to disagree with anything they have said. 

You can make an argument comparing Bellingham with Gerrard, Scholes and Lampard as players in general. The Real Madrid midfielder is still at a very early stage of his career and all three of those players achieved many great things, both individually and collectively.

But for the national team, there is no debate at all. He has already scored more goals for England than Scholes and Gerrard, and is only 10 off of Lampard in 47 fewer caps. He is also only seven appearances off of the total Scholes was able to manage.

As touched on previously, he scored seven goals at one World Cup. Those three scored a combined three goals at World Cups, all of which came from Gerrard.

That doesn’t even include the two goals he scored at Euro 2024, either, including an overhead kick against Slovakia when England were 90 seconds away from elimination. He is already a national team legend at just 23 years of age, pretty incredible to think really. As an Englishman writing this, long may it continue.