"One of my biggest heroes growing up" - When Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham named Manchester United legend as his childhood hero

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham's hero growing up was Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney. The England international accepted the same in a recent Instagram story, but it wasn't the first time that he mentioned Rooney as one of his childhood idols.

In an interview from his Borussia Dortmund days, as shown in a video posted by Twitter user @hxMUFC, Bellingham recalled his on-field duel with the former footballer.

Bellingham and Rooney faced off in a 2019-20 Championship encounter between Birmingham City and Derby County. The match was incidentally Jude Bellingham's last appearance for his boyhood club.

This is what the Real Madrid midfielder had to say about Rooney:

"Rooney because I played against him as well, so that was really cool. So it was my last game for Birmingham, and it felt like (my time at) Birmingham had gone a full circle. I'd done the records, played all throughout the year. And then one of my biggest heroes growing up. Someone I looked up to loads, I played against him, spoke with him and everything. And then I saw him again after the final of the Euro as well."

"We spoke after the game (Birmingham City vs Derby County)," Bellingham continued. "It was like, I was kicking him in the game, and he was trying to get back at me and stuff. I actually had to man-mark him in that game. He was the caretaker manager at the time and it (instructions) was basically just like, 'you are going to play as a 10 so just stand on him so he doesn't get the ball. And if he does get away from you, just kick him'."

The Englishman joined Real Madrid in a €103 move from Borussia Dortmund this summer.

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"It was always Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard" - Jude Bellingham named Gerrard as his other childhood hero

While in conversation with Bundesliga's official website in 2021, Jude Bellingham named Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, along with Rooney, as his childhood hero.

"For me, it was always Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard," the midfielder said. "When I was younger, all I ever wanted was a Birmingham shirt. And then the more and more I watched Wayne Rooney, it was like all I wanted was a Wayne Rooney shirt and all I wanted was a Steven Gerrard shirt."

"These kinds of people, they kind of mould the way that you play because you admire them so much. So, yeah, those two are probably my two biggest heroes in football," he added.

Interestingly, Liverpool were heavily linked with a move for Jude Bellingham but Borussia Dortmund's valuation of the midfielder forced them to step out of the race.