Jude Bellingham was so angry with Lisandro Martinez’s tackle on him late in the first half of Real Madrid’s friendly win against Manchester United that he turned the air blue in the dressing room at half-time.
The midfielder, who scored Real’s first goal in their 2-0 win, reacted angrily at the time, jumping to his feet and shoving Martinez away, with the Argentine centre-back booked for the crude challenge.
Bellingham revealed he was still angry at half-time and was swearing at his Real teammates as he complained about the incident.
But the two patched it up during the game and Bellingham has let bygones be bygones now after Martinez wished him well for the rest of the season at the end of the game at the NRG Stadium in Houston.
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“The little tiff with Martinez is one of those things,” said the 20-year-old. “He is a brilliant player. I came in at half-time and I was f’ing this and f’ing that. But when he came over to wish me all the best when he came off, I really respected it.
“I know what goes on the pitch stays on the pitch. I saw him at the end of the game and wished him well. I can respect that when two players are trying to win for their team and can come together and be respectful after the game.
“He is a great competitor and a great player. Just like me, he wants to win. Sometimes it spills over. That is part of the game. I am really respectful. We can have that moment after the game.”
Bellingham took his early goal brilliantly but United wanted offside and although he hasn’t seen a replay, the former Borrusia Dortmund man felt like they might have had a case.
“It did feel as though I went a little bit early. These days you have to play to the whistle because you never know,” he said. “As I was running over, I saw the linesman and his flag stayed down so I just carried on with the celebration. If it is offside, so be it but it is still a goal.”
United tried to sign Bellingham in 2020 when he left Birmingham City to move to Dortmund, but were never in the running when he completed his £115million switch to the Bernabeu this summer. He already looks at home at arguably the biggest club in the world and is loving life as a Madridista.
“I was confident coming here because I knew how good the players were,” he sad. “I know the qualities I can bring and I feel like I have slotted in. The role I am playing is enjoyable. I had a decent game against AC Milan and a decent one today. I just want to keep up the rhythm going into the season.”