Jude Bellingham: Ian Wright says midfielder’s treatment shows England ‘not ready for black star’

Bellingham’s profile has grown significantly since he left Birmingham City in 2020 for German club Borussia Dortmund and joined Real Madrid three years later in a deal worth up to €133.9m (£115m).

He won the La Liga and Champions League double in his first year at the Bernabéu, scoring 23 goals and providing 13 assists.

At Euro 2024, he helped Gareth Southgate’s side reach the quarter-finals with a stunning 95th-minute overhead kick goal against Slovakia.

Former England defender and coach Gary Neville, a fellow critic on the programme, said Raheem Sterling felt unfairly targeted by the media when he worked with the Chelsea winger at Euro 2016.

In 2018, Sterling – who won the last of his 82 caps at the 2022 World Cup – questioned the image of black footballers in national newspapers and accused them of fueling bias.

Asked if there were similarities, Wright – Arsenal’s second-highest scorer behind Thierry Henry – added: “I don’t think they are ready for a black star, who can move the way Jude moves. They can’t touch him.”

“He goes out there, performs, and does what he does.

“It’s very arrogant for these people. I’ll put it in football terms. They all love N’Golo Kante. He’s a humble black man, he keeps doing what he’s doing.”

“But if you get [Paul] Pogba, or Bellingham, you get that kind of energy, which doesn’t sit well with people. So someone like Jude, for some reason, intimidates these people because of his ability and the inspiration he can provide.”

Bellingham was left out of England’s October squad to face Wales and Latvia in October, before returning for this month’s qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.

He came on after 65 minutes against Serbia and was replaced after 84 minutes by Morgan Rogers against Albania.

“I think to some extent, if you have players like Judd, who are very competitive, they will never like it [being substituted]Tuchel said.

“But he has to accept it. We talk about standards, level, commitment and respect for each other, so there is someone waiting outside, and we will not change our decision just because someone waves his arms.”

Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were subjected to racist abuse on social media after the trio missed penalties in the Euro 2021 final against Italy at Wembley.

A mural of Rashford, who led a campaign against government plans to scrap free school meals outside the classroom, was defaced in south Manchester after the final.

“If you’re honest and you’re black and you’re playing at that level and you don’t care, it scares some people,” said Wright, who scored nine goals in 33 appearances for England.