Jude Bellingham returned to St Andrew's on Friday to watch his former club Birmingham City take on Barcelona in a pre-season friendly, changing into a Birmingham shirt at half-time after arriving in a plain white top.
The Real Madrid midfielder was appearing in public for the first time since returning from a holiday in Hawaii, following England's World Cup success in which he scored seven goals. He was joined in the stands by his parents Denise and Mark and received a rousing ovation from the home crowd.
Scouting La Liga rivals
Bellingham celebrated both Birmingham goals in the entertaining 2-2 draw and stayed for the penalty shootout, which Chris Davies' side won. His gesture of pulling on the new Blues jersey at the interval endeared him further to Birmingham supporters.
The 23-year-old made his senior debut for Birmingham as a 16-year-old and later moved to Borussia Dortmund before joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2023. Birmingham retired his No.22 shirt in recognition of his services to the club, despite his youth at the time.
Barcelona's absentees
Bellingham's attendance also served a practical purpose for Real Madrid, with new head coach Jose Mourinho likely to welcome his observations of rivals Barcelona.
Barcelona were without the bulk of their squad due to the World Cup, with coach Hansi Flick naming an inexperienced side after a week of training at St George's Park. The Catalan club were missing all eight of their Spain internationals who lifted the trophy in North America this summer, while Anthony Gordon, Jules Kounde and Raphinha also did not feature. Summer signing Karim Adeyemi made his debut.
