Norway's Erling Haaland and England's Jude Bellingham have maintained their friendship despite playing for rival clubs and competing against each other on the international stage. Both players rose through the ranks at Borussia Dortmund, forming a potent duo before moving on to prominent European sides.
Haaland joined Dortmund in 2019, followed by Bellingham in 2020. During their time together, the pair formed one of European soccer's top playmaking duos. They challenged Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title, finishing as runners-up in both seasons they were teammates. Their tenure at Dortmund concluded with a shared trophy, the 2021 German Cup (DFB Pokal).
Haaland earned the league's player of the season award for the 2021-22 campaign before transferring to Manchester City. Bellingham remained at Dortmund for another season, also winning player of the season honors, before his significant move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2023.
The two stars have since faced each other multiple times in the Champions League. Bellingham's Real Madrid has held the upper hand, not losing to Haaland's Manchester City in their three encounters in the competition since City's 2023 trophy win. Notably, Haaland's Champions League campaigns since winning the title have ended at the hands of Bellingham's Real Madrid.
Their most recent encounter was during the World Cup, where they competed against each other for the first time representing their national teams. In a quarterfinal match, Bellingham's England secured a 2-1 victory over Haaland's Norway. Despite the result, Haaland spoke highly of Bellingham's talent and contributions, calling him "world class" and stating that both Real Madrid and England are fortunate to have him. Bellingham had a standout performance, scoring two goals in the match, following a similar two-goal effort in England's previous round victory over Mexico.