Jude Bellingham was greeted with a hero's reception at his boyhood club, Birmingham City, on Friday night as he watched them secure a penalty shootout victory against Barcelona.
Barcelona traveled to St Andrew's for a pre-season friendly, offering fans a rare chance to see the La Liga champions in action. The occasion became even more memorable when England international Bellingham, who started his career at Birmingham before moving to Borussia Dortmund and then Real Madrid, was unveiled before the match.
Birmingham City's official social media account shared a video of Bellingham taking his seat and waving to the crowd, captioned: 'Jude. He's home.' Supporters loudly chanted his name and "he's one of our own" as he raised his arms in acknowledgment.
Bellingham is currently on a break after playing a significant role for England in the World Cup and has not yet returned to Real Madrid for the new season. He posed for photographs with Birmingham fans who had supported him as a youth.
The midfielder cheered enthusiastically as his former club overcame Real Madrid's rivals. The match ended 2-2 in normal time, with goals from August Priske Flyger and John Solis for Birmingham, and a brace from Barcelona's Hamza Abdelkarim. Birmingham secured a 3-2 victory in the penalty shootout after goalkeeper James Beadle saved two spot-kicks and Jordi Pesquer hit the crossbar.
Bellingham joined Birmingham City's academy at a young age, making his senior debut at 16 years and 36 days old, becoming the club's youngest-ever first-team player. After 41 appearances in the 2019-20 season, he transferred to Borussia Dortmund for £25 million.
Birmingham officially retired Bellingham's No. 22 jersey upon his departure, making him the youngest professional player to have his shirt retired by a club. He was seen wearing the retired jersey during the match, which appeared to coincide with his boyhood club's comeback victory.
