Real Madrid reveal when Bellingham will make Los Blancos debut

Cameron Smith

• 10 Jul 2023 19:19 BST
• 3 min read

Real Madrid have identified their El Clasico friendly against Barcelona on 29 July as the game in which new signing Jude Bellingham will make his debut for the club.

Bellingham, 20, joined Los Blancos from Borussia Dortmund for €100 million at the start of the summer, but is currently side-lined with an injury that saw him miss the final few matches of the 2022/23 Bundesliga season.

In fact, the England international was ruled out for Dortmund’s final match of the league campaign and watched his side lose the Bundesliga title after drawing 2-2 against Mainz.

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He also missed England’s European Championship qualifying games versus Malta and North Macedonia, although he did join his Three Lions team-mates at the St George’s Park base before flying to Madrid to sign for Real.

According to Spanish outlet AS, “Real Madrid do not want to rush Jude Bellingham from his injury. The idea now is for him to make his debut in the Clásico on July 29th.”

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Real Madrid’s pre-season plans

Real Madrid currently have four pre-season friendlies arranged, and Bellingham is only set to feature in two.

Los Blancos will play AC Milan at the Rose Bowl Stadium in California on 23 July before facing Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United in Houston at the NRG Stadium four days later on 27 July.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men will have an even shorter turnaround when they play Barcelona at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on 29 July, just two days after their clash against Man Utd. Bellingham is set to feature in this game, while he could also be involved in Real’s final pre-season game - against Juventus in Florida on 2 August.

Bellingham is one of four signings that Real Madrid have made so far this summer, with Fran Garcia joining for €5m from Rayo Vallecano, Arda Guler arriving from Fenerbahce for €20m and Joselu signing on loan from Espanyol for €500,000.