Jude Bellingham has been described as ‘the closest thing’ the England national side has ever had to Zinedine Zidane.
The claim – coming from BBC business editor, Simon Jack on X – was made even more audacious by the suggestion that the Real Madrid midfielder had surpassed Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
The 23-year-old has been in fine form at the 2026 World Cup, registering five goal contributions (four goals and one assist) in as many games.
Stand aside, Gerrard, Lampard and Paul Scholes – the three-man debate is set to expand. Or should it?
Random football post. Bellingham is the closest thing we have ever had to Zidane. And in some ways even better. Gerrard and Lampard were never this good.
— Simon Jack (@BBCSimonJack) July 7, 2026
To be absolutely fair to Jack, Bellingham has been largely outstanding for the Three Lions in their bid to end a now 60-year wait for silverware.
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We’d even go as far as saying that the La Liga sensation is well on track to surpass England’s celebrated alumni.
However, this is surely only a conversation fitting in reference to the three footballers’ international efforts?
If it were up to us, there wouldn’t even be a debate – Steven Gerrard is objectively clear of Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes. And, quite frankly, if we’re including club achievements, that assertion should also extend to Bellingham.
Look, we really like the Englishman as a player, and we’d have welcomed his addition back when Liverpool were heavily linked during his days with Borussia Dortmund.
But it shouldn’t be forgotten that Steven Gerrard single-handedly kept Liverpool a relevant institution during a period in which squad excellence was often found to be wanting.
From an international standpoint too, the legendary former Reds skipper was often hamstrung by an insistence on trying to fit himself and Lampard in the same starting-XI and poor tactical decision-making.
But if we’re going to talk about complete players, the 46-year-old is the most genuinely complete of the bunch. Leadership, ball-carrying, ball progression, work rate, creativity, technique… you name it, Stevie had it. And in spades.
That’s not to take anything away from Jude Bellingham. We just think it’s a conversation worth having in perhaps a decade’s time.
For any lingering doubt over Steven Gerrard’s qualities, we always find it helpful to reflect on Zinedine Zidane’s thoughts on the matter.
“Is he the best in the world? He might not get the attention of [Lionel] Messi and Ronaldo but, yes, I think he just might be,” the France legend was quoted by the Guardian back in 2009.
“If you don’t have a player like Steven Gerrard, who is the engine room, it can affect the whole team.
“When we were winning league titles and European Cups at Real, I always said Claude Makelele was our most important player. There is no way myself, [Luis] Figo or Raúl would have been able to do what we did without Claude and the same goes for Liverpool and Gerrard.
“He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals, but most importantly he gives the players around him confidence and belief. You can’t learn that – players like him are just born with that presence.”
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