The latest indication that Jude Bellingham, an England midfielder, has risen to the status of athletic megastar is that Louis Vuitton is interested in offering the player an endorsement contract for millions of pounds.
The upscale French fashion brand exclusively collaborates with athletes of the highest caliber. They most recently featured Pele, Diego Maradona, and Zinedine Zidane in an advertisement campaign prior to the 2010 World Cup, and now they are focusing on the Stourbridge native, who is 20 years old.
Bellingham, who is very interested in fashion, attended last month’s Ballon d’Or honors in Paris wearing a Louis Vuitton outfit with flared pants.
The former Borussia Dortmund starlet also attended the house’s men’s spring-summer 2024 fashion show in the French capital in June alongside his younger brother Jobe after taking part in the first batch of England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and Macedonia.
The Real Madrid star has yet to sign any personal endorsement deals other than his boot contract with adidas, although he did take part in a photoshoot for Gucci last year as part of their collaboration with the German sportswear company.
Jude Bellingham is being pursued by Louis Vuitton for a multi-million-pound endorsement deal
The 20-year-old attended their S/S 24 menswear show in Junde (centre) alongside Marcus Rashford (left)
Bellingham also wore the label to collect his Kopa Trophy at this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony
Gucci would also like to work with Bellingham again, but have already signed up his England team-mate Jack Grealish on a deal worth more than £1million.
The Man City man’s seven-figure contract with the Italian house was signed in 2022 saw him join national team-mate Marcus Rashford – who is an ambassador for Burberry after signing a philanthropic partnership with the English brand – in expanding his brand into luxury fashion.
Erling Haaland is another of Pep Guardiola’s Treble-winners to have branched into fashion partnerships, inking a deal with Italian clothiers Dolce and Gabbana that was launched by his attendance at their Alta Moda fashion show in Puglia over the summer.
Erling Haaland is an ambassador for Dolce and Gabbana and attended their Alta Moda show in Puglia – as did Kim Kardashian
Louis Vuitton previously tapped Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to feature in an advert ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Bellingham’s pending endorsement deal is just the latest reward of the young talent’s meteoric start to life at Real Madrid, which has seen the player secure LaLiga Player of the Month awards in August and October, and score 13 goals in 14 games.
Last month, Bellingham picked up the Kopa Trophy for most talented player under 21 at this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, and in November, received the 2023 Golden Boy award.
After the international break, the midfielder will be hopeful of returning to match action after being sidelined with extended recovery from a dislocated shoulder.
Bellingham was called up by Gareth Southgate for England, but forced to return to Madrid to continue building back his fitness ahead of post-international ties against Cadiz on Sunday, and Napoli in the Champions League midweek.
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