Jude Bellingham's hidden Clasico debut is an insult to English football fans
If Jude Bellingham scores in his first Clasico but no one can see it, does it really make a sound?
The England star, who has arguably become the world’s best player, will make his debut appearance in one of the game’s iconic derbies on Saturday. Except no one at home will be able to watch Real Madrid’s visit to Barcelona live because it falls within the blackout.
Chances are he will do something notable on Saturday afternoon but you’ll have to break the law or pay a £15 monthly subscription for deferred coverage. Fear not, this is no tedious argument about the merits and weak points of banning matches from being shown on Saturday afternoons. On that front there is nothing new left to say.
But it is a sad comment on how British audiences are only fringe viewers of Judemania. Bellingham has become an overnight phenomenon across Spain, drawing comparisons with Diego Maradona and dominating conversations.
A record of 11 goals and three assists from his first 12 games helps, so too his cocksure swagger and the sense that the bigger the occasion the more likely he is to define a game.
Klopp's dream Liverpool line up as last-gasp January transfers rejected
Yet for most at home the buzz is restricted to international breaks. He dazzled against Italy last week and looked to be taking the mickey out of Scotland in September. The praise was gushing - from the media, team-mates and Gareth Southgate.
Then he returns to Spain and becomes a secondary thought again for those who place the Premier League front and centre.
Similar is happening with England’s next most important player but the fact Harry Kane has put in more than a decade of Premier League service dulls the impact. In Bavaria they may be delighting in a man capable of more than filling Robert Lewandowski’s shoes and the English domestic arena is a worse place without him. But we have seen his full array of talents up close year after year.
Bellingham has 11 goals in his first 12 Real games. (Ruben Albarran/REX/Shutterstock)For Bellingham, though, an unrivalled run of form is being played out in front of a limited audience. Perhaps it is a good thing that he is flourishing away from the intense English spotlight - although Spain is hardly the home of patience and level-headed analysis.
But in an era of wall to wall sports coverage that Bellingham is hidden away on Viaplay, a fringe channel that is planning to withdraw from the UK market because barely anyone subscribes, is a kick in the teeth for fans who are already forking out for several other platforms to watch domestic games.
Throughout the Ronaldo-Messi era, when La Liga’s popularity was at its apex, Sky commanded very healthy audiences for the biggest events. But that was part of a package already including the biggest Premier League matches.
Fragmenting the market further is problematic and many of us are missing out on football’s most exciting performer as a consequence.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
