Real Madrid News
Confirmed: Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham named England Men’s Player of the Year
For the second consecutive time, Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham has been named the England Men’s Player of the Year.
The 23-year-old midfield superstar had won the honour for 2024/25 and has now proceeded to win it again for the 2025/26 season.
The midfielder was voted by the fans on the official England app as the standout Three Lions player over the last campaign.
Bellingham’s season
While Harry Kane would have been a strong contender for the prize, fans have chosen Bellingham, following his exceptional World Cup campaign.
He ended the 2025/26 campaign with Real Madrid with eight goals and five assists from 40 matches in all competitions.
He stepped it up a notch at the World Cup, finishing as the third-highest goalscorer with seven goals from eight games, while also registering an assist in the process.
Back-to-back ✨@BellinghamJude is once again your England Men's Player of the Year connected by @EE! 🏆
— England (@England) September 25, 2026
Bellingham was key to England finishing third in the tournament and has thus been voted by fans as the Men’s Player of the Year.
Bellingham overjoyed
Speaking to the England Football official website, Bellingham expressed his joy at winning the award for the second consecutive season.
“It feels great,” said Bellingham.
“Obviously, a huge honour to be recognised by the fans again. It’s not something you think about when you play for your country, but it’s obviously a beautiful little addition to the great summer we had.”
Highlighting the victory over Mexico in the Round of 16, during which he scored a brace, as his favourite moment with England in the past season, Bellingham added:
“Just a huge occasion. There was a lot of talk before the game about the altitude and kind of going into their domain, really, where they’ve been so strong for so many years and at the World Cup.
“And to come out on top of that and face adversity and also have a good impact on the match was just unbelievable.”
And on being asked what the fans and their support meant to him, he added: “The passion, passion. They always come in numbers. They always sing louder than every team we play against. Yeah, that makes a big difference for us on a pitch.”
In a major update, AS reports that former Real Madrid midfielder and club legend Toni Kroos has taken his first step towards starting his coaching career.
The former Germany international has told the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) that he is interested in joining the coaching course reserved for professional footballers.
Real Madrid tried to bring Kroos back
It is no secret that Real Madrid considered bringing Toni Kroos back into the club’s structure after the end of the last season.
The club president, Florentino Perez, had wanted Kroos to have a daily presence at Valdebebas rather than making occasional appearances after his retirement.
Jose Angel Sanchez and Kroos spoke after Perez expressed his desire to see the German working at Valdebebas every day. However, they did not find the right moment, time or structure to give his return a clear form.
A comeback remains one of the possibilities most desired by Madrid supporters because of Kroos’ charisma and what he represents at the Santiago Bernabeu. Neither side wanted him to return simply for the sake of it, so the door remains open for the future.
The relationship between the two parties is excellent, and both know that the opportunity to work together again will eventually come.
Taking it step by step
For now, Kroos continues to run the academy he established in Boadilla, enjoying the opportunity to help develop younger players.
After two years away from the competitive side of football, however, he is beginning to look towards the dugout as a possible next step in his career.
Kroos currently holds coaching qualifications that allow him to work up to the third tier of Spanish football.
This is possible because professionals with at least seven years of proven experience and significant involvement at the elite level can gain direct access to accelerated coaching courses.
That means Kroos could coach a team in Primera Federacion, but the German wants to take things gradually.
Kroos has already informed the RFEF that he would be interested in joining the coaching course reserved for professional footballers during the 2027/28 season.
The course taking place this season is not available to elite former players, with UEFA limiting each campaign to 20 places.
With his current qualifications, Kroos could work as an assistant coach, but he cannot yet take charge as a head coach in either the top flight or the Segunda División.
But completing that programme would allow Kroos to obtain the UEFA A licence, which would enable him to coach teams at any level.
