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<\/p>\nJoe Cole believes that if you could create the world\u2019s greatest footballer in a lab, you would build a Jude Bellingham not a Lionel Messi. The former West Ham wonderkid knows exactly what it is like to be viewed under the microscope from an early age, having himself been identified as the future of English football as a teenager having broken through into the Premier League as a 17-year-old.<\/p>\n
He went on to win trophies with Chelsea before moving to Liverpool and was capped 56 times for England, but admits that every bright young star hits a point in their development when football stops being quite so easy. Although in his experience, Messi and, so far, Bellingham are the only exceptions to that rule.<\/p>\n
\u201cMessi\u2019s 36 and he\u2019s never hit that point – that\u2019s why I compare Bellingham to him,\u201d Cole said. \u201cFootball is easy for him. God has blessed him with something but he\u2019s put all the work in, the sacrifices and everything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just the one – I have no problem saying that about him. The only thing that can stop Jude Bellingham is injuries.\u201d Which is where the science kicks in.<\/p>\n
Messi\u2019s 5ft 7in frame was ravaged by early growth hormone deficiency and adds to his underdog charm. Bellingham is nearly 12 stone of rippling muscle, just over 6ft 1in in his socks. \u201cIf you made a footballer in a lab, you would make Jude Bellingham – he ticks every box,\u201d Cole said.<\/p>\n
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But according to TNT Sports\u2019 pundit for their exclusive coverage of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League – including Real Madrid\u2019s game against Braga – it is on the mental side that the boffins have really got him wired up right.<\/p>\n
\u201cJude\u2019s the perfect physical specimen to be a footballer, but mentally he\u2019s learned all the lessons, he\u2019s ticked every box, and technically he\u2019s elite as well,\u201d Cole said. \u201cI saw it in the Italy game when we went 1-0 down and you sensed the crowd was starting to turn. It is when you see teams disappear in stadiums.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Jude went on a press and it lifted the whole crowd. Then he played a through-ball and it lifted the crowd again. That is why I compared him to Messi. Only a small number of players can do that and I don\u2019t know how he has learned that at the age that he has.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is something you have to feel and a lot of players don\u2019t get it. He is just a leader. Then on the flip side of that, he will deal with the pressure because, when I look at him, he is unfazed. I am comfortable comparing him to players like Messi because I know it won\u2019t go to his head. We are so lucky to have him.\u201d<\/p>\n