"Don’t think there is much difference" - Carlo Ancelotti says Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is comparable with former Ballon d'Or winner
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti reckons midfielder Jude Bellingham has similar traits with former midfielder Kaka.
Bellingham, 20, has made a smashing start to his Los Blancos career since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. He has bagged 20 goals and eight assists in 30 games across competitions, eliciting comparisons with former Los Blancos midfielder Kaka.
Ahead of his team's UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg with RB Leipzig at home on Tuesday (March 5), Ancelotti said that Bellingham reminds him of the 2002 FIFA World Cup winner.
“Does Bellingham remind you of Kaka?,” Ancelotti was asked (as per Madrid Xtra), to which he replied “Yes, he has something from Kaka. I don’t think there is much difference.”
Kaka had an injury-plagued four-season stint at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2009 and 2013, scoring 29 times in 120 games across competitions after arriving from AC Milan.
Kaka won the Ballon d'Or under Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti
Before arriving at Real Madrid, Kaka had an impressive stint with AC Milan in the 2000s.
In 270 games across competitions between 2003 and 2009, the now-retired Brazilian scored 95 times and won one UEFA Champions League, under current Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Kaka won the Ballon d'Or in 2007 after leading Milan to their seventh and latest Champions League title, beating Liverpool 2-1 in the final. With 445 points, he finished ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi - the duo who would go on to win 13 Ballon d'Or titles between them.
The Brazilian arrived at Real Madrid two years later but didn't play under his former Milan boss, who arrived soon after Kaka left in the summer of 2013. In his second stint at the Bernabeu, Ancelotti has created history by becoming the first manager to win titles in all five top-five leagues.
He's also the first one to win multiple UEFA Champions League titles with more than one club. Carlo Ancelotti added to his 2003 and 2007 titles with Milan with the 2014 and 2022 triumphs with Madrid.