Arsenal legend Ian Wright has hit out at the media’s treatment of Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham.
The 22-year-old is up there with England’s best players at the moment, but has been given something of a rough time by some sections of the press lately, while he was also surprisingly left out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad in a previous international break earlier this season.
Bellingham is far from being the first England player to be singled out in this way, with previous stars such as David Beckham and Wayne Rooney also going through similar during the peak years of their careers.
However, speaking on this week’s episode of The Overlap, Wright and fellow pundit Gary Neville agreed that the coverage of Bellingham is more similar to the kind of treatment that Raheem Sterling used to have, which appeared to have obvious racist undertones.
Ian Wright defends England star Jude Bellingham after negative coverage
Watch the video clip below as Wright eloquently explains how black footballers are often covered differently from white players…
“I don’t think they are ready for a black superstar!” ??
A powerful response from @IanWright0 following Jude Bellingham’s recent criticism in the media.
Watch the full conversation now on The Overlap YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/MbdEzxL8D3
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) November 20, 2025
The former Gunners striker makes the point that black players are so often told to work hard and keep their head down, and that the more quiet and humble characters like former Chelsea star N’Golo Kante will get a lot of praise for that.
He added, however, that Bellingham is more outspoken and confident like former Manchester United man Paul Pogba, who received similarly harsh criticism.
Can Jude Bellingham help England at next summer’s World Cup?
Bellingham missed one round of England fixtures but made it back into Tuchel’s squad for the latest international break, so he’ll surely be involved at the 2026 World Cup.
The England international can be a real game-changer on his day, as he’s shown throughout his career at Birmingham City, Borussia Dortmund, and Real Madrid.
There’s a lot of competition in this area of the England squad from other top attacking midfielders like Phil Foden, Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer, and Morgan Rogers, so it will be interesting to see how Tuchel ends up lining up next summer.
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