Jude Bellingham's seismic impact at Real Madrid is littered across the playgrounds, parks and pitches of the Spanish capital.
Standing with their arms outstretched, looking towards the imaginary crowd, kids have gleefully adopted Bellingham's iconic celebration. Yet, shouts of "Siu!" are still prolific up and down the country, such is the undiluted power of Cristiano Ronaldo's legacy.
They say that the legendary white shirt hangs heavier than any other, but no one in the glittering history of Real Madrid had ever breezed through the opening months of their time at the club as impressively as Ronaldo. That is until Bellingham sauntered along.
Cristiano Ronaldo's stats from first ten Real Madrid appearances
Arriving as the most expensive player in the history of the sport, one year later than he had hoped, Ronaldo's move to Madrid was lumbered with weighty expectations. An underwhelming debut, saved by a well-taken penalty, left the club's director Jorge Valdano fretting that Ronaldo "doesn't need to try to prove who he is every time he gets the ball". One Spanish outlet likened the Portuguese superstar to a teenager nervously fumbling their way through a first sexual encounter.
Ronaldo had well and truly loosened up by the time he earned his second start in La Liga, scoring the first of two goals against Xerez after just 47 seconds. Three days later, Ronaldo needed a lazy 107 seconds to open the scoring against Villarreal.
The first player to ever score in each of their opening three games for Madrid (a feat Bellingham matched) was immediately propelled into the top scorer race alongside a certain Lionel Messi. Ronaldo would eventually claim three Pichichi trophies but caused a minor faux pas by calling the award 'Pachocho'.
It is easily forgotten that Ronaldo missed two months with an ankle injury, rushing back for the first Clasico of the season only to be outshone by the big-money arrival on the other side of the fierce divide. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the only goal of a pulsating game while Ronaldo missed a presentable chance that was endlessly scrutinised over the following days. To compound Ronaldo's ignominy, he was tackled by Gerard Pique to kickstart the move for Barcelona's goal.
Ronaldo returned to the scoresheet on the following weekend but celebrated by ripping off his shirt, exposing the muscles earned by 3,000 sit-ups each day as had been reported that week. Three minutes later, Ronaldo received a second yellow card for a clear foul, sullying his tenth outing for Madrid with the first dismissal of his career in Spain.
Jude Bellingham's stats from first ten Real Madrid appearances
If Ronaldo's debut had been satisfactory, Bellingham's bow for Madrid was sensational. Charging the length and breadth of the pitch in Athletic Club's inhospitable San Mames, Bellingham got off to a perfect start with a volley bounced into the turf and beyond Unai Simon's dive.
The former Birmingham City starlet scored a brace one week later, with the team already - and reverentially - dubbed "Jude Bellingham's Real Madrid".
Everyone, including on-duty police officers outside of the capital, wanted a piece of Bellingham.
Renovation works to the Santiago Bernabeu delayed Bellingham's debut but it was worth the wait; maintaining the poacher's instinct he seemingly developed over the summer, Bellingham snatched a 95th-minute winner against Getafe, inciting a roar which gave him "goosebumps" and left his legs shaking. Unfazed by the robust approach of La Liga's defenders, Bellingham ducked around Getafe's Stefan Mitrovic during the clash and mimicked a matador whipping his cape past a bull.
After drawing the first blank of his short Madrid career against Real Sociedad, Bellingham nabbed another stoppage-time winner on his Champions League debut for the club, cruelly denying Union Berlin a famous point at the Bernabeu.
Just as Ronaldo lost his first meeting with Barcelona, Bellingham suffered defeat in his derby debut with Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone highlighted how Bellingham had struggled without the aerial prowess of Joselu to distract some of the focus. Carlo Ancelotti duly restored his only natural centre-forward to the starting XI against Girona, providing Bellingham with a target for an outrageous outside-of-the-boot assist.
However, Joselu was one of 50,000 spectators watching on in awe as Bellingham danced through Serie A champions Napoli to score a staggering goal in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona that earned comparisons to the great man himself. "That's a bit too much," Bellingham warned.
Madrid's enigmatic new number 5 didn't help quell the swelling hype by matching Ronaldo's double-digit scoring tally from his first ten matches in all-white with a brace against Osasuna. Bellingham's opener, blasted past Sergio Herrera with his supposedly weaker left foot, sparked a crystal clear rendition of Hey Jude from those watching on wide-eyed from the stands.
Jude Bellingham's Real Madrid stats compared to Cristiano Ronaldo
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This article was originally published on 90min as The stats from Jude Bellingham's Real Madrid start compared to Cristiano Ronaldo.
