JUDE BELLINGHAM has revealed the emotional reason behind his shirt number at Real Madrid.
The England star wears the number five on his back for the Spanish giants, a number also donned for Madrid by legend Zinedine Zidane.
And although Bellingham has previously explained his love and admiration for Zidane, the reason behind choosing the World Cup winner's shirt number runs deeper than just a childhood idol.
In fact for Bellingham the number has family ties.
The superstar revealed that his dad is the inspiration for the number five on the back of his Los Blancos kit, with a strong link to Zidane too.
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Speaking to Movistar, he explained: "My dad always wore a Real Madrid shirt around the house with 'Zidane' on the back.
"Which is funny because, in a way, it has come full circle. He gave it to me when I arrived here in the summer.
"He always wore it and I always asked him: "Who is this guy you have on your shirt?'
"He always answered: 'When you're older, we'll see him on YouTube...'
"And now that I'm wearing the number five, it has ended up being a quite significant story."
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Bellingham has always had deeper meaning behind his shirt numbers with the 20-year-old previously wearing the number 22 at both Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund.
The unusual choice actually harks back to his days in the Birmingham academy when Blues coaches in his youth felt he was so good he could play anywhere in midfield.
The coaches were certain that Bellingham could play as a No4, No8 and a No10.
When they added all those numbers together it totalled 22, giving the midfield maestro a number that he would wear for the formative years of his career.
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