During his tenure with the Chicago Bulls, NBA icon Michael Jordan forged a lucrative partnership with Nike, propelling him to become the company’s leading ambassador. The Air Jordan line of sneakers has exceeded $5 billion (£4bn) in sales, substantially enriching the basketball legend.

Now, Nike, renowned for its association with Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, aims to elevate Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham as their next prominent figure, luring him away from rival sportswear brand adidas. Reports suggest that a distinctive logo akin to Jordan’s iconic ‘Jumpman’ symbol is in development for the 20-year-old.

Bellingham’s decision to trademark his name and secure image rights reportedly earned him around £2.5 million. According to the Daily Mail, aligning with Nike, coupled with recent partnerships like the one with Kim Kardashian’s ‘Skims’ brand, could potentially surpass the earnings of Manchester United and England legend David Beckham, whose net worth is estimated at £372m ($450m).

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede commented to the Mail, “It couldn’t have got off to a better start with Jude Bellingham announced internationally as the face and body of Kim Kardashian’s hit underwear brand Skims and then to get the Three Lions off to a flying start in the Euros. He’s got a massive 33 million social media followers on Instagram, supermodel stature and a model girlfriend – all eyes are on him on and of the pitch. Jude’s a marketing dream and the fans love him. He’s only 20 and literally has the world at his feet and is well on his way to becoming the new Beckham. with brands clambering to work with him and sign him up the future is golden him. He’s determined to make a mark for his country. With his international appeal cemented cleverly by Skims and an endorsement from Kim to over 300 million people, he’s got all the right skills and fans to become the next Michael Jordan.”

Bellingham, currently dating Dutch model Laura Celia, featured prominently in adidas’ pre-Euro 2024 campaign, starring alongside Beckham and Frank Lampard in a ‘Hey Jude’ video. His pivotal goal in England’s European Championship opener against Serbia underscored his prowess, adding to his earlier achievements in La Liga and the Champions League in 2024, setting his sights on further accolades.

Jude Bellingham

This season he played in total 11 times for 994 minutes for Champions League.

Jude Bellingham scored 4 goals for Real Madrid. He procured 5 assists. He received 2 yellow cards and no red cards.

His team is currently 1st in Champions League. In the last match Real Madrid won 2-0 against Borussia Dortmund.

Real Madrid performance and stats

Real Madrid is currently 1st in the Champions League with 18 points.

In the last 12 games, it has won 9 times and drawn 3 times. In its last match, Real Madrid won 0-2 against Borussia Dortmund.​​

It has a positive goal difference after scoring 16 goals and conceding 7.​