With the Champions League final being played at Wembley, it is logical that there will be some Englishmen on the field.
Given that he plays for Real Madrid, there was always a reasonable chance that Jude Bellingham would appear on this big occasion under the Arch on June 1.
The fact that Jadon Sancho is lining up against him at Borussia Dortmund is something no one saw coming a few months ago.
The two are, of course, former Dortmund teammates and get along well off the field, with Sancho, four years older, helping Bellingham adapt when he moved to Germany as a 17-year-old in 2020.
Indeed, Sancho’s success following his move to Germany as a teenager and his rapid rise to regular first-team football were key factors in Bellingham deciding to sign there rather than Manchester United or elsewhere.
Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham (left) and Manchester United star Jadon Sancho (right) celebrate together in 2021 after helping Borussia Dortmund win the German Cup.
Bellingham consoles Sancho after his missed penalty with England in the Euro 2020 final
Bellingham celebrates after helping Real reach the Champions League final at Wembley
Sancho in the middle of Borussia Dortmund’s celebrations after beating PSG to reach the final
The intervening years have seen very different career paths for the English duo.
Bellingham, now 20, has seen his stock continually rise to the point where he is almost certainly the best young player in the world.
Having excelled for three seasons at Dortmund, Bellingham made a £88m move to Europe’s most successful club in one of his long moves.
He could finish his first season at the Bernabéu with a LaLiga and Champions League double, having made numerous decisive contributions, and a host of personal accolades will surely follow.
In the summer, he will carry England’s Euro 2024 hopes on his young shoulders and yet Bellingham plays as if he feels no burden.
When Man United paid £73m to buy Sancho from Dortmund in 2021, the winger was one of Europe’s top talents and seemed a perfect fit.
Unfortunately, Sancho’s career has been derailed, with uninspiring form, mental health issues and a falling out with Erik ten Hag souring his Old Trafford dream.
Such is the sense of dysfunction at United, it is difficult to know where Sancho’s blame ends, although the player certainly hasn’t helped himself.
Bellingham joined Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham in July 2020
It was Sancho, four years his senior, who helped Bellingham adapt to life in Dortmund.
The couple formed a strong relationship and Bellingham thanked Sancho for providing him with support.
So, at a time when United are struggling to even reach the Conference League next season, with Ten Hag fighting to save his job, it is ironic that a player sent off to train with the youth teams last autumn is now in a Champions League final.
Ten Hag has tried to present Sancho’s revitalization on loan at Dortmund as a positive for United, not least because of his resale value, but it does not reflect well on him or his club.
Football is full of sliding door moments, but consider the likely course of events if Sancho were to return to normal and apologize to Ten Hag after his social media outburst in September.
He would probably have come off the bench with United 4-0 down at Crystal Palace on Monday night, failed to make any impact and been mocked by fans.
Instead, on Tuesday he helped Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain to reach the Champions League final, having excelled in the first leg.
Sancho has rediscovered the simple pleasures of having the ball at his feet and passing opponents, pleasures forgotten at United.
Whatever happens next, Sancho will always have a Champions League final at Wembley. Before, in the tunnel, there will no doubt be a handshake and a hug for his old friend Bellingham before getting down to business.
Bellingham’s £25m move from Birmingham City to Dortmund was smart but came at a difficult time, with the world still partially in lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pair greet fellow Englishman Demarai Gray during Dortmund’s clash against Bayer Leverkusen in 2021. Gray, who like Bellingham is from Birmingham, now plays in Saudi Arabia.
The pair played together for England at Euro 2020, which was played in 2021 due to Covid.
It was Sancho, rooted in Dortmund, who helped the teenager adapt to a new country and a new culture as a mentor.
“Jadon is really, really important to me,” Bellingham told Kicker magazine in October 2020.
The two friends face each other in Dortmund training during the only season they spent together in Germany.
‘Not just because he is from the same country as me or because he speaks the same language.
“The most important thing is how he embraces me, but also the other young people, how he strengthens our faith in our abilities and how he puts trust in us.
‘He’s a great role model for English players my age. Getting his advice really means a lot to me. That helps me a lot.’
With that support, Bellingham wasted no time in becoming an integral part of everything Dortmund did. He was a regular fixture in his three seasons there, and his influence always grew.
Both were part of Gareth Southgate’s European squad in the summer of 2021 and it was Sancho’s chance to return the praise.
“The sky is the limit for this guy,” he told England’s official YouTube channel at a time when Bellingham was being linked with Liverpool.
“He’s a great footballer, he’s mature for his age, which is very surprising. I think when he was 18 he wasn’t that mature at all!
“Being in an important tournament for England, especially, is something very important. As you can see, he comes and plays his role for the team.
Sancho praised Bellingham on Twitter for his performance playing for Dortmund against Rangers in the 2021-22 Europa League
Bellingham returned the compliment a month later, when Sancho scored what turned out to be a consolation for Manchester United against Manchester City.
‘He deserves it. As I said before, the sky is the limit for him and if he keeps doing well he will be able to reach the peak of his ability. I hope that happens.’
Regarding his own friendship, Sancho added: ‘What a guy! I remember when he came to Dortmund he was funny because he was quite shy and quiet.
‘In fact, he told me at first that he thought he wouldn’t like me. I don’t know why, but as he got to know me, he started to like me and now we’re very close.
“Every time I see him, I check on him and see how he is doing.”
Bellingham’s remarkable maturity was evident when he was one of the first to reach out to Sancho after missing his penalty against Italy in the Euro final.
Now it was his turn to put an arm around her shoulder.
Sancho’s career at Manchester United became something of a nightmare, but his return on loan to Borussia Dortmund has been a huge success as he has returned to his best in yellow.
Sancho’s refusal to apologize to United manager Erik ten Hag led to his temporary departure from Old Trafford
Shortly before, the pair helped Dortmund win the German Cup and celebrated together with the trophy in front of an empty Olympiastadion in Berlin, with fans still excluded due to Covid.
In the meantime, there has been encouragement on social media and, no doubt, private messages. “Jude Bellingham, what a player,” Sancho tweeted as he watched Dortmund play Rangers in the Europa League in 2022.
“JS, great player,” Bellingham wrote on his Twitter account after Sancho scored in the following month’s Manchester derby, before City won 4-1.
Now the two teammates find themselves, against all odds, on opposite sides in the most anticipated match in European football.
It’s time for the real ‘major player’ to step up.
