Jude Bellingham has not only become a European champion but has also found the fuel to drive him to glory.
Bellingham, 20, has won the Champions League, La Liga, been voted La Liga’s Player of the Year and if he does not win the Ballon d’Or for this season then it is just a matter of time. He is surely destined to become the best player in the world after a career defining night at Wembley when he crowned it all by lifting the European Cup.
And afterwards, Bellingham talked about proving people wrong and sending a message to the doubters. “You go through life with people telling you that you can't do things,” he said on the pitch afterwards.
That is all fine and good because Bellingham clearly uses it all as motivation and the drive which pushes him to success. But let’s be absolutely clear here. No-one in their right mind doubts Bellingham. And it is impossible to remember such a universally loved success story.
Every big club wanted to sign him even before he was a teenager - and yet he stayed loyal to his boyhood club, to his roots and listened to the best advice possible from his family. The kid from Stourbridge, growing up at Birmingham City, then going abroad to Borussia Dortmund and then succeeding at Real Madrid, the biggest club in the world.
His family means everything to him and he thanked them post-match in what was a lovely, emotional tribute to what they have sacrificed for him and how he wants to be a role model for his younger brother Jobe. Teenage girls think he’s the best looking footballer of all time. And the other kids worship him and try to copy his moves.
The rest of us just pray that he gets the chance for England this summer to play like he has done for Real Madrid. At the heart of the team, driving them towards Euros glory.
Bellingham sacrificed himself in the final, playing a deeper role, often drifting wide to do a job and, as a result, it was far from his best game. But Bellingham still provided an assist for Vinicius Junior to get Real Madrid’s second goal. He still contributed. England must put him in the No10 role - and let him shine.
Toni Kroos is retiring at the top at 34 and he turned the game with his passing, stopped the Borussia Dortmund pressure and delivered the corner from which Dani Carvajal scored the all-important opening goal. Kroos will leave a big gaping hole in midfield - and have no doubt that Bellingham will probably feel more responsibly on his shoulders.
But the huge army of adoring Real Madrid fans have already taken Bellingham to their hearts. They love him, chant his name and think he is a footballing God. Basically, Bellingham is adored from all sides. It is impossible to think of a more popular global star. Ever.
David Beckham went to Real Madrid as a former Manchester United player so was never going to be universally loved. He was also already a showbiz icon which makes him an easy target. Gareth Bale is Britain’s most successful export of all time - and yet was universally unpopular in Madrid. Wayne Rooney was the boy wonder - but what should have been adulation for a great player turned into jealousy.
Bellingham is the antidote to all of this. He has all the skill, ability and potential to be England’s best player of all time. He is certainly the best player of this generation. And he is loved.
Who else would back themselves to go to Madrid at such a young age? Nobody. Far too many England players are too fearful to go abroad. Not Bellingham.
That is why Bellingham deserves to be regarded as a national hero. And however he wants to paint it or use any perceived doubts to drive him on is fine. But let no-one try to tell you otherwise… the whole country is behind him and wishing him well. And absolutely loving his success. He has earned it.
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