How Jude Bellingham reacted to his Birmingham City exit and whether he could ever return to St Andrew’s | OneFootball

Football League World looks at whether Real Madrid sensation Jude Bellingham could ever return to Birmingham City

At the time of Jude Bellingham's departure in July 2020, Birmingham City had fallen beyond stagnant in the lower reaches of the Championship.

Aside from a play-off finish in their first season back in the second tier under Chris Hughton in 2011/12, Blues fans had become accustomed to seeing their side finish as mid-table also-rans at their very best, finishing 17th or below on nine occasions prior to their eventual drop into League One at the end of 2023/24.

However, the future is extremely bright for Bluenoses under the ownership of Knighthead Capital Management, who stuck to their long-term guns in the boardroom at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, with promotion back to the second tier the first major step on the road back to the Premier League for the first time since 2011.

Many cult heroes and eventual stars have graced the turf in B9 since then though, with Bellingham, unsurprisingly, the standout given his record-breaking status at Blues, as well as his exploits since moving onto the continent with Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid and on the international stage with England.

With that being said, FLW has looked at how the then-17-year-old took to social media after the last of his 44 appearances in royal blue - a 3-1 defeat to Derby County in July 2020, and whether the world superstar could, one day, return to B9.

How Jude Bellingham reacted after his Birmingham City exit

Bellingham etched his name into club folklore by becoming the club's youngest-ever player in an EFL Cup defeat to Portsmouth in August 2019, before subsequently becoming the youngest-ever scorer in Blues history at 16 years, two months and eight days with the first of four strikes during his breakthrough season coming against Stoke City.

The midfield prodigy was named the EFL's Young Player of the Season for his performances that showcased a maturity way beyond his teenage years, as he went on to feature 44 times across all competitions in what would prove to be yet another underwhelming season for the West Midlands side as a collective.

Amid interest from Manchester United, Dortmund confirmed that the youngster had agreed a long-term contract on July 20th 2020 for a fee north of £30m, with Bellingham bowing out in B9 in front of an empty Tilton due to COVID-19 restrictions, which was a bittersweet moment for him as reflected in his Instagram post at the time.

"Not the way I wanted to go out. Gave everything but wasn’t to be. I can’t thank @BCFC and the academy enough for what they’ve done for me over the last 10 years," he said.

"It’s been an absolute pleasure working with all the staff and all my teammates during that period of time and I owe them everything for the way they’ve helped me mature as a player and as a person.

"Whatever happens Birmingham City will always be my club and I will always be a blue. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to show my gratitude to the fans, who I’ve built a strong connection with over the past year, but I’m sure they know how much I love them wherever they might be," Bellingham added.

"I wish the club nothing but the best for the future. It’s not a goodbye it’s a ‘see you later.’ Keep Right On!Jude.💙," he concluded.

The chances of Jude Bellingham further cementing his legacy at Birmingham City assessed

In truth, the UEFA Champions League winner's legacy in this part of the world was cemented after the club decided to retire the number 22 after it became "synonymous with Jude, his rise to the first team aged just 16 years and 38 days and these qualities."

Bellingham then admitted in 2023 that those at the club told him "'no one will take it until you get back to Birmingham'."

"I was like 'Really?' I had a good year, but it was nothing extraordinary. I looked around me. 'But wait, are we allowed to do that?'"," he stated.

He has already been back to St Andrew's, watching a 3-2 victory over Reading in December 2022 as his younger brother and current Sunderland ace, Jobe, featured in the Blues midfield under John Eustace, after he revealed in a 2021 interview that "it is always the first score that I check, I am always watching the games when I can, it means so much to me that club."

If Bellingham has found the time to watch Chris Davies' side this season en-route to promotion, he will have been aware of the club's long-term ambition both on and off the pitch, which included handing Jay Stansfield a seven-year contract after striking a club-record deal for the forward.

Such is the length of the ex-Fulham man's deal, if he oversees all seven years, he will feature for Blues by the time a new 60,000-capacity stadium has been built a stone's throw away from St Andrew's if all goes according to plan.

Of course, for any club to attract the services of Bellingham, who moved to Madrid for an upfront €103m fee two summers ago, plenty of cash has to be on the table as well as current and long-term stability and ambition.

There's no doubt that Blues have both of those, and they will hope that after the 21-year-old has achieved plenty either in the Spanish capital or elsewhere, he will return for a second stint in royal blue, given his potentially cryptic hint back in 2020.