Roy Keane has a warning for Jude Bellingham.
Roy Keane knows all about stealing the spotlight at major tournaments, but Keane can argue that he always had the best interests of his team at heart.
Okay, it’s an argument that could cause a riot in a monastery but it’s an argument nonetheless.
What’s done is done and the Corkman has a whole different place in the football world of 2024.
Far from Saipan, he finds himself watching international tournaments from English TV studios nowadays, wondering if some of today’s stars are more interested in themselves than team spirit.
It’s the kind of ‘old man yells at cloud’ trope we’ve come accustomed to with the likes of Graeme Souness down through the years, but in the case of Jude Bellingham, it’s hard to disagree with the former Manchester United captain.
Bellingham struck a stunning overhead kick in the final seconds of England’s eventual last-sixteen win over Slovakia and celebrated by shouting ‘Who else?’ into the stands like a man believing his own legend.
The 21-year-old was also fined €30,000 after the game for allegedly making an offensive gesture towards the Slovakian bench.
The gesture saw Bellingham pretend to grab his genitals but many would rather see him grab football matches by the balls instead.
Despite bagging two goals, the Real Madrid star has been relatively uninfluential in England’s play at this tournament, showing little chemistry with Phil Foden or Harry Kane in the final third.
On one hand, big moments from the youngster have bailed England out, but Keane rightly wonders if Bellingham’s self-centred celebrations are emblematic of England’s inability to gel as a team.
“If you scored a big goal, to me that wouldn’t even cross your mind”, he said of Bellingham’s ‘Who else?’ celebration.
“You’d be with your team-mates!”
“Scoring goals is the best part of football but I just can’t imagine that you’d have something in your head to say, ‘Who else?’
“That’s the bit where I’d be going, ‘Hold on a second’. It’s a bit cocky and arrogant.
“Bellingham has to be careful with his celebration after scoring against Slovakia.
“You’re always walking a fine line; you don’t want it to seem like it’s all about you.”
Fellow pundit Gary Neville countered the point by suggesting that having ego on the football pitch is no bad thing, especially if it elevates performances.
He was however concerned whether Bellingham’s personality is liked by teammates off the pitch – that part is especially important at tournaments where so much time is spent together in a team hotel.
“I think it’s fine to demonstrate any emotion and I think all football players have an ego,” said Nevile.
“All sportspeople have an ego. You have to, to be on that pitch.
‘But is he popular with his teammates, and is he grounded and not letting anything get carried away? Those are the two things.
“If he’s in control of everything, popular with his teammates and not getting carried away, go as you like.”
