Bellingham taunts Romero over Messi as World Cup feud resurfaces in Madrid derby defeat

Jude Bellingham and Cristian Romero revived their bitter World Cup feud during Atlético Madrid’s 2-1 derby victory over Real Madrid at the Metropolitano on Sunday, with the pair exchanging pointed words throughout an ill-tempered contest.

According to Spanish broadcaster Movistar’s El Día Después, Bellingham taunted the Atlético defender by suggesting he was far less vocal without Lionel Messi beside him. “When you’re with Messi, you talk a lot. But here, nothing,” Bellingham allegedly told Romero, also calling the Argentine a “coward.” Romero fired back, labelling Bellingham a “cry baby” and mocking him for his emotional reaction at the 2022 World Cup semi-final, where Argentina eliminated England in stoppage time.

The two players first clashed at that Qatar semi-final, a match England led before Argentina rallied to win late on — a result that clearly still stings for Bellingham. Their reunion in Madrid did little to settle old scores.

On the pitch, Real Madrid felt aggrieved by several refereeing decisions. Romero was shown only a yellow card for a challenge on Bellingham despite a VAR review, while Real also believed Kang-in Lee should have been dismissed for an ankle-high foul on Federico Valverde. Dean Huijsen was eventually sent off for the visitors, compounding their frustration. At full-time, Bellingham led protests directed at referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias, repeatedly shouting “two red cards, two!” at the official.

Manager José Mourinho arrived at his post-match press conference carrying a printed A4 sheet displaying screenshots of both incidents. “We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” he said, holding up the images. “Those were two clear red cards. Given the difficulties we faced afterwards playing 11 against 10, we can only imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like.”

The defeat leaves Real Madrid in fourth place in La Liga, six points behind leaders Barcelona, and deepens the sense of grievance around a club that felt the result was shaped as much by officiating as by Atlético’s performance.