Bellingham's seven World Cup goals earn him second successive England Player of the Year

Jude Bellingham has been voted England’s Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season for the second year running, with fans recognising the Real Madrid midfielder’s decisive contribution to England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals, where the Three Lions ultimately finished third.

Across 12 appearances for England during the season, Bellingham scored seven goals and added one assist — every one of those goals coming at the World Cup itself, making him the tournament’s leading scorer among England players. The haul was enough to secure the fan vote comfortably, regardless of how his club form had fluctuated over the previous two seasons at Real Madrid.

Bellingham had claimed the same award the previous season, and this back-to-back recognition keeps him firmly at the head of the fan vote as England enter a new international cycle under Thomas Tuchel. His World Cup output, delivered on the tournament’s biggest stage, gave him a natural claim on the award that his numbers alone justified.

Responding to the honour, Bellingham said it was not something he thought about while playing for his country, but that it added to what had been a memorable summer and reflected the privilege of representing England.

The individual recognition arrives at a moment when Bellingham’s influence at Real Madrid is under close scrutiny. In the club’s first eight matches of the 2026-27 season, he has scored three goals and provided two assists — a return that suggests his World Cup performances have carried over into sharper club form rather than the post-tournament dip some had anticipated.

Whether the award has any bearing on Tuchel’s selection decisions or squad-building plans is not addressed in the available reporting. What the numbers do confirm is that Bellingham produced his best international football at the moment England needed it most, and that Real Madrid will be counting on him to sustain that level through a season already carrying significant expectations.