Thomas Tuchel has shockingly revealed that even his own mother finds Jude Bellingham’s on-field behaviour “repulsive”. The England manager also suggested that the Real Madrid ace can be an “intimidating” figure amongst his teammates.
Such candid comments from a manager about his key player are bound to turn heads and could potentially set them on a collision course. Bellingham has developed a reputation for being “fiery” with officials, having been red-carded and suspended in La Liga, and he also faced controversy with England due to a gesture during last summer’s Euros.
Tuchel’s mother Gabriele, who closely follows her son’s career, seems to have reservations about the English midfielder, especially regarding the two facets of his character.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Tuchel said: “I think it has to be the other way around, how we can have the best version of him and the best acceptance that people understand what he is bringing to us, and that he is bringing a certain edge.
“But I see that it can create mixed emotions. I see this with my parents, with my mum, that she sometimes cannot see the nice and well-educated and well-behaved guy that I see. If he smiles, he wins everyone.
“But sometimes you see the rage, you see the hunger and the rage and the fire, and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive, for example, for my mother, when she sits in front of the TV. I see that, but in general we are very happy to have him. He is a special boy.”
Tuchel has confessed that tapping into Bellingham’s fiery nature in the right way is crucial for maximising his potential on the pitch.
The coach elaborated: “I think he has a certain something. I think he brings an edge, which we welcome and which is needed if we want to achieve big things.
“It needs to be channelled. The edge needs to be channelled toward the opponent, towards our goal and not to intimidate team-mates, or to be overaggressive to team-mates or referees.
“But [channel it] towards opponents, yes, and always towards the solution, meaning towards winning. We are on that, yes. He has the fire. I don’t want to dim this down. He should play with this kind of fire, that’s his strength.
“But the fire comes also with some attributes that can intimidate you, maybe even as a team-mate.
“You see sometimes the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game, so if he can channel this in the right way, and we can help him in this, then for sure he has the something that we need. And he has a certain edge that is hard to find.”