Jude Bellingham and Laura Celia Valk's relationship could out-earn Cristiano Ronaldo

A football finance guru claims that Jude Bellingham and girlfriend Laura Celia Valk could be football’s equivalent to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The Real Madrid star was key in salvaging England’s hopes at Euro 2024 as he his stunning last-gasp overhead kick brought the Three Lions level against Slovakia on Sunday, before Harry Kane scored the winner in extra time.

Despite his impressive feats of winning both La Liga and the Champions League in his maiden season at Bernabeu, Bellingham’s stock is on the rise. While numerous football stars are known primarily for their on-field actions, Dr. Rob Wilson suggests Bellingham could find even greater fame outside the pitch.

The Professor of Applied Sport Finance views the young player’s marketing potential to be immense, potentially exceeding the likes of football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. “Bellingham is quite similar to Travis Kelce in that way with Taylor Swift, there is an alignment and exposure,” Dr. Wilson said speaking on behalf of Saxo.

He added: “From a brand alignment, it would be interesting to see if they ever do any co-activation, where they are both involved in promotion, but there will be a lot of off-field work as well. There will also be a natural increase in the level of exposure to brands like PrettyLittleThing as a result of the indirect association.

“The really smart commercial people will be looking at that and thinking, ‘PrettyLittleThing is a really well thought of brand, as are Real Madrid, there might be a chance of some co-activation’. It could be worth millions for Bellingham and Real Madrid.”

Valk, who holds a degree in creative business from the Amsterdam University of Applied Science, also established Bobby Rose Agency, a content and consultancy agency aimed at boosting company growth. In addition to her business ventures, she has an extensive modelling portfolio, having worked with brands such as Bali Body and Monday Swimwear – something that has helped her amass over 500,000 followers on Instagram.

But despite their public profiles, they prefer to keep their relationship private. Currently, both are concentrating on their respective careers. Bellingham’s main focus is Euro 2024 and England’s forthcoming quarter-final match against Switzerland.

While it’s hard to forecast how Gareth Southgate’s team will perform in the rest of the tournament, Wilson believes Bellingham’s marketing future is clear-cut. He further commented: “Bellingham has the potential to exceed Ronaldo and Messi in terms of marketability. If we had this conversation in ten years’ time and Bellingham continues his trajectory with Real Madrid, then I think he will surpass Mbappe considerably.”

“They are at the beginning of that journey; Mbappe would be more established than Bellingham as he has been around for a little bit longer, but the potential for both players would be significantly more than the transfer fee that you would need to sign either of them. Mbappe is worth more now than Bellingham, but the England midfielder has a degree more marketability about him and he is in the earlier part of his career as well.”

“We talk about Messi and Ronaldo in relatively balanced terms – there is a debate over who is the better player and who has achieved more – I think Bellingham will exceed what Mbappe can do. His age and the fact he has only just got to Real Madrid, is massively stacked in his favour. I think his image and his authenticity make him hugely marketable, whereas Mbappe does not have that. Whether it is because he has played in France or the fact he played in Messi’s shadow, I just don’t think he has the brand activation that Bellingham could have.”