Jude Bellingham overtakes Iker Casillas as youngest player to reach 60 Champions League appearances

Jude Bellingham has set another Champions League record after becoming the youngest player to make 60 appearances in the competition.

The Real Madrid midfielder reached the milestone aged 23 years and 128 days during his side’s visit to AEK Athens on Wednesday. The match was played at the Agia Sophia Stadium in the fourth round of the Champions League league phase.

Bellingham retained his place in Jose Mourinho’s starting midfield, alongside Portugal international Bernardo Silva and France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.

According to Spanish newspaper AS, Bellingham’s appearance moved him beyond the previous record held by former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Casillas had played his 60th Champions League match at the age of 23 years and 167 days.

That means Bellingham achieved the landmark 39 days earlier than the Real Madrid great.

It is the second time Bellingham has surpassed Casillas in the Champions League’s appearance records. In November last year, he became the youngest player in the competition’s history to reach 50 appearances, doing so at the age of 22 years and 128 days.

Bellingham began his Champions League career with former club Borussia Dortmund in October 2020, when he was 17.

Since then, he has featured 60 times in Europe’s premier club competition. Twenty-three of those appearances came during his time with Borussia Dortmund, while the other 37 have been made for Real Madrid.

Across those matches, Bellingham has scored 16 goals and provided 14 assists.

His latest record adds to a Champions League career that began before he had reached adulthood and has continued through his move to Real Madrid. The England midfielder has now established himself ahead of Casillas in two of the competition’s key age-related milestones.