In a shock turn of events, Taylor Swift could be about to land Jude Bellingham the golden boy award, despite the pair never having interacted.
Bellingham, who has become the crown prince of the Santiago Bernabeu in just four games following an excellent start to his career at Real Madrid, was shortlisted for the Golden boy award alongside several other young talents including FC Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde, who enjoyed a breakout campaign for club and country last season.
Jude Bellingham, 20 years old.
Unbelievable talent 👑
pic.twitter.com/KMN9Q46eMD— Dean (@DeanCFC_) September 6, 2023
The award, run by Italian outlet Tuttosport, has a shortlist of over 50 names and Bellingham and Balde feature alongside the likes of Gavi, Florian Wirtz, Lewis Hall and Rasmus Hojlund.
The voting between the pair had been close, but an old tweet dug up by Taylor Swift fans has changed that dramatically. Quizzed back in May on if he likes the music Swift produces, Balde revealed that he wasn’t actually a fan of the 33-year-old or her music.
Balde: “Do I like Taylor Swift? No, I don’t like her music.” pic.twitter.com/xUGQbmfi2V
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) September 5, 2023
The resurgence of this fact saw followers of Swift (Known as “Swifties”) flock to the voting page to vote for the player most likely to rob Balde of his crown, who just happened to be Jude Bellingham.
It worked too. Beginning 13% clear of the Real Madrid star, Balde’s share of the votes began to drop dramatically.
The pair are also set to go head-to-head for FIFA’s Kopa trophy where Bellingham is expected to be strong favourite even without the help of Taylor Swift and her devotees.
