Jude Bellingham wins Sports Breakthrough Player Of The Year

England and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham, aged 20, clinched the 2024 Laureus World Sports Breakthrough of the Year award.

Since his £89m transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid last summer, Bellingham has emerged as a pivotal player for the team, solidifying his status as one of the rising stars in the world of football.

He scored the winner against Barcelona in El Clasico on Sunday as he took his tally to 17 goals in La Liga this season.

Bellingham also helped Real Madrid beat Manchester City on penalties in their Champions League quarter-final last week.

The Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award went to tennis player Novak Djokovic for the fifth time, while Spain and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati won the women’s equivalent.

Bonmati, the current Ballon d’Or holder, helped her club win Liga F, the Spanish Cup and the Women’s Champions League in 2022-23.

She was then part of the Spain side which won the 2023 Women’s World Cup, with their exploits earning them the team of the year award at the Laureus ceremony in Madrid.

“To be the first footballer to win this [women’s] award makes it even more special,” said Bonmati.

“As the first women’s team to win the Laureus, we are proud of our status as pioneers and as a group we are as committed to equality and representation as we are to what we do on the football pitch.”

Full Laureus awards list

Novak Djokovic won Sportsman of the Year, Aitana Bonmati clinched Sportswoman of the Year, Spain women’s football team secured Team of the Year, Jude Bellingham earned Breakthrough of the Year, Simone Biles staged a remarkable Comeback of the Year in gymnastics, Diede de Groot triumphed as Sportsperson of the Year with a disability in tennis, Arisa Trew stood out as the Action sportsperson of the Year in skateboarding, and Fundacion Rafa Nadal received the Sport for Good award.