Jude Bellingham and girlfriend's net worth could be bigger than Cristiano Ronaldo's

A football financial expert has predicted that England player Jude Bellingham and his girlfriend Laura Celia Valk could surpass Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of market value. Bellingham has enjoyed a dream season since signing for Real Madrid last summer.

Bellingham, who scored a stunning overhead kick against Slovakia to keep England in contention for Euro 2024, won La Liga and the Champions League in his first year in Spain. Off the pitch, the 21-year-old midfielder is dating PrettyLittleThing model Valk, known as Laura Celia on social media.

This combination of on-field success and growing fame has led some to suggest that the former Birmingham City player could become more valuable than Ronaldo, currently the world's highest-paid athlete with a net worth of £203 million ($250 million). Bellingham has endorsement deals with companies including Lucozade and McDonald's, giving the England international a net worth of £39 million ($50 million), but that figure is expected to skyrocket in the future.

“Bellingham has the potential to surpass Ronaldo and Messi in terms of market value,” Dr Rob Wilson, professor of applied sports finance, told Saxo. “If we were having this conversation in 10 years’ time and Bellingham continued his trajectory with Real Madrid, then I think he would significantly surpass Mbappe.”

“We talk about Messi and Ronaldo in a relatively even way. There is a debate about who is the better player and who has achieved more. I think Bellingham will surpass what Mbappe can do,” Wilson added. “His age and the fact that he has only just arrived at Real Madrid work in his favour.”

“I think his image and his authenticity make him extremely marketable, whereas Mbappe doesn't have that. Whether it's because he played in France or because he played in Messi's shadow, I just don't think he has the brand activation that Bellingham might have had.”

His girlfriend Laura Celia has over 500,000 followers on Instagram and has a degree in business creation from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Valk founded Bobby Rose Agency, a content and consultancy company, and is represented by Manchester-based agency Four Models.

Bellingham is already no stranger to the fashion world, thanks to his ties to Adidas and Louis Vuitton, as well as Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS. Dr. Wilson says Bellingham and Valk’s relationship could allow the couple to emulate Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s earning power in the future.

“Bellingham is quite similar to Travis Kelce in that with Taylor Swift, there’s an alignment and exposure,” he told Saxo. “From a brand alignment perspective, it would be interesting to see if they ever do a co-activation, where they’re both involved in the promotion, but there’s also going to be a lot of off-the-field work. There’s also going to be a natural increase in the level of exposure to brands like PrettyLittleThing because of that indirect association.”

“The smartest marketers will look at this and say, ‘PrettyLittleThing is a very well thought out brand, as is Real Madrid, maybe there’s a chance for co-activation.’ That could be worth millions to Bellingham and Real Madrid.”