Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that he sees similarities between Jude Bellingham and 2007 Ballon d’Or winner Kaka, with whom he spent six years at AC Milan.

Kaka made himself the best in the world in the ‘number 10’ role behind two strikers for Milan, a position in which Bellingham has thrived since moving to Madrid last summer.

“They are similar. I think there isn’t much difference,” Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italy.

“I think the game has changed since Kaka, and also the characteristics of footballers playing in that position. Attacking midfielders are physically more powerful than 20 years ago when those players had more talent than power. In modern football, these players have evolved.”

Until 2018 when Luka Modric won, Kaka had been the last player for a generation to win the Ballon d’Or thanks to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominating the award. He landed the gong for his role in Milan’s 2007 Champions League triumph, during which he scored ten goals in Europe alone.

Kaka was at his absolute peak during those years, scoring 72 times from his attacking midfield position over the course of his four best seasons between 2005 and 2009. It was then that Real Madrid made him the most expensive player in history, paying a world record €67m fee that was broken by Cristiano Ronaldo’s €94m arrival at the Bernabeu just three weeks later.

The Brazilian ultimately struggled with injuries in Spain, only playing 85 La Liga games in four years and returning to Milan in 2013 without the Serie A giants paying a transfer fee.

Bellingham has had better luck in Madrid when it comes to injuries. Despite a knee problem when he first arrived, then a dislocated shoulder in November and a more recent ankle sprain, he has appeared in 22 of 27 La Liga games and scored 16 goals already. However, he will miss two more domestic games this month after being handed a two-match ban for a recent red card.