Taylor Swift Provides Bellingham With Crucial Assist in Golden Boy Race

• Jude Bellingham is listed among the nominees for the 2023 Golden Boy award
• The Real Madrid star faces competition from players including Alejandro Balde
• Taylor Swift fans have provided Bellingham with a crucial assist in the title race

The competition for the 2023 Golden Boy Award is in full swing with Italian media outlet, Tuttosport revealing this year's nominees.

A plethora of outstanding football talents, such as Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala, and Barcelona's rising star Alejandro Balde, are in contention for the coveted award.

Initially, Balde held the frontrunner position in the race for the Golden Boy Award, which allows fans to cast their votes.

However, in a surprising twist of events, it appears music star, Taylor Swift may have played a role in influencing the outcome of the 2023 award.

Taylor Swift's impact on Golden Boy Award

Golden boy award winners: A list of all the past winners

Football

Balde had maintained his status as the frontrunner for the Golden Boy Award until a controversial comment he made about the American singer sparked a media frenzy, seemingly irking the musician's devoted fans.

In a recent interview, the 19-year-old defender spoke about Swift, as quoted by Marca:

"Do I like Taylor Swift? No, I don't like her music."

Desperately in need of a way to get back at the Spanish defender, 'Swifties' on social media who had caught the wind of the comment, began a campaign against the defender and in support of Bellingham.

Balde's portion of the vote for the Golden Boy award dropped from 43% to 8%, seemingly after the intervention of Taylor Swift fans, while Bellingham's share rose from 30% to 89%.

This unexpected assist from the musician appears just enough for the English midfielder to clinch the Tuttosport award, given the other nominees are quite far behind. Jamal Musiala has 2.3% of the vote while Gavi has 2.0%.

Kevin De Bruyne snubs Odegaard, picks Bruno Fernandes as best midfielder in EPL

Football

Bellingham equals Ronaldo’s record

Sports Brief also reported on Bellingham equalling a football record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo after his goal in Real Madrid’s win against Getafe.

The Galactico midfielder pounced on a loose ball from David Soria during the fierce encounter, scoring his fifth goal in his fourth start for his Spanish team.

Bellingham, whose goal proved to be the winner, also became the first player since the legendary Ronaldo to score in his first four games for Real Madrid.