Jude Bellingham ‘slaps’ incoming Chelsea star after provoking England players
New Chelsea signing Valentin Barco was at the centre of a heated disagreement with Jude Bellingham after the former appeared to be slapped
Jude Bellingham got into an angry confrontation with Chelsea-bound Valentin Barco after Argentina knocked England out of the World Cup(Image: (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images))
Fresh footage has revealed that incoming Chelsea star Valentin Barco was struck by Jude Bellingham after England’s World Cup elimination at the hands of Argentina. It had appeared as though Barco was hit without provocation, but it has since come to light that he may have angered England players earlier in the clash.
A post-match scuffle ensued with Bellingham and Barco at the centre of it after the latter began celebrating on the pitch with his team-mates. Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez had initially equalised for the holders before Lautaro Martinez came off the bench to grab the winner.
Following the former’s strike, Barco ran past a number of England players celebrating. He got very close to Nico O’Reilly before the 21-year-old was shoved away by John Stones.
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The referee also intervened to get Barco away from the situation. Despite his actions, the former Brighton & Hove Albion player avoided any additional sanction.
At the full-time whistle, it seemed as though either the incident remained fresh in Bellingham’s head or Barco made a comment in his direction as new footage has surfaced showing the Real Madrid midfielder observing Argentina’s post-match celebrations before Barco approaches a cluster of his teammates.
Bellingham had already exchanged handshakes with another player when he glanced downwards and noticed Barco. The 23-year-old strode across and clipped Barco in the face before the pair exchanged a push and some fierce words.
A brief scuffle followed, with Morgan Rogers and Bellingham dragged away. England’s reserve goalkeeper Dean Henderson also positioned himself as a shield, preventing Argentinian players from getting to his teammate.
Barco, who has played just 19 minutes for his national team in the United States, is set to arrive at Stamford Bridge from Strasbourg for the 2026/27 season.
Given the links between the two clubs, BlueCo are essentially paying €40million (£34m) between clubs for Barco to depart France and return to England.
Despite his limited minutes at the World Cup, Barco has still been training and therefore will join the likes of Reece James, Fernandez, Trevoh Chalobah and Malo Gusto in arriving late to pre-season.
The latter trio have all been linked to exits over the last few weeks but Gusto and Fernandez look set to stay. Chalobah meanwhile, has been in talks to join Serie A champions Inter with Cesc Fabregas’ Como also linked.
New manager Xabi Alonso officially arrived at Cobham earlier this month and immediately got to work with the likes of Levi Colwill and Joao Pedro alongside new signings Geovany Quenda and Dastan Satpayev.
