Replacing Bellingham: How will Madrid cope without star midfielder?

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Enough was enough for Jude Bellingham. "I've come to the end of my patience," the Real Madrid midfielder said, smiling, in the news conference room deep inside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte after his team's 3-1 Club World Cup win over Pachuca.

Bellingham, who'd been named the game's MVP, had just been asked about the shoulder injury that had troubled him since November 2023. Ever since, he had worn a protective brace. Now, he was confirming what had been widely reported, including by ESPN: that he would have to undergo surgery.

"I've got to the point now where the pain isn't so bad. It's more being fed up with the brace," he said on June 22. "Having players tug on…