USMNT star Giovanni Reyna is failing to live up to predictions for being the ‘next big thing’ of US Soccer and nearing the end of a frustrating campaign on a personal level. He was loaned out to Nottingham Forest midway through the season and hasn’t really been able to stand out in the intensity of the Premier League.
Not only have his performance levels dropped, but Reyna has gained a bad reputation for having a poor attitude. This stretches way back to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, when reports emerged that he wasn’t training with the same intensity as his teammates and not putting in enough effort.
Reyna actually acknowledged reports of his attitude problems during the World Cup camp, writing on social media: “I am also a very emotional person, and I fully acknowledge that I let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behaviour for a few days after learning about my limited role. I apologized to my teammates and coach for this, and I was told I was forgiven. Thereafter, I shook off my disappointment and gave everything I had on and off the field.”
However, rather than being motivated to make up for his errors by significantly improving his form, Reyna’s progress stagnated. He only made 13 appearances for Dortmund in the 2023/24 season, most of them as a substitute.
Reyna was also involved in a bitter moment in the UEFA Champions League group game against PSG, when he seemingly got into an argument with Mats Hummels and started shrugging his shoulders at something the senior defender was saying.
This only worsened his reputation among the USMNT supporters, with many calling him as a ‘bad apple’. However, it seems like Jude Bellingham definitely doesn’t share this opinion and has recently come up to support his former teammate.
Bellingham, of course, used to play with Reyna during his time with the Bundesliga heavyweights. The two actually shared similarities in their upbringing, with both being born and brought up in England before moving to Dortmund at a young age. They were thick as thieves together, often taking part in fun interviews and in-house club content whenever possible.
In a recent interview with Topps, the Real Madrid midfielder was questioned about who was his best friend outside of the La Liga giants. He replied: “I think Gio Reyna. He was my Dortmund teammate and also plays for the USMNT. Yeah he’s a really good guy and I got really well with him at Dortmund. I haven’t seen him for a while (since move to Real Madrid).”
This has caused some surprises as the Englishman seems to have snubbed the likes of Erling Haaland or even Trent Alexander-Arnold in this regard. But it’s the best validation Reyna could hope for. Bellingham is hailed as the epitome of hard work when it comes to young players in Europe.
Not only is he extremely talented and technically brilliantly, but his ability to cover incredible distance in matches and driven nature have helped him to immense success in the debut campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Hence, his validation is the best kind that Reyna could get to prove that he definitely isn’t lazy nor does he have any attitude problems either. In fact, Bellingham loves to praise the USMNT star’s efforts whenever he can on public platforms and after Reyna scored a brace for his national team in the 4-0 win over Ghana – Jude commented ‘Still him’ to appreciate his ex-teammates efforts.
The Real Madrid midfielder’s comments have definitely polarized fans’ when it comes to how they view Reyna. A lot of fans believe that Bellingham would not want to associate with Reyna if really was arrogant and showed signs of laziness. There is a feeling that because Jude knows him at a personal level means he knows what Reyna is going through and what his actual nature is like.
On the other hand, some other supporters are arguing that Bellingham is saying such nice things about Gio because he’s his best bud. There is a feeling that this is a bit of ‘positive PR’ and that it doesn’t really prove at all in whether Reyna has attitude issues or not. At this point, the only way Reyna can eliminate questions about his passion for the beautiful game only by significantly improving his performance.
The 21-year-old still has time on his side, so he needs to work even harder than before, be humble on and off the pitch and be extremely decisive on the pitch to be a success story at Borussia Dortmund and have any chance of joining his buddy Jude at Real Madrid.
