Jude Bellingham feels as though he was made a scapegoat after England lost the final of Euro 2024 to Spain.
The 21-year-old played in every round during the tournament, following a season in which he made 47 appearances for club and country.
Having spearheaded Real Madrid's charge to a LaLiga-Champions League double, Bellingham failed to match those same heights for England in Germany.
Though he feels he came in for extra scrutiny.
"I lost my smile a lot playing for England after the Euros as I felt I was a little mistreated compared to what I contributed," Bellingham told reporters ahead of Real Madrid's game away to Liverpool in the Champions League.
"[The] smile is back [now].
"I think it was a bit harsh on me. I felt a bit like the scapegoat. Maybe I felt a bit sorry for myself.
"I felt I contributed some pretty big moments, but it felt like the whole world was crumbling down on me, especially in the three days after the final. It wasn't a nice feeling."
Bellingham scored two goals during the tournament, the first a winner against Serbia in the group stage and the second a last-minute bicycle kick in the round of 16 to force extra time against Slovakia.
He came in for criticism at Euro 2024 for his apparent refusal to speak to the media, but explained that there were complex reasons for his stance.
1 - Jude Bellingham (3rd) is the first Englishman on the #ballondor podium since Frank Lampard & Steven Gerrard in 2005 (2nd and 3rd) and at 21y 121d, the youngest Englishman to do so since Duncan Edwards in 1957 (21y 77d - 3rd). Represent. pic.twitter.com/HSAVOK5DRI
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 29, 2024
"That was reported in a way that made it sound like I think I'm above it, but it's not that at all," he said.
"I had some personal things going on where journalists had gone to see members of my family while I was at the tournament, my grandparents.
"I don't think that's fair, it crosses the line of respect. That's where I took it a little bit personally and decided I would just focus on the football and let that do the talking, instead of talking in the press to people that seemingly don't respect me.
"My family comes first, my nan didn't want to leave her house for the whole summer.
"Maybe I should have communicated that, so people understood my situation. But that was a little bit more personal to me, so that's why I decided to keep my mouth shut."
