Real Betis defender Hector Bellerin is perhaps one of the more well-versed soccer players in the world. The Spaniard is a quality player in a solid team in one of the top European leagues. However, he also has interests in a series of other ventures as well. 



During his time with <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a> club <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a>, Bellerin became a significant shareholder of Forest Green Rovers. The now <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/english-league-two-tv-schedule/">League Two</a> side is <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/oxford-utd-reveals-plans-for-electric-solar-sustainable-stadium-20240214-WST-489541.html">currently</a> one of the leading teams across the continent on environmental and sustainability concerns. The defender also previously pledged to plant 3,000 trees for every Arsenal victory following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.



Along with environmental causes, Bellerin also freely discusses politics and social issues as well. The right-back was invited to speak at the prestigious <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/hector-bellerin-right-criticize-arsenalfantv-feeding-off-clubs-failures-20180218-CMS-233524.html">Oxford Union</a> in 2021. The discussion covered a plethora of notable topics. Other high-profile celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, and Diego Maradona previously made appearances with the group.



<h2>Bellerin claims soccer is becoming more ‘elitist’ ahead of 2026 World Cup</h2>



Bellerin now recently sat down to conduct a lengthy and wide-ranging interview with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/68286028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BBC Sport</a>. While he was asked a series of questions, the defender made interesting comments regarding FIFA and the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/category/world-cup-2026/">2026 World Cup</a>. Bellerin claimed that the governing body is focusing solely on money, rather than the actual fans.



“Football every day is more about margins, about can we make more money and less about the people that support it and the people that truly make football great,” Bellerin <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/68286028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a> the news outlet.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="670" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240216_WST_489901_Bellerin-elitists-1200x670_b55b90bd.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=670" alt="" class="wp-image-489933" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/Bellerin-elitists-1200x670.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/Bellerin-elitists-300x168.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/Bellerin-elitists-768x429.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/Bellerin-elitists.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



As far as the 2026 World Cup itself, the defender does not like how spread out the tournament will be. The competition is set to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. “It is becoming every day something more elitist, in my opinion, and having it in three different countries makes it more difficult for fans to follow their nation,” continued the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/real-betis-tv-schedule-for-us-viewers/">Betis</a> star.



“We are losing a little bit of the essence of what football truly is and who are the people that actually make football, which is the people who follow us and watch us every weekend.”



“I understand that football, like every single industry, needs to modernize itself to be able to follow changes in society, but sometimes it can’t go that far.”



<h2>Average fans will find travel costly at the upcoming tournament</h2>



Bellerin certainly has a point about the sheer distance between the host cities of the upcoming World Cup. Traveling from Vancouver to Miami, both host areas of the tournament, would be over 3,000 total miles one way. This is the same distance as London is from Baghdad.



The lengthy distance does not, however, mean that larger countries such as the United States cannot host a World Cup. Nevertheless, central fixtures in the later knockout rounds could lower overall costs for fans.



The current round of 16 fixtures are in Vancouver, Mexico City, New Jersey and several places in between. The average fan of a team potentially wanting to travel all over these areas could not afford to make the trips.



Money, however, as Bellerin alluded to in the interview, certainly motivates FIFA’s final decisions. This was evident in the organization moving the entire tournament’s schedule to accommodate Qatar in 2022.



PHOTOS: IMAGO.

Bellerin says sprawling 2026 World Cup will be hard on fans

Real Betis defender Hector Bellerin has claimed that soccer is becoming more elitist as the 2026 World Cup will be held in three countries.

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London (AFP) – Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin joined La Liga side Real Betis on a season-long loan on Tuesday.
Bellerin was surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium after falling out of favour with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
The Spanish right-back has made 239 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal since 2013.
He is a three-time FA Cup winner with the Gunners but had not featured in a single game so far this term.
Bellerin, 26, lost his place as Calum Chambers and Cedric Soares started instead of him, while new signing Nuno Tavares can play at both full-back positions.
“Everyone at Arsenal wishes Hector the best of luck with Real Betis this season,” the club said in a statement on their website.

Arsenal's Bellerin joins Real Betis on loan - World Soccer Talk

Arsenal's Bellerin joins Real Betis on loan

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Editor’s note: Chris Moore takes a close look at Hector Bellerin’s ‘Unseen Journey’ to share his insight into the extraordinary story about how the Arsenal footballer bounced back from a serious injury.
Arsenal’s <a href="https:\/\/www.arsenal.com/men/players/hector-bellerin" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hector Bellerin</a> is quite frankly one of the more interesting soccer players in the world. Not only is the 25-year-old Spaniard a quality defender for a big club, but he’s also vocal about social and environmental issues, a creative director, podcaster, and amateur photographer. While most professional players are certainly much more than ‘just an athlete,’ Bellerin’s abilities and interests off of the pitch are undoubtedly compelling. On the pitch, the Spaniard was undoubtedly entering his prime leading up to a horrific knee injury during the 2018/19 campaign.
When Bellerin collapsed on the pitch in pain against Chelsea back in January of 2019, most people knew it wasn’t good. The pain on his face, the screams, it was a terrible sight to see. News soon followed that he, somewhat predictably, ruptured his ACL. When players suffer such a terrible injury, we, the fans, don’t necessarily get to see what happens behind the scenes leading to their comeback to the pitch. ‘Unseen Journey’ allows access to Bellerin’s particular struggles with the unfortunate injury.
Available on Bellerin’s own <a href="https:\/\/www.youtube.com/c/HectorBellerin" rel="noopener" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>, ‘Unseen Journey’ shows insight into the injury, the surgery, his physical recovery, and perhaps most important and intriguing, his mental state during the entire process. Nine 20-minute episodes, this documentary series is comprehensive and thorough covering the eight months between Bellerin’s injury and his comeback. 
Obviously beginning from the moment Bellerin suffered the injury, the series starts with interviews from Bellerin himself, his close friend (and former Arsenal teammate) Jon Toral, Arsenal doctors, and his surgeon Ramon Cugat. While most people would be down and depressed about such a significant setback, Bellerin was positive from the beginning. He essentially told his doctors that he will handle whatever he must do and move on from there.
<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Unseen Documentary: Trailer. Hector Bellerin&apos;s ACL Recovery Documentary." width="500" height="281" src="https:\/\/www.youtube.com/embed/k7alqZDGF68?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
Dr. Cugat explains exactly what the process of repairing a ruptured ACL entails and the series even shows footage from the actual surgery (episode two if you’re squeamish). Interesting, yet not exactly easy to watch, the early episodes really show the difficulties regarding physical pain and stress in Bellerin’s day-to-day life. However, as tough it must be to go through a painful injury such as a ruptured ACL, ‘Unseen Journey’ really emphasizes a person’s mental state during a significant setback. 
READ MORE: <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/category/arsenal/">View our archive of Arsenal opinion articles</a> 
Both Bellerin and his doctors claimed that his mindset was the most important thing during the entire ordeal. Remaining positive and open to change was constant in the player’s mind throughout the series. Bellerin even claimed that the injury could be seen as a positive thing. He was able to go back to Barcelona for the surgery and the first few months of rehab. This allowed him to spend quality time with his family back home without any soccer-related duties, something that he did not experience for quite some time.
Time away from the pitch also allowed Bellerin to explore his other passions. The Spain international has always loved fashion, photography, and drawing, and this scenario, while physically painful, gave him the opportunity to have fun with his free time. He even co-designed the suits Arsenal players would go on to wear for the FA Cup final in the summer of 2020.
Throughout the series, Bellerin credits the people at Arsenal for helping him during his senior career. “Arsenal means so much to me. I mean I’ve had an amazing upbringing when it comes to football in the Barcelona academy… but Arsenal made me a footballer.” He specifically picks out former managers Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery, coach Steve Bould, and many teammates including Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney.
SEE MORE: <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Schedule of Arsenal games on US TV and streaming</a>
Bellerin was able to go through parts of his rehab with both Holding and Tierney. The series shows the strong bond between the teammates and how necessary it is to have important people nearby when going through something traumatic. Holding was there with Bellerin from the middle of his rehab phase, while Tierney trained with the right back near the end of their comebacks.
‘Unseen Journey’ is essentially a must-watch series for Arsenal fans; however, it’s much more than just for Gooners around the globe. Sports fans in general will appreciate the detailed comeback story of an undeniably likable person. Although there is some strong language for children, the production, interviews, behind the scenes insight, and story make for a very interesting watch for most viewers.
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Read our article about Hector Bellerin’s ‘Unseen Journey’, the incredible YouTube series that focuses on the footballer's return from injury.

Hector Bellerin’s ‘Unseen Journey’ shows incredible insight into injury recovery - World Soccer Talk

Hector Bellerin’s ‘Unseen Journey’ shows incredible insight into injury recovery

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Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin is quite the polarizing player. Even is own team’s fanbase is fairly split on whether or not the Spaniard is a top player. In fact, audible groans from inside the Emirates can be heard over televisions all over the world whenever the 23-year-old defender makes even the slightest mistake on the pitch. This discernible disapproval by some accomplishes little and even constrains the player’s confidence before everyone’s eyes.
Despite this criticism, Arsenal manager Unai Emery has made it a point to run much of his offense through his talented defender. While it may be odd to some that a defender would receive so much power on the offensive side, this tactic has been working fairly well for the Gunners. 
Even though the club began the season with a tough schedule, Arsenal have managed to score eight goals over their first four matches. While Bellerin has not yet scored a goal of his own, statistics show that Arsenal attack down the right flank more than anywhere else on the pitch. The Gunners’ offense has utilized Bellerin’s side 38% of time during these opening four matches of the current campaign. This is compared to just 26% down the center and 36% on the left side of the pitch. 
Not only are Arsenal more likely to dribble down Bellerin’s side, but they also produce far more shots on the opposing goal from the right than the left side of the pitch. While 73% of their shots come from the center, 24% come from Bellerin’s side and just 3% of their total shots so far have come from the left-hand side. 
It has also been noticeable how the team’s approach has been more methodical during the early stages of the 2018/19 campaign. Bellerin, a player full of pace, has only attempted and completed one dribble this season. This is despite having 253 touches, fourth most in the squad, and being known as one of the fastest players in the Premier League.
Also, Bellerin currently has the most passes on the Arsenal team, outside of the central figures of Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis, Granit Xhaka, and Matteo Guendouzi. These four aforementioned players are obviously going to collect more passes as they are more likely to receive the ball in the middle of the pitch and distribute from there. 
SEE MORE: <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Schedule of Arsenal games on US TV and streaming</a>
Positionally speaking, Bellerin has been caught out a few times so far this season. This is part of the double edged sword of having such an offensive-minded full back, while also not providing cover with an exceptionally mobile defensive midfielder. Xhaka, for instance, is simply superb on the ball with his distribution; however, he is not necessarily a ball-winning, pacy player. 
This is where Lucas Torreira comes in. Though the Uruguayan has yet to start for Arsenal during his freshman season in north London, Torreira is the prototypical player that can help out both Bellerin and Arsenal’s defense when the full back is out of position. During his final season with Sampdoria, Torreira racked up the third most tackles in Serie A and also ranked fifth in interceptions.
Although Emery has yet to give a start to Torreira just yet, a move to bring the Uruguayan into the fold for the 19-year-old Guendouzi will most likely occur soon. This will seemingly solidify the club’s porous defense, while also bring out the best of Bellerin going forward. The switch could be exactly what this Arsenal team needs.

Stats show Hector Bellerin is important to Arsenal’s offense - World Soccer Talk

Stats show Hector Bellerin is important to Arsenal’s offense

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