'I felt a bit like England scapegoat' - Bellingham

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham says he has got his smile back after "feeling a bit like the scapegoat" for England's failure to win Euro 2024 in the summer.

Bellingham scored England's first goal of the tournament in a 1-0 victory against Serbia, before scoring a 95th-minute overhead-kick equaliser against Slovakia to save Gareth Southgate's side from elimination in the last 16.

However, the midfielder was the target of what he described as a "pile on" from critics as England laboured through the tournament.

"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 said before Real Madrid's Champions League meeting with Liverpool.

"[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 addressed reports that he refused to speak to the media during the tournament.

"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."