Manchester City won’t be getting the prized asset up for sale by Borussia Dortmund in back to back summer transfer windows. Jude Bellingham is headed to Real Madrid instead. Don’t feel too bad, as they landed Erling Haaland last year, and obviously that worked out well for them.
Bellingham is set to break the transfer fee record for an English player, with an agreement reached for the amount of €103 million.
However, with performance based add-ons, the final sale price could reach as high as €133.9m (£115m).
Regarding the add-ons, the club statement read: “Such variable transfer fees are dependent on the achievement of certain sporting successes by Real Madrid and/or sporting successes or performances of the player at Real Madrid in the period of the next six seasons.
Jude Bellingham will now undergo his Madrid medical ahead of finalizing his move. He’ll become the world’s third-most expensive teenager, as he signs a six year deal at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Both Manchester clubs, as well as Chelsea and Liverpool were interested in the midfielder. Liverpool were said to be leading the way at one point last year, only to be later passed up by City.
Dortmund purchased the English international’s contract from Birmingham City when he was just 17, for an initial fee (before add-ons) that was reported to be £25 million.
Overall, this is the BVB way- buy low, sell high. Haaland, Jadon Sancho, Christian Pulisic, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang are just a few of many examples.
This is what Dortmund does- find and acquire the top youth talent in the world with the highest potential and move them on to the big clubs in world football a couple years later, at a very nice profit.
Interestingly enough, Dortmund have sold the most expensive and fourth most expensive (Sancho £73m) English players of all-time.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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