Real seal initial €103m deal to buy Bellingham

Real Madrid have finalised a deal to buy Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund for €103m (£88.5m) plus add-ons that could reach about another €30m. The England midfielder will have a medical before sealing the transfer on a six-year contract.

Bellingham agreed the contract, worth about €10m-12m a season net, in April but Madrid waited until Dortmund had finished their season before moving on to the final parts of the deal. They intend to announce the move this week.

The 19-year-old had been a target for Premier League clubs including Manchester City. Liverpool withdrew from the race because the cost would have restricted the planned overhaul of Jürgen Klopp’s squad.

Bellingham joined Dortmund from Birmingham in 2020 and has developed into one of the world’s most sought-after players. He provides a short-term boost to Madrid and a long-term solution with Toni Kroos and Luka Modric aged 33 and 37 respectively. Madrid lost the striker Karim Benzema to the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad this week.

Bellingham is due to link up with England at St George’s Park on Monday to prepare for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. His stay with Dortmund ended on a low when the team blew their chance to win the Bundesliga on the final day by drawing at home to Mainz. Bellingham did not play in that match or in the penultimate game because of a knee injury.

The move to Madrid, whose record 14 European Cup wins includes five in the past 10 years, continues the rise of a player given his senior debut aged 16 years and 38 days by Birmingham in August 2019. That made him the youngest player to appear for their men’s team, who were in the second tier. His first top-division appearance came for Dortmund in September 2020.

Source: The Guardian