Bellingham’ £100m Move To Real Madrid ‘Will Be Announced Next Week’
JUDE Bellingham could be announced as a Real Madrid player as early as next week, after the Borussia Dortmund ace agreed to personal terms with Los Blancos, according to reports.
The England international has long been tracked by the LaLiga side and Real Madrid have been the frontrunners since Liverpool dropped out of the race to sign the player due to the high fees he is set to command.
Mail Sport revealed earlier this month that the Spanish side were closing in on their man after the midfielder was reported to have accepted the details of Madrid’s offer, but that the final transfer fee was yet to be discussed between the club and Dortmund.
The Bundesliga outfit are challenging for their first Bundesliga title since 2012 after perennial champions Bayern Munich have stumbled in their close title race.
The two clubs have been keeping pace with one another at the top of the table for some months but ahead of the final match of the season, Bellingham’s side are two points clear after Bayern stuttered against RB Leipzig and lost 3-1 on Saturday.
As per Marca, Real Madrid are conscious of Dortmund’s title charge and does not want their announcement to disrupt the club’s shot at shattering Bavarian dominance.
Members of the Madrid hierarchy are said to have thrashed out a deal in principle with the German club on a recent visit to Dortmund before putting the transfer on pause.
But in a recent meeting between Madrid’s president Florentino Perez, the club’s CEO Jose Angel Sanchez, and their manager Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian head coach was informed that his long-term transfer target was all but secured.
Bellingham’s fee is believed to be more than £86.2m (€100m), a number likely to climb higher when additional clauses and bonuses are factored into the agreement, but the salary set out in his reported six-year contract is unlikely to make the 19-year-old one of Madrid’s highest earners.
Dortmund have been preparing for the likelihood of losing the English wunderkind but on Wednesday, the club’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl claimed that there were ‘no proposals’ on the table for Bellingham, despite the advanced interest from Madrid.
‘All focus on Saturday,’ Kehl argued. ‘I’m sure Jude thinks of nothing else.’
Edin Terzic’s side will face Mainz in their final clash of the season on Saturday but Bellingham is still a doubt to take part in the Bundesliga’s dramatic conclusion after missing last weekend’s match against Augsburg which sent the team top.
The midfielder, who has starred in 42 appearances for the team this season and netted 14 goals and seven assists, has been struggling with a knee injury.
But Bellingham is keen not to miss out on what could be his last match at Signal Iduna Park, telling BILD that he ‘hoped’ he could make the all-important tie.
If Bayern beat Koln on the road on Saturday, nothing less than a win will see Dortmund lift the championship trophy.
Eighteen-Eleven Media
