(AFP) Madrid – On Wednesday, Real Madrid, a dominant force in Spanish football, acquired Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund, securing one of the game’s most promising young players.
With a 103 million euro ($110 million) contract, Madrid became the 19-year-old one of the most expensive players in history. The price is subject to up to a 30% increase.
At the Qatar World Cup in 2022, Bellingham made a major impression and propelled England into the quarterfinals, where they were barely defeated by eventual runners-up France.
With persistent effort to contribute at both ends of the game and wisdom beyond his years, the midfielder, who turns 20 later in June, gave elegance and balance to the Three Lions.
When he assumed the reins in October, his level head enabled him become Dortmund’s youngest captain, and he led his team to the verge of a very uncommon championship.
Bellingham has been referred to as “the oldest 19-year-old in the world” by Dortmund coach Edin Terzic, who was surprised by his consistently high level of play.
To be able to play football so regularly at that age is incredible, Terzic added.
Bellingham made 31 appearances in the Bundesliga this season, scoring eight goals. Two days after his team’s season-ending loss, Bellingham was voted the Bundesliga’s player of the year.
The Englishman, who missed the 2-2 tie with Mainz due to a knee injury, was upset that his squad was unable to get the win that would have secured their first championship since 2012.
In his lone first-team season at the club, 2019–20, Bellingham helped Birmingham City escape relegation from the Championship after rising through the youth systems at the club.
The midfielder, who was 16 years old and 38 days when he achieved the record, broke Trevor Francis’ earlier 1970 mark.
When Bellingham left Birmingham for Dortmund in 2020, Birmingham took the audacious decision to retire Bellingham’s jersey number, 22, “to remember one of our own and to inspire others.”
The then-17-year-old was lavished with 25 million euros ($27 million) by the German team, which they have now more than doubled.
Blossoming
Bellingham did win the German Cup in 2021 after defeating RB Leipzig 4-1 in the final, despite Bellingham and Dortmund’s unsuccessful attempt to halt Bayern Munich’s complete dominance of the Bundesliga.
Niklas Suele, a teammate from Dortmund, also praised the young man’s maturity, saying, “I’ve never seen a 19-year-old where you have the feeling that he could have three kids at home, he’s someone going upwards.”
Bellingham, according to England’s coach Gareth Southgate, is always seeking advancement.
Bellingham led the squad to win against Senegal in the World Cup round of 16 in December. “The thing that makes the difference is the mindset, the drive, the desire to learn and improve, and he has all of that,” the coach added.
Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, Ousmane Dembele, and other young players have thrived in Dortmund, demonstrating the city’s suitability as a place for young people to grow, and Bellingham is the most recent to follow suit.
It is the biggest money Real Madrid has paid on a player since they acquired Eden Hazard from Chelsea in 2019. He might cost up to 134 million euros ($143 million).
Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, has essentially given up on his “Galacticos” recruitment strategy, but he did not pass up the opportunity to add Bellingham and secure the team’s midfield for the foreseeable future.
Luka Modric, 37, and Toni Kroos, 33, are two of the older players whom Los Blancos have been searching for long-term replacements for.
The last two summer transfer windows saw Los Blancos sign promising French players Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni while selling holding midfielder Casemiro to Manchester United.
Madrid is eager to make progress in the summer transfer market after Manchester City destroyed them in the Champions League semifinals, and Bellingham is another important piece of the jigsaw.
Bellingham’s acquisition by Madrid this summer is both a declaration of purpose and the start of the club’s expansion after the departures of players like Karim Benzema, Hazard, and Marco Asensio, among others.
Bellingham was coveted by Manchester City and Liverpool as well, but the record-setting 14-time Champions League champions were always in control as Bellingham was about to assume the helm in Madrid’s pursuit of even more success.
