Bellingham overtakes Mbappé as most wanted player by Real Madrid fans

Few things ramp up the transfer hunger at Real Madrid like elimination from the Champions League, especially if it comes the way it did last Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City with a thrashing that showed the gaping chasm between the two teams. This season, Los Blancos are not in a position to compete at the highest level in Europe and as such, the clamour for change has been ringing out from the flats around the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

After the 4-0 whacking, it is time for Madrid to reflect and plan how to improve a squad that has performed remarkably in the Champions League and the Cup, but that got left behind long ago in the league. Curiously, despite the lack of efficiency that Madrid showed at the Etihad when it came to attacking Ederson’s goal, the preference of most Madrid fans is not not to sign a striker who will boost the attacking output as of next season, but instead look towards the engine room, where Madrid probably started to lose the game against City.

Bellingham is the number one choice for Madridistas

According to the survey carried out by AS.com, the signing that the Madrid fans want is none other than Jude Bellingham: the English midfielder was chosen by 26% of the 24,149 voters, and came out as the first choice by a large distance. He even beat the poster boy of last season, Kylian Mbappé, who won just 18% of the votes. Bayern’s left-back Alphonso Davies closes out the podium, also with 18%, followed by Celta’s Gabri Veiga (12%), Chelsea’s Reece James (11%), Harry Kane (9%) and Dusan Vlahovic (6%).

The desire of the Madrid fans coincides with the plans of Real Madrid... for now. The Englishman is the top target this summer, with a view to adding further depth to the midfield that already has the likes of Tchouaméni, Valverde and Camavinga ready to grow into any holes that may open. Dortmund have not yet given any signs of wanting to sell their star player, but in Madrid they trust their chances and hope to use their strong relationship with the German club to agree on an amount that leaves all parties happy.

Mbappé's Madrid rejection sees him drop to second

Obviously, Mbappé's dramatic drop to second place on the podium chosen by the Real Madrid fans is conditioned by the fact that he changed his mind last summer: after having promised to move to Spain on a free, he called Florentino Pérez to tell him the news that he had signed a new deal with PSG. To make matters worse, Haaland had already signed for City then, which left Madrid in a difficult situation when it came to reinforcing the attacking line: the two jewels on the market had escaped their grasp.

Mbappé's change of heart still hurts those at the Santiago Bernabéu, although less and less as time goes on. Madrid’s plan is to consider signing Mbappé next summer, in 2024, when he will once again be allowed to leave on a free transfer. What is true is that during the summer of 2024, both he and Madrid will have competition: Haaland has a termination clause with City from that year that exceeds€ 200 million, an exit door that was left in his contract in case the Norwegian wants to change his surroundings. If and when the time comes for Erling to get sick of sunny Manchester, Real Madrid will be ready and waiting.