REAL MADRID

“Bellingham prefers Liverpool to Madrid”

Reports in Spain state that the young Englishman is keen on a move to The Reds, but Dortmund’s close ties to Real Madrid may get in the way.

Fran SantiagoGetty

The soap opera that is the next move for Jude Bellingham has entered a new episode, and yes, it will surely not be the last. We’d already been briefed that Bayern Munich were stepping aside early in the bidding war for the English midfielder at Borussia Dortmund and, although Chelsea are keeping close tabs, it seems that Real Madrid and Liverpool are the two clubs most likely to battle it out for the services of the rising star.

Where will Jude Bellingham move to?

There are many factors that will determine where Jude ends up, and at just 19 years of age he is facing an important decision even at this stage of his life. However, the role of Dortmund in this operation could also be key. The Bundesliga side already lost Erling Haaland for a cut-price deal due to a release clause and they have initiated contact to renew their player’s contract ensuring that doesn’t happen again. As this newspaper reported, Dortmund want to put a clause of 150 million euros into the contract, a figure that Real Madrid have said they are not willing to match, limiting their previous bids to 100 million euros.

Madrid’s good relationship with BVB gives priority to the agreement.

Pacojo, SER Deportivos

In the bidding that Madrid and Liverpool -- the English giants having already loved Bellingham since he was playing U-11 -- could still be influenced by the institutional relations between clubs, not only the player’s desire. That’s the information offered up by Pacojo in the Spanish SER Deportivos program on Friday afternoon.

“When Madrid asked about Haaland this summer, Florentino spoke to Dortmund about Bellingham. Madrid’s good relationship with BVB gives priority to the agreement. In case of any doubts and an equal offer, Dortmund would prefer to go with Madrid.”

Of course, this by no means guarantees that Bellingham is going to arrive in the Spanish capital. So much so, that Pacojo himself clarifies that he believes that “as of today, the player prefers Liverpool to Los Blancos.”

There is clearly a lot of time left for the future of this young superstar of world football to be decided, but there is no doubt that he will be one of the biggest names in all transfer discussions until that is made final. Reds fans are already dreaming of the Kop belting out that Beatles classic, ‘Hey Jude’.

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