LALIGA
Jude Bellingham completes Real Madrid move: how much did he cost and who is their most expensive signing?
Los Blancos have splashed the cash on the Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder. Where does he sit on their list of most expensive signings?
“Will Kylian Mbappé sign for Real Madrid?” is now the question on everybody’s lips, partly because one of 2023′s other longest-running transfer sagas is finally over. On Wednesday, Los Blancos confirmed that Jude Bellingham had officially completed his move to Estadio Santiago Bernabéu from Borussia Dortmund.
That makes him the third arrival at the club in the early part of the summer after the returns of Fran García and Brahim Díaz, and certainly the most high-profile so far. Will it stay that way come the end of transfer window? Over to you, Kylian…
Madrid aren’t going to hang around when it comes to unveiling their new star, with the media set to get their first glimpse of Bellingham, who has signed a six-year deal wearing the famous white jersey later in the week. Although we’ll all have to wait a little longer to see him at his new home.
How much did Real Madrid pay Dortmund for Bellingham?
The 14-time Champions League winners have, unsurprisingly, paid Dortmund a pretty penny or two for the privilege of taking one of the world’s most talented young players to Spain. The deal will cost an initial €103 million (circa $111.3 million) plus add-ons, which actually seems cheap compared to the reported €222 million ($240 million) PSG paid Barcelona for Neymar, comfortably the most expensive transfer in the history of the sport.
Is Bellingham Real Madrid’s most expensive ever signing?
But what about Real Madrid? Well, the fee doesn’t quite make Bellingham their most expensive ever signing, although he isn’t too far off.
According to player market specialists Transfermarkt, the initial fee paid for Bellingham puts him just ahead of Gareth Bale (€101 million, circa $109 million), who joined the club from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013. Although the Welshman wasn’t exactly a fan favourite by the end of his time at the Bernabéu, he did win three LaLiga titles and five Champions Leagues in eight seasons in Spain. Bellingham would probably settle for that…
Price tag weighs heavy on Hazard...
Madrid fans will be desperately hoping the Englishman fares better than the man who tops the list, however. Eden Hazard was a major Premier League star with Chelsea but to say that he flopped in Madrid would be something of an understatement.
Madrid paid the Blues €115 million ($124.3 million) for the services of the then Belgium captain, which seemed to be sensible business at the time. In four full seasons, though, he started only 44 matches in all competitions and scored a grand total of seven goals. That works out at almost €16.5 million ($17.8 million) per goal. Ouch. Hazard will leave the club at the end of June, despite having a year left on his contract.
Real Madrid’s 10 most expensive signings
| Player | From | Year | Fee (converted from € to $) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eden Hazard | Chelsea | 2019 | $124.3 million |
| Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund | 2023 | $111.3 million |
| Gareth Bale | Tottenham Hotspur | 2013 | $109.2 million |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | 2009 | $101.6 million |
| Aurélien Tchouaméni | Monaco | 2022 | $86.5 million |
| Zinedine Zidane | Juventus | 2001 | $83.8 million |
| James Rodríguez | Monaco | 2014 | $81.1 million |
| Kaká | Milan | 2009 | $72.4 million |
| Luka Jovic | Eintracht Frankfurt | 2019 | $68.1 million |
| Luis Figo | Barcelona | 2000 | $64.8 million |
*Transfer fees taken from transfermarkt.com and converted from EUR to USD according to the current conversion rate.