REAL MADRID UNVEIL MIDFIELDER JUDE BELLINGHAM AFTER COMPLETING €103 MILLION SIGNING

   Real Madrid unveiled England international Jude Bellingham on Thursday afternoon, after acquiring the 19-year-old from Borussia Dortmund this week.

   Bellingham, one of the game’s most coveted young players, signed at Real Madrid until June 30, 2029 after agreeing to a six-year deal with the Club. The teenager is expected to earn a staggering €10-12 million in annual base salary and cost Los Blancos up to €133.9 million in total transfer fees. As per Fabrizio Romano, the young midfielder’s acquisition fee includes a €103 million fixed fee and a final add-ons package that could reach €30.9 million.

   Bellingham was unveiled by the club at noon, Spanish time on Thursday after undergoing medical tests in the morning, which came back “perfect” according to reports from Madrid. Real Madrid agreed to terms with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

   Bellingham will wear Madrid’s no.5 jersey, which was famously worn by Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane, who won the Champions League title as a player and manager at the club, and is Bellingham’s long-time idol.

   “In my heart I’m still a 22,” said Bellingham. “[I’m] just wearing 5 on the back… I’ve said in many interviews how much I admire Zinedine Zidane, the legacy he has at the club and with this number. I’m not trying to be the same as him, I’m just trying to be Jude but it’s definitely a bit of homage to how great he was.”

   The jersey switch means Bellingham will now move on from the famous no. 22 jersey that became his trademark at both Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund. The Englishman revealed that he had to speak to center-back Jesus Vallejo to allow him to wear the number 5 jersey, a request which the Spaniard obliged.

   Asked about his motivation to join Real Madrid when he could have his pick of European clubs and probably get more money elsewhere, Bellingham said, “Money is not a thing for me. I don’t think about money at all when I make these kinds of decisions. I never have. I never will. I play the game purely out of love. I spoke with the people [here] when I was given permission by Borussia Dortmund.” 

   “I spoke with [Madrid Chief Scout] Juni [Calafat], I spoke with [managing director] Jose Angel [Sanchez]. I loved the feeling I got from the club. I couldn’t hide it. I told them all straight away how I felt about the club and after I made my decision I wanted it to all happen quickly. It wasn’t a case of, the other teams are bad or they weren’t good, it’s just that, for me, Madrid is the greatest.”

   Real Madrid President Florentino Perez said about signing Bellingham, “One of the best players in the world joins us today. Jude is here because he wanted it. He could have gone to any other club, as many wanted him… but he chose to be at Real Madrid. So welcome and thank you for your ambition.”

   Although most Premier League teams including Manchester United and Liverpool had an interest in acquiring the English ace, Bellingham seemed to always have his eyes set on Real Madrid once his dad informed him there was interest from Real Madrid some 12 to 15 months ago. “It was goosebumps,” said Bellingham. “My heart was close to stopping. It’s something you don’t expect growing up, playing for a team like this.”

   The Stourbridge-born midfielder confirmed that most of his English teammates were attempting to coerce him to go back to England or join their respective clubs, to which he felt flattered but ended up liking the idea of Real Madrid being “outside his comfort zone.” The 2019-20 EFL Young Player of the Season also revealed that he was at the Champions League final in Kiev in 2018 when Real Madrid beat Liverpool, and that experience was “a huge factor” in his decision to join Real.

   Bellingham is now only the seventh British player to ever join Real Madrid, following in the footsteps of Laurie Cunningham, Steve McManaman, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Jonathan Woodgate, and most recently Gareth Bale.

   The 2022-23 Bundesliga Player of the Season now joins a talented Real Madrid midfield group that includes Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Dani Ceballos, Federico Valverde, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. Bellingham said he’s looking forward to learning from some of the best and most accomplished midfielders in the world in Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. 

   “The things I’ll gain from, especially the two older lads Modric and Kroos, will be unbelievable,” said Bellingham. “Their knowledge of the game, the way they play it, their experience will be so great for me. And I’ll just be like a sponge around them really, trying to steal anything they’ve got. They’ll probably be annoyed of me after the first week or so, but yeah, I can’t wait to learn from those guys and then combine with the young guys as well that have already been here.”

   Kroos responded positively to Bellingham’s transfer but also couldn’t resist taking a dig at former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard, who joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2019 for a transfer fee worth up to €150 million, and made only 54 total appearances for the club, scoring just four times. “We also had someone who came for a lot of money and virtually let his career rest,” said Kroos. “That was not a good transfer. But now let’s start from the positive.”

   Kroos is expected to sign his contract extension at Real Madrid in the next few days. The club has added left-back Fran Garcia and playmaker Brahim Diaz this summer and also intends to announce the extension of center-back Nacho Fernandez over the next few days.

   Spanish newspaper MARCA also reported two weeks ago that Real Madrid are assessing the option of acquiring Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane. Kane is reportedly the no.1 target for Real Madrid as Karim Benzema’s replacement and talks between Madrid and Tottenham had been taking place at boardroom level. The 2022 Ballon D’or winner moved to Saudi side Al Ittihad last week after contemplating a move to the Middle East for some time.

   Ancelotti said a few weeks ago regarding his expectations from a possible Benzema replacement, “We’re looking for a striker that can score goals, that can play well with the others and can link up well. The profile of a striker bearing in mind that we have two young players up front that are starting to be more and more protagonists. Vinicius has become more of a protagonist since last season and this season he’s grown a lot, so has Rodrygo. So we need a striker that can play good football, just like Karim did.”

-Maher Abucheri

Twitter: @pabloikonyero

Photo: Vyacheslav Evdokimov. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

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