7th June 2023 – (Madrid) Borussia Dortmund has announced that it has agreed to sell its star midfielder, Jude Bellingham, to Real Madrid for an initial fee of €103 million (US$110.4 million). The 19-year-old Englishman has been linked with several major European clubs following his impressive performances in the Bundesliga.
Bellingham joined Dortmund from Birmingham City in 2020 for a transfer fee of £25 million (US$31.17 million), becoming the most expensive 17-year-old in football history. He quickly established himself as a key player in the Dortmund side, starting over 30 Bundesliga games in each of his last two seasons in Germany.
During the 2021 European Championship, England manager Gareth Southgate made Bellingham the youngest English player to represent his country at a major tournament. He went on to play all five games at the World Cup in Qatar before England was knocked out in the quarter-finals by France.
Bellingham’s impressive performances in Germany caught the attention of several Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, whose manager Jurgen Klopp said they were forced to pull out of the race to sign him due to his high price tag.
At Real Madrid, Bellingham will join a talented young midfield that includes Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, and Aurelien Tchouameni as the club seeks to build for the future and replace long-time stalwarts Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
Dortmund has confirmed that the variable transfer compensation paid by Real Madrid will be a maximum of around 30% of the initial fee, based on Bellingham’s performances and Real Madrid’s success on the pitch. The transfer fee for Bellingham is a record for a British player, surpassing the previous record of £89 million (US$111.18 million) paid by Manchester United for Paul Pogba in 2016.