Jude Bellingham set to move to Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid has reached an agreement to sign Jude Bellingham for a fee that could reach more than 130 million euros ($139 million), Borussia Dortmund said Wednesday.
The German club said the fixed fee will be 103 million euros ($110 million), plus variables that could reach more than 30 million euros ($32 million) in total over the next six seasons.
The fixed fee for Bellingham would be the second biggest sale by a German club, not including add-ons, after Barcelona signed forward Ousmane Dembélé from Dortmund for 105 million euros (currently $112 million) in 2017.
Dortmund said in a statement to the stock exchange that the contract details still have to be “coordinated and completed,” and the transfer is subject “to the proper and timely processing in accordance with the provisions” of FIFA.
The 19-year-old versatile English midfielder will join a Madrid squad that currently has veterans Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in midfield, as well as Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos and Aurélien Tchouaméni.
The contracts of Kroos, Modric and Ceballos are ending this month, though, and it is yet unclear if they will be renewed.
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Madrid had not yet publicly confirmed the Bellingham transfer.
Bellingham’s three-season stay at Dortmund is set to end after the team missed out on the German title to Bayern Munich on goal difference. Bellingham was crucial to the title challenge but was an unused substitute in the decisive last game against Mainz after a knee injury.
Bellingham joined Dortmund from second-division English club Birmingham in 2020 and was a key player for the German team almost immediately. He captained Dortmund in several games this season, including against Chelsea in the Champions League.
Bellingham made his debut for England in 2020, shortly after joining Dortmund, and has played 24 times for his country, including in all six of England’s games at last year’s World Cup.
Bellingham continues a trend of Dortmund developing some of the world’s highest-rated young players before selling them off. The German club sold Erling Haaland to Manchester City last year and other notable deals have included Jadon Sancho to Manchester United in 2021 and Dembélé to Barcelona.
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AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany, contributed to this report.
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