Real Madrid have confirmed the £113m signing of England star Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.
Mail Sport reported last week how Los Blancos had agreed a deal worth an initial £88.5million to sign England international Jude Bellingham and the move was expected to complete inside 10 days.
Carlo Ancelotti made Bellingham, 19, a priority signing this summer as they look to bounce back after a mixed campaign that saw them finish 10 points behind rivals Barcelona in LaLiga, while they were also thrashed 5-1 by Man City on aggregate in the Champions League semi-finals.
It is understood the deal will guarantee Dortmund £88.5m – but will rise towards £113.5m as a result of £25m worth of performance-related add-ons – which are believed to be achievable.
Bellingham has penned a six-year deal at the Bernabeu and the player will be unveiled by the club at a presentation ceremony tomorrow, before he then appears in front of the media.
After the move was confirmed, Bellingham was quickly welcomed to the club by Real star Vinicius Jr who tweeted: ‘Welcome to the best team in the world, @BellinghamJude.’
The 19-year-old – who is viewed as a complete midfielder – moved to Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham in 2020 at the age of 16 so is used to living abroad and his family have already begun the process of ensuring he will settle in Madrid.
Mail Sport understands Bellingham’s camp believe the experience of playing in another country has been the making of him as a person and they are happy to prolong that experience.
Manchester City and Chelsea were admirers of Bellingham, but weren’t considered by the player, with Liverpool – who were seen as a more realistic option – pulling out of the race in April after citing escalating costs.
At one stage late last year, City were confident they were in pole position in the battle, having discussed the prospect with Dortmund.
They were also buoyed by a strong relationship between the clubs after signing Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji from them last summer.