Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has joked that Jude Bellingham is so excellent that he could be exaggerating his age in order to get more attention.
During an interview with Telefoot (h/t Madrid Xtra), the manager who had worked for Barcelona and Bayern Munich said that despite just being 20 years old, Bellingham is already too talented.
“What about Jude Bellingham?” Perhaps he is a liar… Regarding the midfielder, he had this to say: “he’s too good for his age.”
It was quite close between Manchester City and Bellingham.
It was speculated that Manchester City would end up acquiring Bellingham in the summer transfer window after the 2022–2023 campaign, which would take place around the conclusion of that season.
After Liverpool decided not to pursue the move owing to financial concerns, the three-time reigning champions were touted as the odds-on favorites to sign the midfielder.
Now, Real Madrid was showing signs of interest in Bellingham, but City had been progressively growing their confidence in their ability to secure Bellingham’s services. Their chase was driven by worries on the long-term commitment of Ilkay Gundogan, who ultimately decided to sign with Barcelona after their pursuit was completed.
Real Madrid was concerned about the connection that City had with Dortmund.
After successfully acquiring Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji the year before, City had developed a constructive relationship with Dortmund. This was in part due to the fact that both players had been signed by City. This association offered as a convincing argument that enhanced their confidence in their ability to acquire Bellingham.
This long history of successful deals not only demonstrated City’s financial capability but also showed their dedication to preserving a successful working relationship with the German club. The history of successful transactions displayed City’s commitment to keeping a productive working relationship with the German club.
However, as Real Madrid’s interest in the player increased, the player started to lean towards a move to La Liga instead. In June of 2023, he secured a permanent transfer to the Spanish capital on a six-year contract, with Real Madrid paying €103 million, with the potential for the amount to rise to €133.9 million due to add-ons for his services.
Zinedine Zidane, a former midfielder for Real Madrid who is now the player’s hero, is the reason the twenty-year-old decided to wear the number five jersey upon joining with the club.