Jude Bellingham, England’s new star at the Euro, has had an unusual start to his career marked by numerous transfers.
At only 20 years old, Jude Bellingham has already splashed Europe with his talent. Revealed at Borussia Dortmund, who recruited him at the age of 17, the England international joined Real Madrid last summer for more than 100 million euros. With 23 goals in 37 games for his first season under the Merengue colors, he perfectly succeeded in his adaptation to the Spanish championship and was decisive in the Champions League. The Englishman could even be one of the big favorites for the 2024 Ballon d’Or in the event of victory at the Euro next June, a Euro which he started with a first goal against Serbia during the entry in contention for the Three Lions.
His transfer at 17 from Birmingham to Borussia Dortmund illustrates the frantic race of major European clubs to find and recruit the best young people, trying to attract them earlier and earlier. We remember in particular Martin Ødegaard, recruited at 16 by Real Madrid, or Anthony Martial, whose transfer from Monaco to Manchester United then caused a stir.
For top talent, major European clubs are often in competition, and sometimes a player is close to signing with one club, only to see him wear the jersey of another team. This is the case of Jude Bellingham. Then in Birmingham, the English striker was watched by all the Premier League clubs. And a club was very close to attracting him to its squad. This is Manchester United. Then in full reconstruction in 2020 after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson a few years earlier, the Red Devils tried to get their hands on the youngster from Birmingham, then 17 years old.
As Bryan Robson tells the British media The Telegraph, the Manchester club tried everything to recruit Jude Bellingham, even asking former legends of the club to meet the striker. “We were at Carrington (the club’s training centre) and Sir Alex Ferguson was there a little earlier than me, but Eric (Cantona) and I met him and his mum and dad and we had a chat . It seemed really promising that he was signing for Manchester United… Eric and I did a bad job since he signed for Borussia!
The player who is now enjoying the glory days of Real Madrid finally chose not to join the Mancuniens and to prefer Borussia. Given his development in three seasons in Germany and his success since his transfer to Madrid, where he is in the race for the Ballon d’Or at the end of the year, it seems that his choice was the right one.