Real Madrid have agreed a deal worth an initial £88.6m to sign England international Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.
Carlo Ancelotti has made 19-year-old Bellingham a priority signing and Real are now set to complete their swoop for the midfielder.
It is understood the deal will secure Dortmund £88.6m – but will increase to £113.6m thanks to £25m of performance-related add-ons – which are believed to be achievable.
Personal terms must be formally agreed – but this will be a formality. He is yet to undergo a medical, given his knee problems in recent weeks, but if he is successful Madrid will be able to confirm the teenager’s arrival.
Bellingham’s move to Spain has been an open secret for several weeks, with Madrid agreeing to move the player a few weeks ago but they stuck to the Bundesliga title race before negotiating a fee.
Real Madrid have agreed a stunning £113million deal to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have fought off competition to sign the midfielder from Borussia Dortmund
But the latest development means the biggest – and most important – hurdle to a move has now been overcome.
Bellingham – who is considered a complete midfielder – moved from Birmingham to Germany in 2020 aged 16. So he’s used to living abroad and his family have already started the process to make sure he settles down in Madrid.
Mail Sport understands the Bellingham side believe the experience of playing in another country has made him a person and they are happy to extend that experience.
Mail Sport also revealed in May that Madrid were closing in on a big deal for the England star after he reportedly agreed to details of their offer.
Manchester City and Chelsea were admirers of Bellingham but were not considered by Bellingham, with Liverpool – who were seen as a more realistic option – pulling out of the race in April after citing escalating costs.
At one point last year, City were confident they were in pole position in the battle after discussing the prospect with Dortmund.
They have also been buoyed by a strong relationship between the clubs after signing Erling Haaland from them last summer.
However, over the past few weeks that confidence has faded, so much so that they have instead stepped up their interest in Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic.
Mail Sport understands Bellingham were concerned about how long Pep Guardiola will stay at the club, who are looking to complete a historic treble on Saturday night against Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
The England midfielder is also believed to be aware of Real’s history which would have provided a substantial attraction.
He was the most coveted target this summer after superb performances for Dortmund and England
Bellingham has scored 14 goals and added seven assists in all competitions for Dortmund this year
Bellingham is one of the brightest young talents in the world, having shone for Dortmund since joining Signal Iduna Park.
In three full seasons at the club, he racked up 132 appearances, scoring 24 goals and was an integral part of Edin Terzic’s squad this season, before heartbreakingly missing out on a first Bundesliga title in 12 years on the final day. .
In a dramatic final game of the season, where Dortmund drew 2-2 with Mainz, Bellingham was forced to watch from the bench due to a knee injury.
In total, he has scored 14 times and added seven assists in 42 appearances in all competitions.
He earned several accolades, including being voted Bundesliga Player of the Season, while also becoming the highest scoring English teenager of all time in the Champions League.
A stellar campaign has also seen the 19-year-old captain on several occasions, as he has racked up 24 caps for England since his debut in 2020.
According to the German newspaper Nachrichten of the RuhrBellingham handed out a number of parting gifts to Dortmund after their heartbreaking end to the season.
The 19-year-old and his mother Denise presented a series of gifts after a team meeting as he prepared to bid farewell to the club, including a signed pair of football boots which he handed over to a club security officer.
On one of his last visits to the club’s training ground, he also spent a lot of time signing autographs for fans before leaving at around 1.15pm CEST.
Real’s hugely influential head scout, Juni Calafat, who reportedly met the player’s father, Mark Bellingham, at the Chelsea Harbor Hotel in London, wants Bellingham to lead the club into a new era and form a formidable midfielder alongside ‘Aurélien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga. .
It will be the third summer in a row that Los Blancos have signed arguably the hottest young midfielder on the continent, having brought in Camavinga from Rennes in 2021 and Tchouameni from AS Monaco in 2022.
However, he was forced to sit out their heartbreaking title collapse due to a knee injury.
Bellingham is hugely popular with Dortmund fans and has managed them on several occasions
Elsewhere in midfield, veterans Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are set to sign new deals with the club, while they also have highly-rated Uruguayan Federico Valverde in their ranks.
In Madrid, Bellingham will join David Beckham, Michael Owen and Kieran Tripper in moving to the Spanish capital, despite only four Englishmen having ever won La Liga.
Bellingham’s move will also be a boon for former club Birmingham City who secured a 15% sale when he left for Dortmund in 2020.
Ever a Birmingham fan, Bellingham was in the stands when the Blues took on Coventry City in April to cheer on his younger brother Jobe who is also expected to move this summer.
