Jude Bellingham has explained why he chose to join Real Madrid over other interested clubs such as Liverpool.
The Reds had long been seen as front-runners to sign Bellingham, having chased him for the past two years. But ultimately, money appeared to be the deciding factor in them pulling out of the race back in April.
In the end, the England international joined Madrid. Upon his unveiling as Real’s latest superstar today, Football Daily shared a video of him explaining his decision to move to Santiago Bernabeu.
“For a start, money’s not a thing for me. I don’t think about money at all when I make these kinds of decisions, I never have, I never will, I play the game purely out of love,” began the 19-year-old. “
“I spoke with the people when I was given permission by Borussia Dortmund. I spoke with Juni [Calafat], I spoke with Jose Angel and I loved the feeling I got from the club, I couldn’t hide it. I told them more or less straight away what I felt about the club, and after I made my decision I wanted it to all happen quickly.
“It wasn’t a case of the other teams are bad or weren’t good, it’s just that for me Madrid is the greatest.”
Bellingham explains Madrid decision
Other supporters may tell you otherwise but for us, this does actually sting a little. For the past two years, Liverpool fans have been more or less promised that their club would have a very good go at signing Bellingham.
Behind the scenes, that may have happened. But publicly, Liverpool left the race before it had even really begun.
It may have been that really, they never stood a chance. Hearing Bellingham talk about Madrid, it seems fairly clear that they were always his choice. Once Liverpool got wind of that, there was no point in taking things further. That’s understandable. But still, links could have been played down at any stage of the last two years. Instead, they’ve only been ramped up.
In reality though, once Madrid come calling, it’s very hard for any club to compete. It’s quite the rise for Bellingham, who’s still yet to turn 20, and he can perhaps be forgiven for falling head-over-heels.
Some supporters may choose to believe that the 19-year-old’s words could leave the door open to a move in the future. And maybe they do. As an Englishman, it would be strange if Bellingham didn’t harbour a desire to one day come to the Premier League.
For now though, it’s best to leave this one. We’ll be watching on from a distance as he does his best to live up to Zinedine Zidane’s No.5 shirt.
One final point though, having made such a song and dance of making a decision based on ‘the best footballing project,’ is it not a little unimaginative to go and join the biggest, richest club on the planet? All the best, Jude.
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