Report: Jude Bellingham Set for Real Madrid Transfer; Dortmund to Receive Over $100M

Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund reportedly reached an agreement Wednesday that will see 19-year-old midfielder Jude Bellingham join the Spanish side.

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Real Madrid will pay Dortmund over €100 million, which equates to $107 million or £86 million, making it one of the most expensive transfers in the history of both clubs.

The deal is reportedly expected to become official in the coming days, provided nothing unexpected pops up in Bellingham's medical testing.

Per Ornstein, several other clubs were believed to be interested in Bellingham, including EPL side Manchester City, although City reportedly never submitted a concrete monetary offer to Dortmund or Bellingham.

The other clubs pursuing Bellingham felt all along that his preference was to join Real Madrid, according to Ornstein.

In Bellingham, Madrid are getting one of the fastest-rising stars in the sport, as the Brit is coming off his best season by far.

During the 2022-23 season, which was his third at Dortmund after one year with the EFL's Birmingham City, Bellingham scored 14 goals in 42 matches across all competitions.

He scored eight of those goals in league play, matching the total league goals he scored over his first three professional seasons combined.

Bellingham has also cracked the English senior national team's lineup 24 times since 2020, scoring his first and only goal for England in a World Cup win over Iran in November.

That made Bellingham the second-youngest player to ever score a goal for England at the World Cup, and it made him an even more coveted asset on the transfer market.

Bellingham is set to join a Madrid squad that finished second in La Liga this season, 10 points behind FC Barcelona.

Real Madrid are just one year removed from a La Liga and UEFA Champions League title, however, which suggests a major acquisition like Bellingham could help put them back in that conversation in short order.

As for Dortmund, they finished second to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga this season on a tiebreaker. Losing Bellingham may move them further from their goal of winning the Bundesliga for the first time since 2012.