During his 3 seasons with Borussia Dortmund, Jude Bellingham has grown from a lanky teenager to a flexible and fearless midfielder, either with his body to break attacks and his deft touch to penetrate defences.
Now, Real Madrid have spent 103 million euros ($111 million) on the 19-year-old, with the intention of making him the centerpiece of their next galactico.
For Bellingham, this is a logical step and one that will meet understandable fanfare and expectations.
But Dortmund’s resolve to sell with two years remaining on his contract has again raised long-standing questions about the German club’s stature in the landscape.
It didn’t take long for Bellingham to show his talent in Germany, scoring his first away goal at MSV Duisburg in the German Cup in September 2020, a deflected effort in a 5–0 win.
A few days later, in his first Bundesliga match, he picked up his first hand in the league by beating Giovanni Reyna in a regime win against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
“I’m not a trainee anymore,” he said in his first interview with German magazine Kicker in October 2020, referring to the fact that he won the 2019-20 English Football League Apprentice of the Year Award.
“I’ve already matured a lot as a player and as a user in the last few months. The Bundesliga is incredibly complicated and deserves its reputation as one of the toughest in the world.
“It’s invaluable to my long career to adapt to the physical and intellectual strength of this league, which you want at this level. “
Bellingham is not wrong. In his time in black and yellow, he has become a player who can not only shoot, dribble and pass accurately and easily, but can also win the ball in the air and hold on in challenges.
After emerging from the shadow of Erling Haaland last season, after the Norwegian midfielder joined Manchester City, Bellingham, unsurprisingly, is Dortmund’s standout player game after game.
In October 2022, Dortmund lost 3-1 to Gladbach, perhaps the most memorable moment of the match came from the dynamic midfielder’s brilliant assist.
Not only is his elevated pass over the Foals’ backline exceptional in its accuracy and precision, but his carelessness in opting for Julian Brandt is equally exceptional.
And Bellingham’s skill and style on the pitch have long been admired by warring parties and teammates, with former Bayern Munich midfielder David Alaba praising his former Madrid teammate.
“He’s one of the biggest midfield talents in the world,” Alaba told Welt last September. “At only 19 years old, he leads the team, he doesn’t hide and he already makes decisions with his taste for the game. “
Those qualities have also carried over to the foreign stage, with the dynamic No. 22, England’s player at last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Bellingham’s constant energy, urgent and relentless, leading the midfielder to recover the ball or force an errant pass from the opposition has led his teammates to emulate his ferocity.
Even with the World Cup at his feet and admiration flowing everywhere, Kicker noticed after the confirmation of his signing how humble he remained.
“Dortmund is only wasting an exceptional footballer,” he wrote.
“But also, an ordinary professional who – perhaps because not so long ago he himself asked for autographs as an amateur – has never forgotten what gift he earned with his talent.
“He made other people feel satisfied by taking time for themselves, the last player to return to the locker room after open practice sessions, signing autographs and taking pictures constantly. “
However, as with any teenager, his petulance when things didn’t go the way he or Dortmund did on the pitch came to the fore.
It would still take some private adulthood as he seeks to locate his position in a Real Madrid team full of ordinary people.
Described as clumsy through Kicker, they added: “He spoke publicly about his teammates, became overly exasperated, and displayed dismissive language from time to time. “
“He can be a bit quick to fall to the ground and, when in doubt, has a tendency to try to do everything himself.
“All the things Dortmund allowed him to do, very aware of his quality. But things I probably couldn’t do among the Real Madrid stars. “
Perhaps the most pressing question, whether Bellingham will continue to shine as brightly as it did in Spain, will continue as it has for years whether Borussia Dortmund can ever be more than a launching pad for the superstars of the next generations.
While BVB have made Ramy Bensebaini their first signing of the summer, he is expected to reinvest 70% of the initial budget he gets from the sale of Bellingham.
Just weeks after Dortmund came closest to winning the Bundesliga name in 11 years, with the talisman Bellingham by their side, that decision could still hold with the narrative that the club prefers to be handled well.
“A replacement in BVB’s philosophy: detect well, buy cheap, adjust and resell, is not yet thought of,” Kicker’s comment added. term.
“It’s utopian and, thankfully, not even desired in the Ruhr, where they would be 11 times finalists who would be hopelessly indebted like Schalke. “
However, not all German media are so inspired by Dortmund’s decision-making. In a particularly sharp end to RAN. de’s comments, the outlet did not hesitate to point out that Dortmund had made a big mistake.
“Bellingham’s contract was extended until 2025, with no buyout clause,” they wrote. “Dortmund was in a strong position to negotiate.
“To be one of the players with the highest demand in Europe, you may have only had or maybe you have had more. 103 million euros are temporarily spent, and they are temporarily lost. “
Edited by Matt Ford