How FC Bayern wanted to hijack the BVB deal: The Bellingham Poker 2020

“How many players would do that?”

He is one of the world’s biggest market value winners in 2022 and is currently one of the most sought-after players on the market: where Borussia Dortmund’s midfielder Jude Bellingham (contract until 2025) will go is unclear – Liverpool FC is considered the hottest candidate (all rumors at a glance) . A situation that is not entirely new to Bellingham, at least. Dong Ren, former managing director of Bellingham’s training club Birmingham City, said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo“ Now detailed insights into the change decision of the England international in summer 2020.

At the age of 17, Bellingham switched from “The Blues” to BVB for around 25 million euros. And for the Westphalians, according to Rens, the right foot let various top clubs fly despite much more lucrative offers. “Manchester United made us the biggest offer we’ve received compared to Bayern, Dortmund, Leicester or any other club,” said Ren. The then CEO of the “Red Devils”, Ed Woodward, was by far “the most persistent” in courting the hopeful talent.

Birmingham’s club management and Woodward sat down at the time and considered “how we can convince Bellingham.” United offered the player “a lot more salary compared to the others. It was maybe twice as much. He was guaranteed millions in the bank, but he didn’t take them. (…) Jude did not make decisions based on money. That’s not normal for a player at all.” When they couldn’t get any further on the financial track, Manchester tried other ways.

“He sat down with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The next day, Woodward took him to Sir Alex Ferguson and the day after that to Eric Cantona to try and convince him.” From United’s point of view, however, the discussions with the coach and club legends did not have the desired effect on the youngster from Birmingham .

Despite a bonus offer from FC Bayern: Bellingham decided against more money and for BVB

Chelsea FC also had a hard time with Bellingham in 2020, Ren continued: “He went to Stamford Bridge to meet Marina Granovskaia in person. The meeting was organized by Frank Lampard. The coach at the time presented his plan to him – but he couldn’t convince Bellingham either.” During the lockdown months, the player had intensive talks with BVB and decided to move to Westphalia shortly before the end of the season. “They told us that they wanted to integrate him as a player into the BVB family,” said Ren.

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A failed last-minute attempt from Munich to hijack the agreement with Borussia also made it clear that Bellingham “never put money first”, but should base his future decisions exclusively “on the project”. “On the last day when he wanted to sign for Dortmund, I got a call from his father asking me to wait before signing the contract. Bayern tried to increase the offer at the last minute. They offered a lot of money, a bonus for the player,” Ren said. “He preferred Dortmund to Bayern, although he wasn’t sure of winning titles and more money there. He put all of that behind his development and nothing was guaranteed, it might not have ended well. How many players would do that? (…) That’s why I give him so much credit.”

At BVB, Bellingham has increased its market value tenfold with strong performances in the past two and a half years. “His development has been incredible. Since he came to Dortmund he has taken his game to another level. He’s a completely different player. And we haven’t seen his full potential yet,” Ren said of his ex-protégé’s future.

In the event of a resale, Birmingham City will receive a 5 percent share of the transfer fee. A sum of around 150 million euros was recently circulated in the international media, from which BVB should be ready to talk. The rumored price tag would not only make the Englishman the most expensive transfer in Premier League and Bundesliga history, but also the third most expensive footballer ever.

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