Bellingham's Price Tag: Is the 19-Year-Old Worth Every Penny for Real Madrid ?

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Real Madrid will pay a fee of 103 million euros (£88.5 million) for the 19-year-old player. There are also additional potential add-ons included in the deal, which could bring the total amount to 133.9 million euros (£115 million) if achieved. Bellingham, who started his career at Birmingham City, will be officially presented as a Real Madrid player during a ceremony on Thursday. In a statement, Bellingham expressed his gratitude to everyone at Dortmund and the fans for their support over the past three years. He acknowledged the honor of representing the club and stated that he would never forget his journey there. Despite looking forward to his new destination, he emphasized his connection to Dortmund, saying "Once a Borusse, always a Borusse. All the best for the future."

Bellingham's performance in last year's World Cup earned him recognition as one of England's top performers. He was also named the Bundesliga's player of the season, although Dortmund narrowly missed out on winning the league title on the final day. With the initial fee, Bellingham becomes the second-most expensive English footballer, following Jack Grealish, who was bought by Manchester City for £100 million in 2021. Furthermore, Bellingham's transfer to Real Madrid makes him the club's second-most expensive signing, trailing behind Eden Hazard's move from Chelsea for 115 million euros in 2019. Additionally, he becomes the third-most expensive teenager in history. The top two spots are held by Paris St-Germain's acquisition of Mbappe for 180 million euros in 2018 and Atletico Madrid's signing of Joao Felix from Benfica for 126 million euros in 2019.

During his time at Dortmund, Bellingham achieved notable success and made history by becoming the club's youngest captain at the age of 19. In the 2022-23 season, he made 42 appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals and providing seven assists. Dortmund's chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke, expressed gratitude to Bellingham for his passion and described their time together as fantastic. Watzke also commended Real Madrid for their fair and constructive discussions throughout the deal.

Bellingham's transfer to Dortmund from Birmingham in 2020 for £25 million set a record as the most expensive transfer for a 17-year-old player in football history. The Championship side received some criticism for retiring Bellingham's shirt number despite his limited experience in professional football at that time.

Although Bellingham has been included in Gareth Southgate's latest England squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, he will not participate in the games. Instead, he will continue his rehabilitation with the England national team as he recovers from an injury that kept him out of Dortmund's final match of the season.