🤔 The six clubs Jude Bellingham could be at next season | OneFootball

With only a handful of clubs capable of affording him, Jude Bellingham’s options are limited. Liverpool third most revenue of any club on the planet in 2022, per Deloitte, and they are no longer in the race for the midfielder.

So who is and how will they make their case?

Real Madrid

When a talent like Bellingham emerges, Real Madrid will always be one of the clubs linked. And it’s always easy to picture these players lining up at the Bernabéu in that glorious all-white kit, posing with the club’s array of European cups.

And that’s no different with Bellingham, who has been linked with a move to the Spanish capital for a while now.

In a report on Wednesday, Sport Bild say Real Madrid are the clear frontrunners — more on that in a bit — and have set themselves a limit of €100m up front with another €30-50m in bonuses ahead of talks with Dortmund.

The issue is, Madrid already have Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Fede Valverde as well as 37-year-old Luka Modrić and 33-year-old Toni Kroos.

Will they really prioritise a central midfielder over additions in any other position this summer?

One of the big, big spenders

Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain.

Let’s group them together because of that Sport Bild report, which claims Bellingham sees these cash-rich clubs as “unattractive and soulless” and would prefer a destination with more “passion, honour, and reputation”.

That’s what puts Real Madrid ahead, they claim.

What gives these clubs a boost is that money is not an issue.

As far as Man City go, they can offer Bellingham the chance to compete for anything and everything, plus a reunion with Erling Haaland, who he shared a great relationship with at Dortmund.

But can they guarantee playing time? All-action, box-to-box midfielders are not something you associate with Pep Guardiola’s football and it’s hard to imagine Bellingham and Kevin De Bruyne both playing a lot.

PSG’s own version of the Galácticos have never really taken off, especially on the European stage, and Ligue 1 doesn’t necessarily provide the step up from the Bundesliga that a return to England would.

And Chelsea, well, Chelsea don’t even have a head coach for next season right now, have to make a lot of money back to satisfy FFP before spending more, and probably won’t even be in Europe next season. Will they really be able to tempt Bellingham to London?

Manchester United

The future of Manchester United is a little unclear right now, with the club’s takeover dragging on, but they have the money — in theory — to compete for Bellingham, they can offer him a traditional and historic setting, and they have the space to make him a cornerstone of a project to return them to the top of the game.

Whether or not he would want such a project remains to be seen. He has already spent the last few years trying to help Dortmund close the gap to Bayern Munich, would he fancy the same in Manchester with a club that hasn’t won a league title since 2013?

Stay at Dortmund?

With no obviously ideal option sticking out — anyone not on the list simply can’t afford to meet Dortmund’s demands — could Bellingham stay in Germany for another year?

The Schwarzgelben are challenging for the Bundesliga title this season and Bellingham has been crucial in that: the midfielder is the club’s leading scorer across all competitions in 2022/23.

He increasingly wears the armband at the Westfalenstadion, where he is adored, and Dortmund would obviously be keen to keep hold of him even just for one extra year. Don’t rule it out.