(rising to £50m plus add-ons)
Real Madrid have completed the signing of England midfielder Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund on a six-year deal. The Spanish giants will pay 103 million euros (£88.5 million) for the 19-year-old, in addition to various potential add-ons. If those add-ons are achieved, the deal could reach 133.9 million euros (£115 million). Bellingham, who started his career at Birmingham City, will be presented as a Real Madrid player at a ceremony on Thursday.
In October last year, Bellingham made history by becoming the club’s youngest captain aged 19. He played 42 times for his club in 2022-23 – scoring 14 goals and registering seven assists. The initial fee makes him the second-most expensive English footballer after Jack Grealish, for whom Manchester City paid Aston Villa £100 million in 2021. He is also Real Madrid’s second-most expensive signing, after Eden Hazard’s 115 million euro move from Chelsea in 2019, and the third-most expensive teenager in history.
Birmingham City were paid £25 million by Dortmund in 2020, making Bellingham the most expensive 17-year-old in the history of football. It is understood that the club are now set to receive a seven-figure sum from a sell-on clause inserted in the deal that took him to Dortmund. Bellingham has been included in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, but will not feature in the games due to an injury.
The most expensive English footballers are as follows:
Player | Transfer | Year | Fee
Jack Grealish | Aston Villa to Manchester City | 2021 | £100m
Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid | 2023 | £88.5m (rising to £115m plus add-ons)
Harry Maguire | Leicester to Manchester United | 2019 | £80m
Jadon Sancho | Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United | 2021 | £73m
Raheem Sterling | Manchester City to Chelsea | 2022 | £50m
Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Crystal Palace to Manchester United | 2019 | £50m
Ben White | Brighton to Arsenal | 2021 | £50m
Raheem Sterling | Liverpool to Manchester City | 2015 | £49m
John Stones | Everton to Manchester City | 2016 | £47.5m
Kyle Walker | Tottenham to Manchester City | 2017 | £45m (rising to £50m plus add-ons)
Ben Chilwell | Leicester to Chelsea | 2020 | £45m (rising to £50m plus add-ons)