Rio Ferdinand believes Jude Bellingham would have chosen a move to Liverpool this summer but has now backed Real Madrid to land the England star ahead of Manchester United.
Liverpool this week ended their pursuit of the Borussia Dortmund star with Jurgen Klopp insisting the club must be realistic with ‘what you can do’ in the transfer market.
Latest reports suggesting Dortmund will demand a fee of at least £130million for the 19-year-old with Real Madrid and Manchester City now leading the race for his signature.
While Liverpool appear to be out of the race, Ferdinand believes the idea of joining a club undergoing a rebuild of sorts would have greatly appealed to the midfielder.
The former United defender believes a move to Old Trafford would also offer that sort of project but is not convinced his former side will be in the running with priorities elsewhere this summer.
While City are firmly in the running, Ferdinand believes the prospect of joining Real Madrid to play alongside Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni will be decisive.
‘Liverpool have ruled themselves out now, (but) I think if they said they would have liked him, there was still a chance he may have gone to Liverpool,’ Ferdinand told BT Sport.
‘Just because he believes in himself and would back himself to be the catalyst to get them back up again, which then amplifies his character and his stardust.
‘That maybe is something that would have excited him. Man United might offer that, but the problem is that United’s priority is a centre-forward and that’s very secondary.
‘It’s a lot of money and I don’t think they can do both.
‘If I’m him now, I probably go to Real Madrid. They’ve got a great blend of experience and young players.’
Ferdinand continued: ‘You’ve got Camavinga, (Federico) Valverde and Tchouameni, three of the other best young midfielders in the world as well in that squad.
‘They’re building for success over a good period of time.’
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