Speaking on the Bild podcast ‘Phrasenmäher’ Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro revealed that the club almost signed Jude Bellingham before he moved to Borussia Dortmund.
Carro was first asked if money was no object, which player would he sign:
“If I had to name one player, I would say Jude Bellingham, because I still struggle with the fact that we didn’t sign him.”
The CEO then goes on to reveal more about the failed move for the Englishman:
“We were already very interested in him a year before Bellingham moved to BVB. Simon Rolfes really wanted him. Bellingham was 16 years old at the time. We watched videos of him together with Rudi Völler and were all impressed. We also had the okay from our shareholders’ committee to spend a transfer fee of up to a certain amount on him – but Birmingham demanded double that and so we didn’t do it. “The fact that we didn’t do that back then still annoys me today.”
It is suggested that Leverkusen offered around €7.5m for Bellingham who would eventually move to Dortmund for €30m in 2020. The midfielder would then move to Real Madrid three years later for a fee that could rise above €120m if clauses are met.
During his three years in Germany, Bellingham grew into one of Dortmund’s most important players and even captained the team at times in his final season at the club. While at the Signal Iduna Park, Bellingham won the DFB Pokal but the Bundesliga title eluded him. Whether Bellingham, who was injured at the time and ended up winning Bundesliga Player of the Season that year, could have made a difference in their final-day draw with Mainz in 2022/23 is unknown.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
