REAL MADRID believe they have won the race to sign Jude Bellingham in a £100million-plus deal.
The teenage England star has the pick of LaLiga giants Real, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
But Carlo Ancelotti’s Real have become increasingly confident that, after courting him throughout 2022, Bellingham, 19, will snub a Premier League move and make a big switch to Spain next summer.
Liverpool are desperate to sign him, with manager Jurgen Klopp believing that Borussia Dortmund ace Bellingham — who enjoyed a fine World Cup with England — will soon become the world’s best midfielder.
In Qatar, both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson told the player about the merits of featuring for the Reds.
City feel they are not out of the race and are expected to up their bid to land Bellingham, who moved from Birmingham to Dortmund for £30m in the summer of 2020.
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But Ancelotti and Real feel the chance to become a Bernabeu icon will seal the deal.
All of the clubs, even those with limitless pots of cash such as City and PSG, have been made aware that wages are not important for Bellingham — only how a move would benefit him football-wise.
As SunSport revealed last week, United boss Erik ten Hag is planning a £200m double whammy to land Bellingham and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong.
Ten Hag’s problem is Bellingham turned down United to join Dortmund.
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Club legends Sir Alex Ferguson, Eric Cantona and Bryan Robson were all sent to meet the player but failed to persuade him to move to Old Trafford.
Since joining the German giants, Bellingham has contributed 19 goals and 21 assists in 112 games.
He was also handed the club captaincy earlier this season, before thriving with England in Qatar.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
