MANCHESTER CITY made a last-ditch attempt to sign Jude Bellingham before he went to Real Madrid, according to reports.
The 20-year-old joined the Spanish side in a British record £115million deal from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
But before he penned his six-year contract at the Santiago Bernabeu, Man City supposedly tried to convince him to join the Treble winners.
Reports in Spain claim they offered the midfielder a lucrative deal and Pep Guardiola spoke to him on the phone for three hours.
The manager is alleged to have tried to persuade Bellingham against a move to Real Madrid.
It is claimed that Guardiola turned on the charm, explaining that playing in the Premier League would be best for him and that City are a stronger side than Los Blancos.
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However, his alleged attempt did not work and the boss conceded defeat as he ended the call and wished him luck for the rest of his career.
Bellingham had reportedly already decided to join Real Madrid by the time Guardiola phoned.
The club met with the wonderkid’s family and gave him a tour of their facilities with Vinicius Junior in attendance to help him settle in.
The Brazilian winger was texting him almost every day for a year to get Bellingham to become his team-mate.
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Since joining, he has hit the ground running with Carlo Ancelotti deploying him in attacking midfield role.
The 26-time capped England international has scored ten goals in ten games so far.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
