The Englishman is reportedly unhappy about the amount of money needed to carry out the transfer which has caused Madrid to consider other options.
The measurement AU is what boffins in white coats wearing watches on both wrists use to measure incredibly long distances in space. For example, 1 AU is the distance between the Earth and the Sun, something which is a semi-comfortable, reasonably close distance, but one that we can all comprehend.
We can all see the Sun and feel its heat on a daily basis - but when we realise it’s actually around 150,000,000 kilometres away, my head, at least, starts to wobble.
It’s the same with money. I know what a 5 Euro bill feels like; I can hold it in my hand and pay for milk and apples with it. But when I see mentions of €150,000,000 for Jude Bellingham, I can understand why reports are saying he too is a little shocked. Pay that sort of price in a space-taxi and one euro for every kilometre will get you from the Earth to the Sun.
OK, I’m clearly being facetious, Jude Bellingham’s reported anger from Cadena SER comes as he knows such a high price tag will inevitably make it more difficult for any team across the world to come in and snap him up like a bag of apples. The report says that the teams interested in the player: Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester City, have been put off by the whopping great tag around his neck and are instead scoping down their list of wanted players for possible alternatives.
Manchester City, for example, are said to be looking at Mateo Kovacic, who has Premier League experience as well as a Champions League winners medal on his shelf at home. Liverpool, for their part, are looking for players who are under the age of 37 years-old and Madrid themselves have Celta sensation Gabri Veiga in their sights (who is also being looked at by Luis de la Fuente for a call up to the Spain first team).
In position number two on Madrid’s continental-wide game of eye-spy is Georgian wonder Kvaratskhelia, who is making football look as fun as it did when Ronaldinho was playing, back when everything was better; summers were nicer and Policemen were taller and players didn’t cost a one-way trip to the nearest star.
But that isn’t stopping Florentino, who still wants to get the player that will add to the much talked-about transition of the Madrid midfield. He has 4 goals and 4 assists in 21 games in the Bundesliga, as well as 4 goals in 6 Champions League games. Putting him next to Camavinga, Tchouaméni and Valverde means the Madrid manger contract will have to come with a free packet of paracetamol and a headache relief clause.
I almost went with Out of this Dort-mundo for the headline, given just how ludicrously huge all the numbers in this deal are. To be honest, when you’re talking about Bellingham’s price tag being what it is, it makes me feel a little silly scrambling around my pocket for change from a $10 bill to buy a newspaper that tells me just how much he costs.