Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham turned down a move to Manchester United in 2020 to prioritize his development as a player.
United offered the greatest financial package by far but Bellingham turned them down and chose a move to Signal Iduna Park over Old Trafford.
This is according to Ex-Birmingham CEO Dong Ren, who revealed that despite United’s aggressive charm offensive, Bellingham and his family did not make their decision based on money.
“Ed Woodward [then United CEO] was the most insistent. We sat down and talked about how we could convince Bellingham. But Jude didn’t make any decisions based on money.”
“They offered much more salary compared to the rest. Maybe double. He was going to have guaranteed millions in the bank and he did not take them. That’s not normal for a player at all.”
“He chose Dortmund over Bayern despite not being sure to win titles and money. He put all that behind his development. How many players would do that? Because nothing is guaranteed at Dortmund. It might not have turned out well.”
Ren detailed how United sought the services of some of the club’s legends to try to lure Bellingham to the Theatre of Dreams.
First, the teenager sat down with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He then had a meeting with Alex Ferguson before United arranged for the youngster to talk with Eric Cantona.
Ren added that he could have persuaded Bellingham to join United, who had offered almost three times more than any other suitor and were offering the Blues a better offer.
He however let Bellingham and his entourage make their own decision due to the loyalty he showed them. Birmingham retired the number 22 shirt after Bellingham left for Germany.
The 19-year-old will be on the move this summer with a number of Europe’s elite clubs expressing interest in him, among them United.
However, the 20-times Champions face an uphill battle to convince the Englishman to join their ranks, as they did two years ago. Some of the other clubs that are known admirers of Bellingham include Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City.
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