Real Madrid News
Real Madrid priority target offered a new contract with €150m release clause by current club
Borussia Dortmund are beginning to go frustrated over the entire Jude Bellingham transfer story. The 19-year-old midfielder, who ends his contract with Dortmund in 2025, is being chased by Real Madrid and Manchester City and the player has not made a decision over his future.
So if a report from journalist Christian Falk is to be believed, the German team has offered their young midfielder a new contract wherein they have inserted a release clause worth €150 million.
As the uncertainty regarding his future continues to grow, Dortmund’s sporting director and Bellingham’s father, Mark, are in talks over an extension.
It was not too long ago when we reported that Madrid have a certain plan in place to sign Bellingham in the summer. The team from the capital city is willing to offer him a five/six-year deal and his salary will be just below that of Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Jr.
During the discussion about the length of the contract, Real Madrid also put forward the plan to explain to him how they tend to use his services in the future. During the same time, his representatives visited the club’s Valdebebas training facilities and also dined with Real Madrid officials.
Real Madrid are keen to close this deal by May and make it official by June right after the UEFA Champions League final. The reason to rush into making this decision is the presence of Manchester City.
The Premier League champions-elect have been Madrid’s biggest foe in the entire deal, but fortunately for the record European champions, the midfielder has reportedly chosen them over the Cityzens.
But Dortmund are unaware of any such developments and are trying their best to keep him around beyond this season.
If he does end up signing an extension with Dortmund, things will get interesting due to the presence of the clause. In that case, there will be no bidding war as whoever activates it will get the midfielder. But of course, the player will have his say in it.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia has triggered a wave of massive establishment within the country so much so that the league has approached players like Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Sergio Ramos and even Karim Benzema.
Benzema’s departure from Real Madrid is imminent and if a report from Diaro AS is to be believed, the Frenchman contacted his former Madrid teammate, Ronaldo, to ask him for information about the Saudi league, living conditions and other teams.
All this because it is said that the legendary Frenchman has received a lucrative offer from the newly crowned Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad. As reported before, the star striker will earn more than €100 million per year across his two-year contract with the Saudi team.
At the moment, the Saudi government has approved all of Benzema’s requests and while it is said that he can join the team of his choice, Al Ittihad’s recent flirting had made them absolute favourites.
That said, the transfer may have taken a u-turn recently, as Benzema spoke about staying at Real Madrid for the foreseeable future.
“Speak to the fans? Speak about what? Why should I speak of the future if I’m in Madrid?”, Benzema said.
“It’s the internet speaking, and reality is not the internet.”
In a recent turn of events, Helder Costa openly spoke about Benzema’s arrival, saying that his team is ‘excited about the arrival of the Balon d’Or winner.’ As if that is not enough, a club fan also showed a Karim Benzema edit on the big screen during their title celebrations.
Meanwhile, since the transfer is not confirmed, Real Madrid continue to be uninformed of Benzema’s decision. And this remains a major problem for the team from the capital city as their summer transfer plan hinges on the continuity of the Frenchman.
At the moment, the team is said to be closing in on the signing of Joselu from Espanyol. However, it must be noted that the forward will only be arriving on a season-long loan as Madrid already have big plans for the summer of 2024, with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe both lined up.
