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14th September 2023
02:56pm BST
Former CEO of Birmingham City, Xuandong Ren, has revealed the reason behind Jude Bellingham's decision to turn down a move to Manchester United.
Bellingham joined Borussia Dortmund for a £25m in 2020 after only one full season in the senior squad but was the subject of interest from clubs around the world.
United were one of those interested in the midfielder's services and even met Sir Alex Ferguson as part of the negotiation process but ultimately ended up moving to Germany, where he developed into one of the best players in the world.
Bryan Robson, who was also introduced to the England international told the Daily Mail that while he was disappointed to miss out on Bellingham, he had plenty of respect for the 20-year-old's decision.
"The maturity and discipline he had to show surviving as a young boy playing and living in Germany gave him invaluable life skills, ones that this summer the family felt had equipped him for a move to a club as huge as Real Madrid," he said.
The youngster displayed his maturity when opting to turn down the move to Old Trafford, with Xuandong Ren revealing that he actually took the option of being paid less to move to Dortmund.
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, he said: "Jude did not make any decision based on money.
"They were offering much more salary compared to the rest. Maybe double. He was going to be guaranteed millions in the bank and he didn’t take it. That’s not normal for a player at all."
Since joining Real Madrid, Bellingham has hit the ground running with four goals from three games and he continued that during the international break, netting a goal and registering an assist in England's 3-1 win against Scotland.
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