Football News: Jude Bellingham 'to reject club-record Borussia Dortmund deal'

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham is reportedly set to reject a club-record weekly wage of £230,000 from the German champions in order to join Real Madrid.

Speculation about the 19-year-old's future has dominated transfer market conversation in recent months, with links to a slew of top-tier European clubs.

Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and Manchester City were all thought to be contenders, but Liverpool and Real Madrid were considered as the clear favourites.

Despite seemingly promising discussions between Liverpool and Bellingham's father, the Reds baulked at Dortmund's £130 million asking price, which BVB has showed no sign of lowering.

As a result, Liverpool dropped their interest in the 19-year-old to pursue cheaper options, allowing Real Madrid to surge to the front of the queue.

While nothing has been officially agreed upon, Real Madrid are currently anticipated to sign Bellingham in the summer transfer window, despite Dortmund manager Edin Terzic dismissing such claims.

The former Birmingham City teenager is still under contract with Dortmund until 2025, and the German giants will reportedly aim to tie him down to club-record wages.

According to the article, the Black and Yellows were willing to pay Bellingham €14 million (£12.2 million) per year to stay at the Westfalenstadion until 2026, which equals to over £230,000 per week.

However, Dortmund's renewal offer is set to be rejected, as Bellingham is "almost certain" to join Real Madrid when the summer transfer window opens.

Los Blancos are thought to be confident of signing Bellingham to a six-year contract until 2029, with a weekly pay of €20 million (£17.4 million).

Real Madrid are yet to negotiate a final fee agreement with Dortmund, who are said to be holding out for a £130 million proposal, although Los Blancos intend to achieve an agreement in the coming weeks.

Bellingham will arrive to the Bernabeu to battle for starts with Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric - the latter two of whom are set to sign new contracts soon.

The England international cost €25 million (£21.8 million) to leave Birmingham for Dortmund as a 16-year-old in 2020, and he has since scored 23 goals and assisted 25 times in 131 appearances for Terzic's club.

Bellingham has 13 goals and seven assists in 41 appearances this season, including a brace in Sunday's 6-0 Bundesliga demolition of Wolfsburg.

With three games remaining, Dortmund are one point behind reigning champions Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table, and Bellingham will be expected to make his 30th top-flight start of the season against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday evening.

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