Bellingham can leave Dortmund next summer, says Club CEO

Jude Bellingham can leave Borussia Dortmund next summer if he wishes, the German club’s chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has said.

Sources told ESPN earlier this month that Liverpool are leading the chase for Bellingham despite Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Real Madrid also tracking the 19-year-old.

It is believed Dortmund could command a fee in the region of €100 million for the England international, but reports have suggested that figure could rise to €150m.

Dortmund chief Watzke said the club cannot compete with Europe’s biggest clubs on wages and they will not stand in his way if he wishes to leave.

“We will hold talks now, as soon as [the World Cup in] Qatar is over, and then we’ll have a fundamental talk about what he would like,” Watzke said.

“He just needs to tell us if he’d like to stay or if he’d like to go. In both cases we’ll talk about it very pleasantly and reasonably together. In general we can imagine that he’d stay with us, but we can’t behave as if this topic wasn’t on the table.

“If he says ‘I’d like to do something else,’ then the really big [clubs] in Europe will be there and we can’t afford to fight financially.”

Bellingham began his career at Birmingham City before joining Dortmund as a 17-year-old in 2020.

The midfielder, whose contract at Dortmund runs until 2025, has scored nine goals in 22 games in all competitions this season — including four goals in five in the Champions League. He also became the Bundesliga’s youngest ever captain when leading Dortmund at Cologne in September.

Last week we has selected as part of England’s 26-man squad for the World Cup. He has 17 international caps.