Bellingham lets slip which current Real Madrid player told him to move to Spain

The England midfielder published a conversation on social media that revealed the conversation before his Madrid move.

On 10 December 2022, France defeated England 2–1 in the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar—a tournament that the French team ultimately lost to Argentina in the final.

After that match, French midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni casually asked Jude Bellingham: “Are you coming or what?”

Fast forward to this Monday, when Bellingham, who now plays for Real Madrid, shared a photo on Instagram wishing Tchouaméni a happy birthday. The photo, taken after their World Cup clash, shows the two players chatting.

It was at this point that the French midfielder, who had signed for Madrid from Monaco earlier that year, asked Bellingham if he would join him at the Spanish club. Bellingham revealed this memorable exchange in his Instagram post.

Just twelve days later, Spanish sports outlets such as USA reported that Bellingham, then still with Borussia Dortmund, would soon join the ranks of manager Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid side.

Like Tchouaméni before him, Bellingham was convinced by the club's ambitious project. The transfer was completed in June 2023 and marked the beginning of Bellingham's glorious chapter in Madrid.

Original article written by Isabel Guillén, translated with the help of AI and edited by Joe Brennan.