Bayern Munich tried to hijack Jude Bellingham’s move to Borussia Dortmund, confirms former Birmingham City CEO

We’ve always known that Bayern Munich keeps an eye on talent from across Europe, and isn’t shy from trying to hijack a bid when it’s nearly done. Apparently this is exactly what happened when Borussia Dortmund was trying to close a deal for Jude Bellingham, as confirmed by the former CEO of Birmingham City.

“Bayern were trying to raise the offer at the last minute,” said Ren Xuandong to Mundo Deportivo (via @iMiaSanMia). “They offered a lot of money as a bonus to the player.”

This sounds like something Hasan Salihamidzic would do. In the past, he’s not been shy to offer large amounts of money to players he thinks are worth it. It doesn’t even matter if the player in question is a youngster — just look at the fee Bayern paid for Mathys Tel in the summer of 2022.

Xuandong added context to the bid, saying, “Until the last day, when he was going to sign with Dortmund, I received a call from his father asking me to wait before signing the transfer. But Jude chose Dortmund over Bayern despite not being sure to win titles and money. He put all that behind his development.”

It’s too bad Jude decided to do that, since he could’ve had both titles and development at Bayern. The idea that youngsters find it harder to develop at the Sabener Strasse is totally outdated at this point — the blossoming careers of Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala prove it. Oh well, given the state of Bayern’s midfield, it’s unlikely that any club executives will lose sleep over missing out on Bellingham once upon a time.