Dortmund sign Birmingham's highly-rated teenager Bellingham
(Reuters) - Birmingham City midfielder Jude Bellingham has joined Germany's Borussia Dortmund on a "long-term" contract, the Bundesliga club said yesterday.
British media had reported earlier this month that the 17-year-old, who was a target for Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, had signed a five-year contract with the Bundesliga side for around 26 million pounds ($32.73 million).
Bellingham will leave the Championship (second tier) club to link up with England international Jadon Sancho, who left Manchester City to sign for Dortmund at 17.
Dortmund did not specify how long England under-17 player Bellingham's contract was for.
"I can't thank Birmingham City enough for what the club did for me - not just this season, but since I came to the club when I was seven," Bellingham told Dortmund's official website https://www.bvb.de/News/Uebersicht/Bor ussia-Dortmund-verpflichtet-Bellingham.
"Now I'm really excited to join one of the biggest clubs in Europe. BVB's path, but especially how they help young players to improve, made the decision very easy for me personally and for my whole family.
"I can't wait to play in one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, hopefully in front of over 80,000 spectators as soon as possible."
Bellingham has played 40 games in the Championship this season, scoring four goals and making three assists. (Reuters) - The Ballon d’Or will not be awarded this year for the first time in its 64-year history after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the football calendar, organisers France Football magazine said yesterday.
The prestigious Ballon d’Or, voted for by journalists and organised by French magazine France Football, is an annual prize awarded to the best male footballer in the world since 1956. The women’s Ballon d’Or was first awarded in 2018.
The 2019-20 season has been ravaged by the pandemic, with all the major European leagues suspending matches from March to June.
“From a sports perspective, two months (January and February), out of the eleven generally required to form an opinion and decide who should lift the trophies, represent far too little to gauge and judge,” Pascal Ferre, editor-in-chief of France Football, said in a statement.
“... Without forgetting that the other games were played – or will be played – in extraordinary conditions (behind closed doors, with five replacements).”
The final stages of the Champions League, from the quarter-finals onwards, has also been rescheduled as a mini-tournament in Portugal next month.