Why Real Madrid Star Jude Bellingham Rejected Joining Barcelona

• Jude Bellingham had nursed ambitions of playing for Barcelona
• The Englishman recently joined Real Madrid and is already one of the stars of La Liga
• Bellingham is set to face the Catalans in his first El Clasico on Saturday

Jude Bellingham, just like every other young footballer across the world, had nursed the ambition to play for Barcelona while he was still a kid growing up in Birmingham.

The England international had written in his scrapbook as a teenager his wishes to play for the Catalans and the Three Lions, pushing through to achieve the latter while snubbing the former when the chance came.

According to GOAL, Bellingham turned down a meeting with Barcelona officials when they tried to sign him as a teenager due to the bad experience of close friend Louie Barry at La Masia.

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Barry became the first English player to attend the prestigious La Masia Academy. However, things did not go as planned for the youngster, forcing Bellingham to reconsider joining Barcelona.

Bellingham would subsequently leave Birmingham in 2020, joining Borussia Dortmund in July, where he would become a star for three seasons until joining Real Madrid this summer.

How Ancelotti moulded Jude Bellingham

Meanwhile, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti deserves credit for Jude Bellingham's quick start in the Spanish capital since joining the Spanish giants from Borussia Dortmund this summer, Sky Sports reports.

The 20-year-old midfielder is yet to misfire in consecutive games this season, scoring his 11th goal in 12 to help the 14-time European champion earn the away victory and strengthen their lead in Champions League Group C.

Bellingham keeps breaking records in his first season in Spain as he has also become just the second player to score in each of his first three Champions League appearances for Real Madrid after Christian Karembeu in 1998.

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Bellingham declares readiness for Barcelona

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Jude Bellingham has allayed the fears of Real Madrid fans, who are sweating on the Englishman’s fitness ahead of the first El Clasico of the 2023/24 season.

The 20-year-old midfielder trained alone from the rest of the squad on Thursday after suffering a knock in Los Blancos’ Champions League victory against Sporting Braga in midweek.

Bellingham came off with a muscle strain in the final minutes against the Portuguese side, sparking rumours that he would not recover in time to feature against Barcelona on Saturday, October 28.