Ex England Boss Claims City Missed “Massive” Chance To Sign Teenage Sensation Who Is Now Worth 129M

Ex England Boss Claims City Missed “Massive” Chance To Sign Teenage Sensation Who Is Now Worth 129M

Former England manager Sam Allardyce believes the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool all missed a “massive opportunity” when they let Jude Bellingham leave Birmingham for Borussia Dortmund two years ago.

The teenager opted to make the switch to Germany, rather than staying in England, and Allardyce claims it was a “shame” that it was allowed to happen:

“I think Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool missed a massive opportunity in snapping him [Bellingham] up. Birmingham, at this stage, are always going to be struggling for money and looking to capitalise on such a great player that they had. For him to have ended up in Germany I think is a shame.”


At the time, United were the team who were most heavily linked with Bellingham and it is not clear that City ever made a serious attempt to snap him up.

The midfielder cost Dortmund £25m but he is now reportedly worth €150m (£129m), with City said to be keen on signing the 19-year-old, along with Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid and United.

Manager Pep Guardiola has been full of praise for Bellingham in recent interviews, suggesting he would be very interested in bringing the player to the Etihad but it will cost the Premier League champions five times what they would have paid in 2020.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.