DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund is planning to hold talks with England midfielder Jude Bellingham about his future after the World Cup.
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted the German club can't offer Bellingham the same terms as the biggest European clubs might, in remarks shown Sunday by Bild TV, the television arm of Germany’s main tabloid.
“We will hold talks now, as soon as (the World Cup in) Qatar is over, and then we’ll have a fundamental talk about what he would like,” Watzke said. “He just needs to tell us if he’d like to stay or if he’d like to go. In both cases we’ll talk about it very pleasantly and reasonably together. In general we can imagine that he’d stay with us, but we can’t behave as if this topic wasn’t on the table.
“If he says ‘I’d like to do something else,’ then the really big (clubs) in Europe will be there and we can’t afford to fight financially.”
The 19-year-old midfielder has been with Dortmund since 2020 and remains under contract until 2025. Bellingham is in England manager Gareth Southgate's squad for the World Cup. He has played 17 times for England, including nine of the team's last 10 games.
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