Pep Guardiola 'had three-hour call with Jude Bellingham over Man City move'

The 20-year-old was already on the radar of Europe's most elite clubs owing to his rapid breakthrough at Birmingham City and was even given a tour of Manchester United's Carrington training complex.

However, Borussia Dortmund — who are renowned for their development of young players — ultimately pipped the Red Devils to Bellingham's signature, and the midfielder's stock only rose higher at the Signal Iduna Park.

Dortmund managed to retain Bellingham's services in the summer of 2022, despite widespread interest, but after falling just short in their efforts to end Bayern Munich's reign of Bundesliga dominance, BVB were resigned to losing him this time around.

Liverpool were considered a top contender for his signature before the Reds pulled out due to the cost of any potential deal, having been unable to compete with Real Madrid, Man City and Paris Saint-Germain on the financial front.

A switch to Ligue 1 did not appeal to Bellingham either, and Real Madrid forked out €103m (£89.3m) to bring the 2003-born protege to the Bernabeu on a six-year contract.

Man City were refusing to throw in the towel over the summer, though, and Cadena SER reports that Guardiola had a three-hour conversation with Bellingham in a bid to seduce the England international to the Etihad.

The Citizens head coach apparently tried to lure Bellingham back to his homeland by reminding him of his English roots, while also claiming that Real Madrid were coming to the end of their golden period.

The treble winners' bid to Dortmund and salary package is believed to have been