The English club’s CEO confirmed that the 22 years of the jewel, born in 2003 and now playing for Real Madrid, were not withdrawn on the occasion of his move to Dortmund, but were reserved for him in the event of a later return…
Birmingham have not retired Jude Bellingham’s number 22 following his move to Borussia Dortumund. The English club have instead confirmed that the 22nd spot is reserved for the England midfielder in case he decides to return to his roots one day…
Birmingham, Bellingham’s 22 was not withdrawn
Bellingham attended Birmingham’s youth teams from the age of eight. Born in 2003, the English gem stayed with the Blues for nine years, wearing the number ’22’ wherever he went. Jude chose 22 for a reason. One of his coaches told him he could play anywhere, like “4,” “8,” and “10.” The sum of these three numbers is 22.
The transfer of the then 16-year-old Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2020 for 23 million euros turned out to be a historic transfer for the English club, as Jude had only played one season in the Blues’ first team. Real Madrid, paid €103 million in gold this summer, are enjoying Bellingham’s extraordinary impact at the start of the season: 5 goals in 4 games in La Liga, making him the Spanish league’s top scorer.
However, there is a backstory that needs to be further explored. Yes, because the story that Birmingham decided to retire Bellingham’s ’22’ after its sale to Borussia Dortmund is not true. And the confirmation comes directly from the Blues’ CEO, Dong Ren, on “Relevo”: “The press got it wrong from day one. We will not be retiring his number, it was always reserved for him. When he comes back one day he will have his number 22 back“.
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September 10th – 12:24 p.m
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