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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Jude Bellingham's new rival 'doesn't care' about big-money Real Madrid transfer

Barcelona's Gavi admits he "doesn't care" about Jude Bellingham signing for Real Madrid.

The Catalan prodigy will go up against the new Galactico next season after Los Blancos spent over £100m to land the midfielder from Borussia Dortmund. Bellingham arrives in Spain with a big reputation having been a hugely influential figure in Germany.

Real surrendered their LaLiga crown to their arch rivals last term and are looking to bolster their ranks as they prepare to do battle once again. Bellingham strengthens a quality midfield that already included the likes of Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouameni, with the trio set to team up for years to come.

Gavi, alongside the likes of Pedri, has made Barcelona tick under Xavi's guidance and the Spaniard has paid little attention to Real's recruitment drive: "Bellingham? Madrid can sign whoever they want, but I really don’t care. We have a great team, with many youngsters, and we’ll always go to death to win."

Barcelona won two and lost two of their four meetings with Los Blancos last term. The Catalans spend big last summer, but will no doubt eye several marquee names as they look to remain on top of LaLiga whilst also challenging in Europe.

Real, only 12 months ago, captured the double by winning the league title as well as the Champions League. They endured a poor campaign this time though with Carlo Ancelotti moving quickly to strengthen his squad with a striker also on the club's wish list.

Gavi has become a leading light at Barcelona (Joan Valls/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Bellingham, who has long drawn praise for how he speaks in public, has hailed his new employers as the "greatest" and was never going to reject their advances. He said: "Money’s not a big thing for me. I don’t think about money when I make these kinds of decisions. I play for the love of the game.

"I loved the feeling I got from the club. I told them straight away what I felt about the club. It’s not the case that the other teams were bad or not good, but Real Madrid is the greatest. Of course, I’ve not just come here because of the size of the club, as it’s also the vision of the team. The ideas they presented were good and it’s an opportunity that I thought I couldn’t turn down."

Madrid are having to deal with the departure of Karim Benzema however after the Frenchman opted to leave the club to take up a mammoth offer in Saudi Arabia. Harry Kane has been linked with a switch to the Bernabeu should he want to secure a Tottenham exit this summer.

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