Pep Guardiola does not think Jude Bellingham would be the player that he is if he had moved to another English club instead of signing for Borussia Dortmund.
United were one of a number of clubs hoping to sign the Birmingham teenager in 2020 when he made the choice to follow in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho and other talented youngsters around the world such as Erling Haaland by joining Dortmund. Since then, he has developed into one of the most exciting prospects in world football and will be one of the key danger men that City have to watch out for in their Champions League encounter on Tuesday night.
Guardiola was seriously impressed when he came across a 17-year-old Bellingham in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2021 and his opinion has only improved in the years since. As much as the midfielder's technical ability shines through, the City manager also remarked on the fact that he has already made his presence felt in both the Dortmund and England camps at such a tender age.
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"Dortmund is a perfect place for the young talented players to come. Maybe if Jude Bellingham had gone to City, United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham, the top teams in England, maybe he could not get the minutes that he has had and the best thing for a young player to be a better player is to play minutes," he said.
"I said when he was 17, it wasn’t just the quality, it was about he was shouting, leading, kicking, and going to the referee. I thought this guy was something special in terms of the mentality. Now, at 19 years old, he is already one the captains of the team, and when that happens at 19 years old it is quite impressive.
"The quality and skills, everyone knows it, but it’s not just about that. It’s about the whole package. He’s really good. He’s already in the national team playing with them at 19. That is quite impressive. We know the quality he has but we will try to impose our quality on the game and win the game."
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