Vinícius Júnior acquired Spanish citizenship this past week, which frees up a spot for a non-EU player in the Real Madrid squad, report AS.
As communicated earlier, Los Blancos have been interested in signing Jude Bellingham for the past couple of months. However, as British players are considered non-EU players following the United Kingdom’s secession from the European Union (commonly known as Brexit), clubs only have a limited number of spots to sign English, Welsh and Scottish talent. Real Madrid were able to free up one of these non-EU spots by Vinícius acquiring Spanish citizenship.
Bellingham’s current contract with Borussia Dortmund is valid until June 2025, but the 19-year-old has indicated that he wants to leave next summer. The German side are keen to extend his deal so that they could add a €150m release clause.
It is believed that Real Madrid are not willing to pay more than €100m to secure the England international.
GSFN
