Manchester City issue briefing to British press on Jude Bellingham reporting and Spanish media ‘negativity’

Premier League champions Manchester City have seemingly issued a briefing to areas of the British press over the line of reporting around Jude Bellingham.

Throughout the course of the past seven days, Spanish media have generated plenty of speculation surrounding the future of Jude Bellingham and the battle between Real Madrid and Manchester City for the player’s signature.

Spanish newspaper Marca claimed that the 19 year-old England international had rejected a salary package from the Premier League giants, which was stated as being a €15 million net proposal.

However, in the run-up to the first-leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Bernabeu, those within the Etihad Stadium appear to have issued a brief to areas of the British press surrounding the reporting from Spain.

As per David Ornstein of The Athletic, sources at Manchester City ‘privately think’ that such speculation is a ‘repeated tactic’ employed by Spanish media ahead of matches between the two clubs.

In a similar line of reporting, BBC Sport’s Simon Stone states that City feel Spanish media are trying to ‘generate negativity’ ahead of the mammoth clash between two of Europe’s biggest clubs this week.

Both reports also state that Manchester City have certainly not submitted offers or provided financial figures to either Borussia Dortmund or Jude Bellingham regarding the subject of a transfer fee or a salary – undermining reports from Marca in particular.

The Athletic highlight that in the days leading up to Manchester City and Real Madrid’s meeting in the Champions League last-16 in February 2020, stories emerged concerning the future of Raheem Sterling and a possible move to the Spanish capital.

Pep Guardiola and his players are due to travel to Madrid on Monday afternoon as they finalise preparations for the contest against Carlo Ancelotti’s side – which is due to take place on Tuesday night.

City will be hoping to reach their second Champions League final under the Catalan coach, where they would meet either Inter Milan or AC Milan in an Istanbul showdown where the Premier League club would have the opportunity to make amends for their Porto defeat to Chelsea in 2021.