‘Literally what they always do’ – Man City fans react as Journalist exposes Bellingham to Real Madrid Spanish media ‘negativity’ claims

Manchester City have seemingly issued a briefing to areas of the British press over the line of reporting around Jude Bellingham – undermining reports from Spanish media in particular.

Bellingham, 19, is seemingly bound for Real Madrid after it emerged this week that the Spanish club were on the verge of agreeing personal terms with the Borussia Dortmund midfielder and were setting aside significant funds to finance his move this summer.

His future has long been the subject of extensive speculation, with the Birmingham City academy graduate widely considered to be among the best young prospects in the game.

However, 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.

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.

According to 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 Journalist 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.

The report was shared on Twitter by City Xtra and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters.

@Krishna19701791: “Nothing’s surprising…Thats what they always do”

@Deyo17ii: “It’s literally what they always do”

@brandon21871: “Nothing new before a big game”

@nickmunguti: “I knew, they always come up with stories whenever we meet”

@MCFC_Buckers: “Of course they will do. We just need to focus on getting the job done, ignore what others think.”

@mcfcalfie0: “Who cares? We’re arguably better than last season and they’re definitely worse, we’ll blow them away just as my best mate Rooney said”