'A pleasure' - Jude Bellingham sends touching farewell message to Joselu after striker completes Al-Gharafa move

Bellingham shared a personal tribute to Joselu via Instagram stories following the veteran striker's move to Al-Gharafa in Qatar.

Instagram/@judebellingham

Real Madrid were willing to keep Joselu on for the 2024-25 season by triggering the nominal purchase option in the loan agreement with Espanyol. But with much stiffer competition for places coming due to the arrivals of Kylian Mbappe and Endrick, as well as a better financial package on offer in Qatar, the former Stoke and Newcastle player opted for a new challenge. But it's clear to see why Bellingham might feel especially grateful for the pair having played together when Joselu's late Champions League brace against Bayern Munich put Madrid into the final.

Bellingham said: "A pleasure, Joselu, wish you nothing but the best!"

Real Madrid still ended up activating the permanent transfer clause for €1.5 million (£1.27m/$1.6m), but immediately sold him to Al-Gharafa for the same amount. Although it might seem strange, it was most likely a gesture to smooth things out as Espanyol's chief executive had publicly warned that any club other than Madrid wanting to sign Joselu would have to enter into negotiations from scratch.

Both players are currently at Euro 2024 with their respective national teams, albeit with different experiences. Bellingham's England have laboured so far, while a Spain squad featuring Joselu was theonly team to emerge from the group stage with maximum points. England face Slovakia in the last 16 on Sunday evening, with Spain going up against Georgia straight after.