'No-brainer' - Jude Bellingham reflects on decision to reject transfer interest from Man City & Liverpool to sign for Real Madrid

The England international swapped Borussia Dortmund for Madrid last summer for £88 million ($110m) and he has proven to be a superb acquisition for Los Blancos, scoring 20 goals and bagging 10 assists so far. The 20-year-old admitted he had "brilliant" chats with some unnamed English sides, with Liverpool and City both trying to sign the midfielder, but in the end the chance to join the Spanish giants was too good an offer to refuse.

He told TNT Sports: "I had brilliant conversations with a couple of teams in England and they were all so respectful of my family and the way we went about the process was really good. I enjoyed getting everyone's perspective. But I think when Real Madrid came in it was a no-brainer, what they said and the way they made me feel couldn't really be repeated by anyone else. Now I'm reaping the rewards of that decision. I feel so grateful every time I go to training and wear this badge on my chest and go and represent such a great club."

Bellingham has been a revelation for Madrid so far but they may need him more than ever ahead of their crunch clash with City at the Etihad on Wednesday night. The tie is finely poised following a 3-3 first-leg draw in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. If he can help Carlo Ancelotti's men past Pep Guardiola's side, he may be writing himself into Madrid folklore.

After this heavyweight encounter with City, the big matches keep on coming for Madrid as they host bitter rivals Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday in a top-of-the-table La Liga clash, followed by a trip to Real Sociedad on April 27.