Jude Bellingham has given Pep Guardiola and Man City simple transfer decision to make

It seemed unthinkable Manchester City would win the Borussia Dortmund lottery twice in consecutive summers, and that is how things have turned out with Jude Bellingham on his way to Real Madrid.

An initial fee of around £88.5million looks short for someone with such generational talent and, even with proposed add-ons factored in, Bellingham will almost certainly prove to be a snip for the Spanish giants. City understand the feeling better than anyone after securing Erling Haaland for just £51million 12 months ago.

For a while, there was anticipation the two might be reunited in Manchester and, following failed pursuits across the city, that would have been particularly satisfying for an already star-studded City side who are now striving to emulate neighbours Manchester United by getting their hands on a historic treble.

Pep Guardiola remains focused on the task ahead in Istanbul on Saturday night. However, while the Catalan won't divert his attention for a single moment in the build-up, he might well have afforded himself a little sigh looking at the breaking news filtering through from Germany.

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City will pretty much jet over the North Rhine-Westphalia region on their way to Istanbul for the biggest game on the European circuit. However, there will be no diversion in their flight path to pick up the most coveted midfielder on the planet; Bellingham is instead packing his bags for Madrid.

"The quality and skills, everyone knows about it, but it's not just about that," proclaimed Guardiola after Bellingham scored against his City finalists - albeit in a losing cause for Dortmund - on their Champions League trip to the Etihad Stadium in September this season.

"As I