Rio Ferdinand explains why Jude Bellingham turned down Manchester United transfer

Rio Ferdinand believes England midfielder Jude Bellingham rejected a move to Manchester United in 2020 because he was not guaranteed regular first-team football.

United rolled out the red carpet to try and sign the now-Real Madrid midfielder three years ago, inviting him and his parents to the club's Carrington training base in March, shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. Bellingham was on the books of Birmingham City at the time and was attracting plenty of interest.

The 20-year-old, who is widely considered to be the best player in the world on current form, however, made the decision to join German outfit Borussia Dortmund in July the same year, believing they would give him the best platform to take his game to the next level. He spent just under three years at the Bundesliga heavyweights, making 132 appearances, scoring 24 goals.

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He was snapped up by Madrid in June and has excelled since making the switch to the Spanish capital, scoring 13 goals in his first 13 games, including a brace in Saturday's 2-1 win over Barcelona. United, as reported by the Manchester Evening News last December, had refused to rule out the possibility of attempting to sign Bellingham for a second time ahead of the most recent transfer window.

However, United were always at the back of what was a highly competitive queue. And Ferdinand has now claimed that Bellingham turned down a move to Old Trafford three years ago because he was not given assurances about being awarded a first-team place.

"Do you know what I heard it was… he [Bellingham] wanted some