Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has been discussing Birmingham City’s sale of Jude Bellingham to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Blues had sold their highly-rated 17-year-old midfielder to the German giants for a transfer fee which could be worth over £30m (per BBC).
It was then later revealed by the club that they would be retiring the number 22 shirt, which was the number that Bellingham had worn with Birmingham (via Sky Sports).
So, in the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed City’s sale of the youngster and their decision to retire the shirt number.
He said: “It’s a bit of a strange one. I think we need to dig behind this.
“I mean, by all accounts, his transfer to Dortmund makes him the most expensive 17-year-old player in history, but to retire a shirt for somebody who throughout his career has contributed four goals and two assists does seem a bit extreme.
“Then you look to see what’s been happening with Birmingham City themselves. Their last win was on 11th February. They finished 20th in the Championship. I don’t know whether you saw on social media, some of the pictures which came out just before they played their final match, but fans were attacking cars as they went into the ground. I presume that could have been executives or players.
“So, there’s clearly quite a deterioration in the relationship. The manager Pep Clotet, he was sacked recently as well. So, this is a club in disarray.
“It could be that the decision to retire the shirt is a smokescreen to try to divert people’s attention behind more serious matters in relation to the club.”
TIF Thoughts…
It is certainly an interesting theory which was put forward by Maguire, however, one fact which was slightly off was that it was ‘mutually agreed’ that Clotet would leave the club earlier this month (per BBC).
Do you believe that the decision to retire the shirt number could have been a smokescreen?
Yes, I think it could be
No, that's far fetched
Either way, hopefully, the money that the club has received for the youngster will be committed to achieving a higher league position than 20th next season.