Meet the TV football pundit turned Real Madrid power broker key to Jude Bellingham transfer

Any fans disappointed not to see Jude Bellingham return to the Premier League have one man to thank.

The Borussia Dortmund superstar appears to be leaning strongly towards a move to Real Madrid, ending a potential Erling Haaland reunion at Manchester City and a terrifying era of dominance.

Instead, talkSPORT understands Madrid are confident of winning the race for the England international, beating City and other Premier League sides to the punch and bolstering their already incredible stock of young talent.

But winning races in the transfer market is something Madrid have recently become accustomed to, even with the riches of the Premier League making them seemingly unmatched.

That’s thanks to their chief scout Juni Calafat, who was working as a TV pundit just a decade ago.

Born in Spain to a Brazilian mother, the now 50-year-old spent much of his youth in South America, which gave him the opportunity to become a Brazilian football pundit on Spanish TV.

Later joining Real Madrid in 2014, he quickly climbed the ranks to be the third-most important person and the world’s biggest sports team, despite still being little-known outside of the club.

His successes in the transfer market have been extraordinary, particularly with those from Brazil, landing both Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo ahead of rivals Barcelona.

And now he’s being crucial once again with Bellingham, as Spanish football journalist Graham Hunter told talkSPORT.

“I heard you talking about Brighton and [director] David Weir, well this is all about Spain’s version of David Weir.

“I don’t know if you remember with young Neymar, Real Madrid signed him first before he changed his mind and went to Barcelona. 

“Madrid’s president Florentino Perez absolutely threw his toys out the pram and brought in this man Juni Calafat. 

“Since then they’ve brought in Vinicius, Rodrygo, and Endrick is the new guy coming from Brazil. There’s also [Eder] Militao, [Eduardo] Camavinga, [Aurelien] Tchouameni, this guy Juni Calafat has been brought into the Bellingham move. 

“It looked like City all the way, Real Madrid wanted Bellingham for many, many months but really no one here thought they’d be able to outbid City.

“It’s the case that City will pay more, but Madrid want Bellingham and they’ve got money.

They didn’t get [Kylian] Mbappe, they didn’t get Haaland – they were beaten to those. They haven’t been spending big, they’ve been rebuilding the squad and Bellingham fits into that team and makes them look like a trophy-winning machine for years to come.”

Calafat’s importance in landing Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo are highlighted by the personal touches he possesses.

Regular trips to visit players and their families helped him land Vinicius.

Then made an impression on his mum by giving her vouchers to spend at a high end Madrid department store when her luggage went missing on a family visit to the capital for the first time.

He also influenced Rodrygo to move to the capital, despite ‘everything being signed with Barca’ after a crucial talk with the player’s father.

That seems to be the tactic again with Bellingham, whose dad Mark met Madrid officials in London on Monday, and his son is now open to the move.

There will likely still be twists and turns in the pursuit of one of the most promising young talents England has ever produced, but Madrid have a clear ace up their sleeve, much to the delight of those worried about an uncompetitive Premier League.