The game against Mainz will likely go down as the worst of Dortmund’s 2003 ace Jude Bellingham’s short professional career.
Dortmund fell just short of the title in a 2-2 draw with Mainz in the final match of the 34th round of the 2022-2023 German Bundesliga season at the Sigmund-Park in Westphalia, Germany, on Aug. 28.
Dortmund, who entered the final match with a two-point lead over second-place Bayern Munich, were level on 71 points after Bayern’s 2-1 win in Cologne at the same time, and were 15 goals behind on goal difference, denying them their first league title in 11 years since 2012.
Dortmund’s ultra-critical midfielder Bellingham was forced to stay on the bench on the day with a bad knee and watch his team go through hell and back. He was seen passing water bottles to his teammates to give them a little extra boost.
It’s hard to imagine the frustration of watching your team lose a game you didn’t play in. After the game, Bellingham stood in the middle of the field, staring into the stands with a blank expression on his face, pushing the camera away with his hand to make it clear that he didn’t want it on camera. He also appeared to be in tears.
The tears were interpreted locally as tears of sadness and farewell after missing out on the Bundesliga trophy right in front of their eyes. Bellingham, a former Birmingham City youth player in England who has been with Dortmund since 2020, has been strongly linked with Real Madrid. Reports emerged ahead of the final that a move to Real had been finalized.
안전놀이터 ‘The player will sign a long-term contract for a minimum fee of €100 million and will announce his move to Real as early as next week,’ the report said. If he is indeed heading to Real, the game against Mainz, in which Lee played, will be his last for Dortmund.
Bellingham has been in ‘career-high’ form this season, exploding for 14 goals and five assists, including a cup.