England midfielder Jude Bellingham said he had “goosebumps” and his “heart was close to stopping” when he was told Real Madrid wanted to sign him.

Bellingham, 19, has joined the Spanish club from Borussia Dortmund for an initial 103m euros (£88.5m).

The fee could reach 133.9m euros (£115m) with add-ons.

“I’d always been aware of the interest from England so that was pretty normal,” said Bellingham at his presentation as a Real Madrid player.

“It was a bit of a surprise when my dad sat me down and said: ‘You’ve had a bit of interest from Real Madrid.’

“I think that was maybe about 12-15 months ago. When he said that I had goosebumps, my heart was close to stopping. It’s something you don’t expect growing up – being able to play for a team like this.”

Dortmund made Bellingham the most expensive 17-year-old in football when they signed him from Birmingham City for £25m in 2020 and he enhanced his reputation with his performances for the German club.

He became Dortmund’s youngest captain at 19 and was named the Bundesliga’s player of the season for the last campaign.

Bellingham had been linked with Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United before choosing to move to Real Madrid.

At his presentation, he called it the “proudest day of my life” in joining “the greatest football club in the history of the game”.

He added: “Money is not a thing for me. I don’t think about money at all when I make these kind of decisions. I never have and will – I play the game purely out of love.

“I spoke to the people when I was given permission by Borussia Dortmund. I loved the feeling I got from the club. I couldn’t hide it.

“I told them more or less straight away what I felt about the club and, after I made my decision, I wanted it to happen very quickly.

“It wasn’t a case of other teams are bad or they weren’t good but, for me, Madrid is the greatest.”

Last season, Real Madrid failed to win the Champions League – going out in the semi-finals – or La Liga, with rivals Barcelona taking the Spanish title.

Bellingham said: “A club like Madrid and its fans and the people who work for the club deserve to have trophies every year. This year they didn’t manage to get La Liga and the Champions League.

“That is the standard I want to help the club reach, where they can compete for these honours very closely every year.

“Manchester City had a great season, but it just gives us more fire to go for it next year.”