Jude Bellingham was invited into the Manchester City dressing room last season before he ultimately opted to snub the club in order to join Real Madrid, according to reports.
The 20-year-old left Borussia Dortmund for Real back in the summer transfer window.
And Bellingham has been sensational in the time since, with the England international scoring 20 goals and clocking up eight assists across all competitions.
It was well known back in the summer that City wanted to recruit the midfielder, with Pep Guardiola a huge admirer.
Jude Bellingham is set to start for Real Madrid when they face Man City in the Champions League on Tuesday night
GETTY
And, as part of their charm offensive, Bellingham was invited into the City dressing room last season.
City and Dortmund met in the group stages with their first match taking place at the Etihad Stadium.
Bellingham scored during that fixture but goals from John Stones and Erling Haaland gave Guardiola's side all three points instead.
After the game, it's claimed he was presented with a Haaland shirt.
This was all part of a ploy from City to make Bellingham feel at home, with a view to signing him at the end of the season.
However, much like fierce rivals Manchester United, their efforts proved to be in vain.
Bellingham was of interest to the Red Devils back in 2020, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ruled the roost at Old Trafford.
Solskjaer had noticed the youngster's immense talent at Birmingham City and it was arranged for the England international to visit United's Carrington training complex.
Sir Alex Ferguson, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona were all at Carrington on the day of Bellingham's visit.
Yet despite United's best efforts, Bellingham opted to leave Birmingham for Dortmund instead.
Fast-forward to now and Bellingham will be key if Real are to beat City.
They are, certainly, significantly improved from the side that was swept aside by Guardiola's team last season.
And Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, speaking prior to tomorrow night's contest, has lavished praise on Bellingham for his impact over at the Bernabeu.
"Jude has a fantastic [ability] to arrive in the box at the right time," he said.
"He has scored a lot of goals and helped us a lot. Physically he is really strong.
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
Jude Bellingham was given a shirt worn by Erling Haaland after Man City beat Borussia Dortmund last season
GETTY
"He is helping us a lot on the defensive aspect but he is doing a lot in front with his mobility and ability to create space and opportunities for us.
"The key point is that he is really mature - he is only 20 years old but he is mature for his age, really professional, really humble.
"We were not surprised [with him] as a player but as a person we were surprised in this sense - for his age, he is really, really mature."
Ancelotti has also admitted there could be one surprise pick as he looks to put City to the sword.
"I'm not considering doing anything weird in the game - but I'm not going to tell you anything!" he added.
Jude Bellingham has been training ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Man City
GETTY
"Don't worry - you will not be completely wrong about the line-up you have in your head, maybe one player will surprise you.
"Man City have a few players injured but I am sure they will manage this situation well, just as we did this season.
"Sometimes they had to make certain changes because of those injuries but they did a good job and those changes worked for them so I don't think they will be affected."
