Bellingham brothers and Birmingham City, Digi Mart USA News (Birmingham, England): It is six years since Jude Bellingham played his final game for Birmingham City, and three years since younger brother Jobe wore the club’s shirt for the last time. Jude, 23, is establishing himself at Real Madrid after a spell at Borussia Dortmund, while Jobe, 21, is continuing his development at Borussia Dortmund after two seasons with Sunderland.
Their memories remain strong at St Andrew’s, where supporters pose for photographs in front of Jude’s mural outside the ground and still wear Bellingham shirts on match days. Fan podcaster Craig Courtney, of the Tilton Talk podcast, told BBC Sport that the brothers “had a real connection with fans” and “helped Birmingham when we were fighting relegation.”
The brothers played 70 league and cup games between them for Birmingham after graduating from the academy. They never appeared together in a senior match, as Jude had left by the time Jobe broke into the first team in 2022. If Jobe wins his first England cap alongside Jude in the Nations League game against Croatia at Wembley, they will be the first brothers to play for England in 19 years.
Birmingham supporters have had little to celebrate recently. The club has not played in the Premier League for 15 years, and the 2011 League Cup winners have dropped to League One before returning.
After 15 games this season, Birmingham sit top of the Championship, and plans are in place for a new 62,000-capacity stadium in time for 2030-31.
Jude became the youngest player in Birmingham’s history when he made his debut aged 16 years and 38 days in 2019. When he signed his first professional contract in 2020, clubs across Europe were pursuing him. Birmingham later received a significant transfer fee when he joined Dortmund for an initial £20m, and a reported sell-on fee of at least £10m when he joined Real Madrid in 2023.
Jobe became the second-youngest player to play for Birmingham when he made his debut in January 2022, aged 16 years and 107 days. Jobe played 26 games before Sunderland paid £3m for him in 2023, and Birmingham received a reported £4m sell-on fee when he moved to Dortmund two years later.
Both brothers have returned to St Andrew’s since their transfers. Jobe captained England Under-21s to a 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at the ground last November, and Jude watched his former club in a pre-season friendly against Barcelona in July while wearing a Birmingham shirt in the stands.
Birmingham retired Jude’s number 22 shirt after 44 appearances when he left in 2020.
Courtney said it might be wishful thinking, but he believes Jude has unfinished business at the club and could one day wear the number 22 shirt again. The brothers’ parents, Mark and Denise, are expected to share the pride of a possible England appearance together.
