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New York Times
9 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Jobe Bellingham always wanted to avoid comparisons with Jude. Now, he is embracing them
There is a picture from the summer 2020 of Jude Bellingham completing a defining move in his career. A £25million transfer from Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund had elevated the teenager to the elite level and a portrait, uploaded to Instagram, captured a family's pride. There was father, Mark, to his right, alongside mum, Denise, helping to hold her son's new yellow shirt. To Bellingham's left was his grinning 14-year-old brother, Jobe. It is an image to illustrate the enduring tightness of the four. One in, all in. Yet it is also a measure of the weight that will soon fall on the shoulders of Dortmund's newest signing. Almost five years on from travelling to Signal Iduna Park in support of his big brother, Jobe Bellingham has returned to make the same big move of his own. A package worth up to £32m ($43.3m; €38m) was agreed with Sunderland on Sunday and, subsequently excused from an England's under-21s training camp ahead of the European Championship, the formalities of a five-year contract signed off on Tuesday. The Club World Cup, beginning this weekend, will now play host to both brothers. Advertisement To join Dortmund is nothing if not brave from the 19-year-old. The younger Bellingham has already learned that his will be a career played out against a constant backdrop of comparisons to his elder brother: they share not only a name but similar positions in midfield, and unerringly analogous playing styles. He has now chosen a path that will only heighten those comparisons. There was the opportunity to join Eintracht Frankfurt, another of Germany's representatives in next season's Champions League, after touring the club's facilities 48 hours after helping Sunderland to win promotion through the Championship play-off final at Wembley. Albeit with less force, RB Leipzig also made their interest clear ahead of this summer. Both of those clubs could argue that resisting Dortmund and joining them would have benefited Bellingham's career, offering the chance to develop in the Bundesliga with scrutiny diluted, but instead it was the pull of familiar ground that has made up minds in the last week. Bellingham has opted to join a club synonymous with his sibling's rise yet Dortmund's social media video announcing their new arrival had no wish to name the elephant in the room. 'I've been here before,' it began, with Bellingham providing the voiceover. 'Now I'm here again. Not to watch. And not to follow in anyone's footsteps… the story is ours to write now.' The name is Jobe. — Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) June 10, 2025 Accompanying quotes from Dortmund's hierarchy also tipped his cap towards the unsaid history. 'We've known Jobe for many years and have, of course, followed his development,' Sebastian Kehl, Dortmund's sporting director, said. 'Jobe wants and will forge his own path at BVB and put his own stamp on our game,' Kehl added. There was, pointedly, no mention by name of Jude, who was sold to Real Madrid for £88m two years ago. Advertisement It was a curious unveiling befitting a curious move. Two years ago, in the weeks that followed his move to Sunderland, the younger Bellingham had requested to the English Football League that he could carry the name of Jobe, not Bellingham, on the back of his shirt. Sunderland's stadium announcers, too, made a habit of only calling the midfielder by his first name. Tony Mowbray, Bellingham's first manager at Sunderland, concluded it was an attempt for the younger brother to carve out his own path, distancing himself from the name already known around the world. And Bellingham duly excelled with Sunderland. In sometimes challenging circumstances and amid manager churn, his development was constant and led him being named the EFL's Young Player of the Season in April. Sunderland had all but accepted by then that Bellingham would leave this summer, with or without them winning promotion to the Premier League, with a fresh challenge sought away from Wearside. The only question was where that would come. England's Premier League was never the preference, despite the past interest of Crystal Palace and Brentford, with all roads instead leading to Germany. Frankfurt felt they had the strongest claim but the personnel at Dortmund so familiar to the Bellingham family proved enough to trump any concerns over legacies that would greet their youngest son. Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund's outgoing chief executive, was among those pictured alongside Jude at a socially-distanced unveiling during Covid-19 five years ago; he has, again, been instrumental in signing his sibling. Watzke flew to London the day after Sunderland's win at Wembley to state Dortmund's case, while Kehl and Lars Ricken, CEO for sport, are also trusted figures who remain with the German club. They can all point towards the role played by Dortmund in helping Jude finish third in the Ballon d'Or rankings during a first season with Real Madrid. With a fair wind, they could argue, the same could await Jobe. That, unashamedly, is Jude's biggest career wish. 'As long as he's happy, that's all I really care about,' the elder Bellingham said on his YouTube channel last year. 'His happiness means more to me than my own.' The aim is to be England team-mates but first comes the chance to be opponents as both now fly to the U.S. to compete in FIFA's Club World Cup. Jobe has opted to forego the Under-21 Euros to team up with Dortmund, replicating the stance of Chelsea's summer signing Liam Delap and placing the chance to impress a new club above international opportunities. Advertisement A debut could come against Brazilian club Fluminense at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey next Tuesday. More intriguing is the potential to return there on July 5 for a quarter-final against Jude's Real Madrid, should both teams top their groups and progress through the last 16. The brothers have never faced one another before in senior football but the probability is high that the first meeting will come soon enough given their club's status in the European establishment. Such a meeting would invite yet further comparisons yet, by choosing Dortmund, Jobe has proved they hold few concerns as he plots his path to the top of the sport.
The Sun
26-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Jobe Bellingham jets to Germany for transfer talks with Bundesliga giants as he's set to follow in Jude's footsteps
JOBE BELLINGHAM has flown to Germany for talks over a move to a Bundesliga club. The 19-year-old helped fire Sunderland back to the Premier League in their 2-1 play-off final victory over Sheffield United on Saturday. 3 Bellingham is already looking ahead to next season and supposedly wants to decide on his future next week. Sky Sports are reporting that the midfielder has landed in Germany to hold discussions with Eintracht Frankfurt. Jobe was joined by his dad Mark and mum Denise as they were welcomed at the airport by a club chief. They are set to be given a tour of Eintracht's facilities as the side that finished third in the Bundesliga try to convince Bellingham to join. Borussia Dortmund are also in the battle to sign him and their director Hans-Joachim Watzke travelled to Sunderland to meet with the player. It is the second time a delegation from the club have arrived in England for talks about a deal. RB Leipzig have also reportedly not given up in their pursuit. A move to Germany would see Jobe follow in his older brother Jude's footsteps after he spent three seasons with Dortmund before joining Real Madrid. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 3 Bellingham remains a target for several Premier League sides with Crystal Palace one of those keen. His deal at the Stadium of Light does not expire until 2028 and a fee of £25million will be needed to get the Black Cats to sell. But Sunderland will want to keep hold of him and club legend Michael Bridges told SunSport: 'Certain players have an aura of intimidation about them. 'I look at Jobe and think he's got this presence and people are fearful of him because of his engine and quality on the ball. 'He's a coach and manager's dream because he's embraced it so much. The world's his oyster. 'I would hate to think he's going to be living in his brother's shadow but, unfortunately, that's the world that we live in. 'We'll ask if he can emulate Jude and who are we to say that he can't? 'He's got every opportunity as long as he stays injury free and focused on his game and off-the-field antics don't distract him.'
