How Jobe is stepping out of Jude's shadow from protective dad to mum’s sacrifice

SIBLING rivalry is a rite of passage, but for the Bellingham brothers it has also formed the basis of their football careers.

Jude, 21, has been hailed a generational talent — and now little brother Jobe is emerging from his 6ft 1in shadow.

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An exceptional talent in his own right, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder is being pursued by three German clubs and was part of the Sunderland team which was promoted to the Premier League on Saturday night.

It came less than a month after the North East Football Writers’ Association named him Young Player of the Year.

Reacting to Jobe’s part in Sunderland’s historic win, ecstatic Jude posted a photo of a video call they had together, captioning it: “SO F****** PROUD”.

And chuffed Jobe told reporters: “I always believed — you have to believe.

“When you’ve got supporters like this and a group of lads like that, you always have to believe.”

Celebrating Jobe’s win yesterday, Jude reposted a fan photo of the two brothers holding their respective trophies at Wembley, captioning it “WemBelli”.

The England midfielder won the Champions League last year at the stadium with Real Madrid while his family watched.

‘Demanding on the pitch’

Given Jude’s huge success, it is no wonder Jobe likes to make sure that his sibling stays grounded — by teasing him for being dependent on their mum.

Denise Bellingham has followed her eldest from the UK to Dortmund in Germany, and then on to Madrid.

“Maybe if Jude could learn how to cook and drive, mum could come back and live with me — but nah, Jude is useless,” Jobe quipped in Out Of The Floodlights, a YouTube documentary about his brother’s life in Spain.

Jobe began his professional career at Birmingham City in 2021 — a year after his brother left the team.

The 6ft 2in powerhouse was the team’s second-youngest player at 16 years and 107 days old when he made his first team debut — only Jude started younger.

We’d play on a Tuesday and he’d turn up in his school uniform. It was mad. He’d just played a game for his school, and then he was sitting on the bench for us

Lee Bower, ex-Bristol City Manager

Lee Bowyer, who snapped up both Bellinghams, saw Jobe as the “baby” when he arrived on the subs bench.

The former manager said: “We’d play on a Tuesday and he’d turn up in his school uniform. It was mad.

“He’d just played a game for his school, and then he was sitting on the bench for us. He was very respectful and wanted to learn. His feet were on the ground.

“His parents are a big drive for him. He wanted to make his own name. The potential was there. The attitude was there.

“He’s a nice, well-mannered boy but demanding on the pitch — he didn’t shy away from anything. He has confidence, but not arrogance.”

Jobe chose to use just his first name on his Black Cats shirt instead of his surname to distinguish himself from his brother.

His former team-mate Troy Deeney said it showed Jobe wanted to carve out his own identity, and constant comparisons to Jude were unfair.

Troy told Sky Sports: “Whenever people talk about Jobe, it’s always ‘Is he as good as his brother?’ or ‘Jude was doing this and that at his age.’

“Jobe is going to be successful — he already is successful.

“I don’t think any of us could ever put ourselves in his shoes of being a young person trying to find himself in life, and then having a brother that’s a world-famous superstar.

“No matter what you do, you’re always going to be compared to that.”

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Stepping out from his brother’s shadow, Jobe signed to Sunderland for £1million on June 14, 2023.

Unfortunately, his brother unintentionally stole the limelight as Jude’s move to Real Madrid was announced on the same day.

For both Bellinghams, football has been a huge part of their life, as they grew up watching their father in non-league matches.

Southend-born Mark, 49, scored 700 goals by the age of 40 at Midland League Division Two side Paget Rangers in 2016.

The retired policeman is thought to have played in approximately 850 games but still describes himself as “not very good”.

He is fiercely proud of both his children, often reminding journalists “I have two sons, you know” when they ask about just one.

Mark lives with Jobe in the UK and does his best to keep the family unit tight despite the distance between them.

The lads often fly to each other’s games when their schedules allow, and their parents rack up air miles to spend time with both.

After a spectacular performance this season, it appears Jobe might be following in his brother’s footsteps yet again, as Jude’s old Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund are eying up the youngster.

‘That’s Jobe, he’s ours’

German newspaper Bild reported that Dortmund are offering £25million to get the footballer on their books this summer.

Jobe has also caught the attention of RB Leipzig and yesterday met with Eintracht Frankfurt.

The teen’s fancy footwork has even reached the ears of Real Madrid, thanks to his two goals in Sunderland’s victory against Rotherham in August 2023.

Recalling being taunted by his boss, Jude said: “I’m in shock that he’s scored twice and then as we’re coming out, (Carlo) Ancelotti goes to me, ‘F***ing hell, we bought the wrong one.’

“And I’m like, ‘you’re joking’. He says, ‘No seriously, I’m going to bring him in.’

“I said, ‘Well where are you going to play him?’ He says, ‘In your position.’ I was like, ‘F*** that!’.”

Dad Mark will be keen to see Jobe stand on his own two feet and not just follow his brother’s footsteps.

I think every time I’m with my brother, I’m just laughing. We’re just constantly making jokes. We barely really talk about football

Jobe on Jude

Speaking in Out Of The Floodlights, he said: “I want Jobe to have his day — finally, for someone to say, ‘He’s not Jude’s brother’.

“We’ve got the Sunderland fans — no connection to Jude now — who can say, ‘That’s Jobe, he’s ours’.”

Mum Denise added: “I just want to see Jobe on the pitch, in a Jobe shirt — not a Bellingham shirt — starting and having his moment.

“I want him to start and have his moment.”

Off the pitch, the brothers don’t talk about the beautiful game.

In the series, Jobe said: “I think every time I’m with my brother, I’m just laughing.

“We’re just constantly making jokes. We barely really talk about football.”

The brothers have been seen dining in Caribbean restaurant Turtle Bay in County Durham and Italian eaterie Romano’s in Cleadon near Sunderland.

They have also attended Louis Vuitton’s show in Paris together, while Jobe has modelled for Adidas and Jude topless for Kim Kardashian’s underwear brand SKIMS.

But Jobe has yet to emulate one aspect of his brother’s life — a string of stunning girlfriends.

Jude has been linked to Dutch model Laura Celia Valk and You-Tuber Azra Mian, and is now dating US catwalk star Ashlyn Castro.

With Jobe’s star on the rise, he won’t struggle to get a stunning girl to have on his arm if he wants one.

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