Six years have passed since Jude Bellingham last donned the Birmingham City jersey, and three years since his younger brother Jobe did the same. Yet the impact of the Bellingham brothers on the club remains profound, both on and off the pitch.
From St Andrew's to the World Stage
Jude, 23, has become a global football icon at Real Madrid after a stellar spell at Borussia Dortmund, while Jobe, 21, is carving his own path at Dortmund after two seasons with Sunderland. But for Birmingham fans, the memories of the Stourbridge-born midfielders are etched in St Andrew's folklore.
On match days, supporters still flock to Jude's mural outside the stadium for photos, and Bellingham shirts remain a common sight in the stands. "They both had a real connection with fans," Craig Courtney of the Tilton Talk fan podcast told BBC Sport. "Fans loved the fact they both cared. They wore their hearts on their sleeves and helped Birmingham when we were fighting relegation. Even now, Jude and Jobe remember where it all started for them."
Academy Graduates with a Lasting Legacy
The brothers played 70 league and cup games between them for Birmingham after graduating from the academy. Jude, who joined at age eight, left before Jobe broke into the first team in 2022, so they never appeared together in a senior match for the Blues. However, they could make history on the international stage. If Jobe wins his first cap and plays alongside Jude, a veteran of 60 appearances, in the Nations League clash with Croatia at Wembley, they will become the first brothers to represent England in 19 years.
"It will be an incredibly proud moment for Birmingham City if that happens," Courtney added.
A Club in Transition
Birmingham supporters have endured lean times. It is 15 years since their last Premier League appearance, and the 2011 League Cup winners recently dropped to League One. While rivals Aston Villa were competing in the Champions League, Birmingham were suffering defeats to Shrewsbury and drawing with Northampton. But now, after 15 games, Birmingham sit top of the Championship, and plans are afoot for a new 62,000-capacity stadium by 2030-31.
"As a club, we've been right down in the doldrums," Courtney said. "Now we're top of the table and having a new stadium built. There is an argument that none of this would have been possible without the fees received for Jude and Jobe."
Financial Lifelines
Jude made his Birmingham debut in 2019 at 16 years and 38 days, becoming the club's youngest-ever player. When he signed his first professional contract in 2020, he ensured Birmingham would receive a significant fee. He joined Dortmund for an initial £20m during the pandemic, and when he moved to Real Madrid in 2023, Birmingham reportedly received a sell-on fee of at least £10m.
"We cannot possibly imagine, without Jude's decision [to sign a contract], where we would be as a club in a pandemic like this," then Birmingham chief executive Xuandong Ren told BBC WM. "He could easily have just looked after himself and not the club, but he chose the best possible way to look after the club."
Jobe became Birmingham's second youngest debutant in January 2022 at 16 years and 107 days. He played 26 games before Sunderland paid £3m for him in 2023, and Birmingham received a reported £4m sell-on fee when he joined Dortmund two years later. Though less than his brother's fees, it was welcome revenue.
Character and Determination
Former Birmingham striker Troy Deeney, who played in Jobe's debut, praised the youngster's attitude. "This was a lad, regardless of who his brother was or what he was achieving, who would do anything to write his own success story," Deeney told the Sun. "Everything he has achieved on the pitch, too, has come with an instant comparison to his older brother. He never got that one moment to enjoy something without someone, somewhere saying: 'Yeah, but what about Jude?' That only added to how strong he was mentally, and anyone who suggests he is where he is because of his last name is talking rubbish."
Deeney added: "What impressed me more than anything he had done on the pitch was his attitude - a hell-bent determination to get to the top and the common sense to take all the right steps along the way."
A Special Bond
Both brothers have returned to St Andrew's since their transfers. Jobe captained England Under-21s to a 2-0 win against the Republic of Ireland at his old ground last November. Before that match, U21s boss Lee Carsley, who managed Jude when he was England interim manager in 2024, praised the brothers' work ethic. "I know how much they love the Blues still and how important the club is to them," Carsley said.
Jude was at St Andrew's in July watching a pre-season friendly against Barcelona, even wearing a Birmingham shirt in the stands. When he joined Dortmund in 2020, Birmingham retired the number 22 shirt after his 44 appearances. "That was a gesture of thanks for what Jude had done," Courtney said. "It might be wishful thinking, but I really believe Jude has unfinished business at Birmingham. I can see a scenario before he retires where he gets an opportunity to wear the number 22 again."
Should the Bellingham brothers play together against Croatia, they will become the first siblings to appear for England since Gary and Phil Neville in 2007. It will be an immensely proud moment for their parents, Mark and Denise. "We've played together for so long in the street and to play with my brother Jobe for England would be the biggest dream of my life," Jude wrote on social media in 2024. "That would mean more than any of the trophies. Nothing would even get close to that... nothing."
