It is that time of the year again when the hype train builds up for a new club season mere weeks away from kickoff, amidst a busy transfer market and a spree of friendlies. Two players involved in the rigamorale are the Bellingham brothers Jobe and Jude, albeit with contrasting pre-season plans at hand.
Jude is on an extended holiday following a gruelling 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign where he led England to a third-placed finish. The 23-year-old is expected to link up with Real Madrid in the coming week, which may allow him to play a part in their remaining friendlies against Deportivo and Schalke.
Regardless, Jude will undoubtedly be one of the first names on returning manager Jose Mourinho‘s teamsheet when the Los Blancos begin their La Liga season against Espanyol on August 22.
His younger sibling Jobe, meanwhile, was among the first set of players to return to training with Borussia Dortmund. He started their first pre-season game against fourth-tier RW Oberhausen and was actively involved on their Japan tour.
Jobe is now headed to London to face Arsenal, before Dortmund circle back to Signal Iduna Park for a friendly against Roma on August 15. That would leave Jobe and Dortmund exactly a week to prepare for the curtain-raising DFL Supercup against Bayern Munich at home.
Having started his career at Birmingham City and now into his third season with BVB, Jobe is following the exact path blazed by his elder brother.
Amusingly, Jobe seems to be an exact lookalike of Jude too. In fact, their mannerisms are even more uncannily identical, making it hard to differentiate between the two when they are together.
It seems like just yesterday when a shy teenaged Jobe was pictured standing quietly next to Jude in each of his milestone moments.
Jobe was in attendance during both of Jude’s club reveals to date, at Dortmund and Madrid respectively.
Look at this adorable photo of the Bellingham family ♡ pic.twitter.com/7uqTnGgrSo
— ISA🦋| 2:LOVE 🎾 (@DunkinJoongs) August 2, 2026
Jobe has even been there to celebrate his brother’s moments of glory, more often than not. The most memorable of those occasions arrived in 2023/24, when the duo rejoiced together Jude’s maiden Champions League triumph.
Credit – X
Now, both players compete as equals and social media could not be more proud.
Particularly because of how Jude and Jobe have managed to keep their rivalry contained to the field. At the same time, they have been charming the internet with their raw sibling love.
Jobe and Jude hang out more often than most players of their profile do, making sure they are there for each other in good times and bad.
Earlier this year, Jobe and Jude attended the 2026 Madrid Open together to watch top tennis stars in action.
A few months later, Jobe was a constant presence in the stands during Jude’s World Cup appearances. His uplifment undoubtedly played a role in the latter smashing seven goals at the event to finish third in the golden boot race.
Jude, meanwhile, has not been shy in showcasing love either. The 23-year-old is a constant presence in Jobe’s social media comment section, busy hyping up his kid brother when not teasing him like your typical sibling.
The relationship is nothing new other, with the two constantly spotted partying and attending events together for years now.
For instance, the Bellinghams took off for a vacation together a few years ago in the south of France after securing moves to Madrid and Sunderland respectively.
The two brothers even rubbed shoulders on national duty, albeit Jude plyed his trade with the senior team while Jobe was a part of the U21s. Even so, an all-Bellingham midfield duo seems inevitable for the Three Lions in the future.
Jobe and Jude also nearly met professionally during the FIFA Club World Cup last summer. However, the former found himself suspended for the quarterfinal when his BVB met Jude’s Los Blancos.
Jobe and Jude’s first major public appearance dates back to 2023, when they were invited for Paris Fashion week. Both men then dapped up to see Louis Vuitton debut its summer to springwear collection by Pharell Williams.
was asking myself why is he taller than jobe and then i saw his bigass shoes pic.twitter.com/1TXLPk4b9C
— dennis | doomf !! (@seraphseyes_) August 6, 2026
Interestingly, the event also kickstarted a conversation that drags on to this day.
After years of seeing Jobe cowering next to his brother, the offshoot suddenly seemed to have outsprung his brother. The two stood shoulder-to-shoulder but little did the fans know the truth was even more absurd.
Jude was wearing gargantuan boots with a massive base that certainly added a few centimetres to his standing. Moreover, Jobe back then was just 17 years old, meaning his growth phase was still underway.
In fact, the latest evidence suggests Jobe might even carry a slight physical edge over Jude.
Afterall, official databases note Jobe’s height at close to 190 cm, with some even going slightly beyond. That puts him somewhere between 6 feet 2 inches to three inches tall, with potential for further growth given he is only 20 years old.
Jude, on the other hand, is slightly shorter at 185 cm, which translates to 6 foot 1 inch.
The difference may seem marginal on paper, but can mean a world of difference on the football pitch.
Throughout their journeys, Jude was thought to have an edge as far as footballing abilities are concerned. The same seemed to hold true in terms of physique too, with Jude towering over his brother not so long ago.
Jobe has already largely dismantled the first of those notions and shown he is capable of matching the standards Jude set. Now, he can also claim to be the more physically dominatn specimen between the two, bringing their evolution to a full circle.
If Jobe can use the added advantages of his frame while mirroring the transcendent skills of his brother, the ceiling is hard to fathom. Who knows, the height question could be settled once and for all if destiny makes the two finally meet in the coming year’s UEFA Champions League.
