Jobe Bellingham has joined his brother Jude in the England squad for the Nations League games against Croatia and Spain. It caps a wonderful journey for the midfielder, 21, who has lived in the shadow of his more famous sibling. Jobe is now on an equal footing after following his own independent path to success.

His career trajectory has been similar to Jude's, moving to Germany to continue his football education at Borussia Dortmund, where Jude prospered before signing for Real Madrid. But that's where the similarities end. Jobe, who stands two inches taller than Jude at 6ft3in, purposefully chose to go with his first name on the back of his shirt to establish his own identity. Off the pitch, they are the best of friends and rarely talk about football and prefer to joke around and relax. They are polar opposites as personalities, but both super players.

Why Jobe Bellingham Wears His First Name on His Shirt

The trend for his shirt name began at Sunderland, when Jobe made his move from Birmingham City in 2023. Two years later, he signed for Dortmund in a deal worth up to £30million. At his request, he chose to have his first name emblazoned on the back of that jersey too.

Explaining why, he told Fifa: "Well, if I'm being really honest, obviously, it started when I first signed for Sunderland. I, maybe, thought about it a few times. I thought: 'Yeah, that would be quite cool.' But, only when people brought it up to me. I never thought about it like spontaneously on my own."

"Someone close to me would say: 'That would be cool if you did that'. And then, someone who's quite special to me - a coach that I had at Sunderland and at Birmingham when I was a kid - he said: 'Why don't you do that at Sunderland?' And, just because I was young, I thought: 'It would be cool to have my own name on the back of my shirt'. So, it was more that than anything (else)."

"I wasn't really trying to have a deeper meaning behind it, but I suppose you can find that in that act. But yeah, I think it's quite unique and it's quite cool, and it's something that I enjoy having."

The Close Bond Between Jobe and Jude Bellingham

Siblings supporting each other in sport is nothing new. Serena and Venus Williams are prime examples of two dominant athletes who have gone on to forge huge career success together, while championing each other. The Bellinghams are cut from the same cloth, they share an intense work ethic and supplement their club training sessions with extra gym, treadmill, and core conditioning sessions.

Jude regularly uses breaks in his busy schedule to travel and watch his younger brother play. During pre-season, Jude watched from the VIP section at the Emirates Stadium as Jobe started and played the full 90 minutes in Dortmund's 3-2 friendly victory over Arsenal. In 2024, Jude stood alongside their parents, Mark and Denise, to watch Jobe in action for England's U21 team against the Netherlands.

He was also a regular fixture at Sunderland games, checking in on Jobe's progress at the Stadium of Light. However, they don't live and breath football all the time, despite Jobe's reported encyclopedic of the game. Together, they are super close, they talk about music, fashion, and go on holidays together. They often head to Ibiza during the summer break, where they have been spotted partying and relaxing at spots like O Beach Ibiza and Ushuaïa beach clubs, and met celebrities including Will Smith. In 2025, they took a trip to Dubai for some winter sun. These two are living their best lives.

Fashion, Modelling and Red Carpet Appearances

Jude has already made a name for himself and is currently trending online as Calvin Klein's latest underwear model. Just as good-looking, Jobe is following the same path. He has appeared in campaigns for Søeren Fashion, Guess Jeans, and Adidas. In time, should his career be as glistening as Jude's, you imagine he too will headline global luxury ads for Louis Vuitton as his star rises.

In 2023, Jobe sat next to Jude on the front row for Louis Vuitton Men's Spring/Summer 2024 Show for Pharrell Williams' debut menswear collection at Paris Fashion Week. They rubbed shoulders with Beyoncé, and stood out among the group of footballers there, including Marcus Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold. They were there together as family, potentially together in England's midfield in the future.

A Humble Lifestyle Away From the Pitch

Clearly, it's been driven into Jobe to remain humble. Jobe's choice of car is a modest choice. He has been seen driving into Borussia Dortmund's training ground in a Polestar 5. Not a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, but an electric motor.

Away from the pitch, Jobe also prefers to keep his romantic life private and there's no supermodel girlfriend. Jude has had several high-profile romances, most notably with American influencer Ashlyn Castro. It's that grounded attitude that Thomas Tuchel will love and admire in a player so young, as he embarks on building on his own international career - starting this month.