The England Under-21s midfielder, 19, followed in the footsteps of older brother Jude who has now made his way from Birmingham City, to Dortmund and finally to Real Madrid where he is battling for the La Liga title as well as the Champions League. Jobe opted to drop his surname after moving to Sunderland in 2023 and has now continued that trend at the Bundesliga side where he is trying to find an identity away from his brother.
Dortmund and Fluminense played out a 0-0 draw in the Club World Cup on Tuesday in rainy conditions at MetLife Stadium as Jobe made his debut for the club. He proudly wore Jobe on his shirt rather than Bellingham like his brother and former Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray explained Jobe had made the decision in order not to be seen as living off his brother's name as the public continue to connect the siblings.
“I think he’s trying to create his own identity,' Mowbray said.
“He doesn’t want to live off the back of his brother’s name, he wants to be the footballer that he is and show people what he can do.”
Even in his unveiling video for Dortmund, Jobe explained: "I'm not following in anyone's footsteps” in what is a statement that will echo around the footballing world as Jobe makes a name for himself, separate from his older brother.