Jobe Bellingham ‘anxious’ about following Jude at Dortmund

Jobe Bellingham admitted on Tuesday to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. 

Jobe, 19, is two years younger than Jude, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund.

A centrepiece of the England national team, Jude has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons.

The younger Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the Premier League. 

Jobe admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany.

“It’s something you do think about. You have these anxieties, especially me as I’m only young,” Bellingham told reporters at Dortmund’s pre-season camp in Austria.

“I’m not perfect. I do think about these things, but that was down to the club convincing me that these things wouldn’t have much bearing on me. 

“This was a decision I made and it’s for myself. My journey is not anyone else’s to understand,” he added.

Bellingham made his Dortmund debut in the Club World Cup in the United States, scoring once and providing an assist in four games.

Like he did at Sunderland, the younger Bellingham wears his first name Jobe on the back of his jersey rather than his last name to avoid comparisons with his sibling.

Jobe said his older brother was “extremely proud — he didn’t have much to say other than ’embrace it’,” when he found out he was off to Dortmund, but added “our conversations aren’t usually that serious.” 

The midfielder, who usually plays in a deeper role than his brother, said he did “not want to be a superstar… I don’t want to be a big character away from the pitch.

“When I play I just want to be one of the highest performing players and get my head down.”

Dortmund open their season at Essen in the first round of the German Cup on August 18.