England World Cup hero Jude Bellingham‘s post-season break took him to the Emirates on Sunday afternoon as he watched his brother line up against Arsenal.
Jude is on a three-week sabbatical after helping the Three Lions finish third in North America at the World Cup, with England’s players due back training at their clubs this week.
But, before he heads back to Spain to start the new season with Real Madrid, he has found time to pop to Arsenal’s stadium to watch Jobe Bellingham line up for Borussia Dortmund in a pre-season friendly.
Jude was seen sat in the stands at the Premier League champions’ ground next to his mother Denise as Jobe, 20, played the full 90 minutes.
Jobe has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of Jude, 23, having followed him from Birmingham City to Dortmund – though via Sunderland.
The younger Bellingham brother signed for Dortmund for £32million last summer, making 45 appearances in all competitions though without a goal.
Jude Bellingham joined his mother Denise to watch brother Jobe play for Borussia Dortmund against Arsenal
Jobe (right) has been tipped to follow in his brother’s footsteps and is currently playing for his former club
He is a regular at England Under-21 level, and has been tipped to make his senior debut alongside his brother in the near future.
Both players came from humble beginnings at Birmingham, with the Championship side retiring Jude’s shirt number – 22 – when he left for Dortmund when he had just turned 17 in 2020.
He travelled over to St Andrew’s for a pre-season friendly against Madrid’s arch rivals Barcelona last week, giving Blues fans plenty to cheer about as they were given a rare opportunity to see the LaLiga champions in action.
Before kick-off, Birmingham City’s official social media account showed Bellingham taking his seat and waving to fans in a touching video captioned: ‘Jude. He’s home.’
As he raised his arms aloft to greet the adoring fans, Blues supporters loudly bellowed ‘Jude’ to honour their former starlet and fervently chanted ‘he’s one of our own’ in a special moment for the England midfielder at St Andrew’s.
The £113million midfielder cheered jubilantly as he watched his boyhood club triumph over Madrid’s rivals, winning on penalties after drawing 2-2 in normal time.
Bellingham is expected to play a key role at Madrid again this season, with Jose Mourinho taking over as manager again after the club opted to move on from interim manager Alvaro Arbeloa.
He will rejoin the England camp towards the end of next month for the next international break, which is three weeks long.
