‘We’ll See’—Jude Bellingham Lays Down Club World Cup Challenge to Brother | OneFootball

Jude Bellingham has revealed he is in a friendly scoring competition with his younger brother at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Having helped Sunderland return to the Premier League for the first time in eight years, Jobe Bellingham followed in Jude’s footsteps when he joined Borussia Dortmund in an initial £27 million ($36.1 million) deal during FIFA’s early mini-transfer window.

That allowed Jobe, 19, to be registered to play in the Club World Cup, meaning that both brothers are in action at the tournament.

Jobe was the first Bellingham to find the net, scoring in Dortmund’s 4–3 win over Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday. Jude immediately responded by breaking the deadlock as Real Madrid emerged victorious against Pachuca, 3–1, the following day.

“Everyone was caning me saying he’s better than me so I had to do something,” Jude told DAZN after the game. “We’re [tied at] 1–1 now and we’ll see for the rest of the tournament.”

Jobe Bellingham has made a strong start for Borussia Dortmund. / IMAGO/Kirchner-Media

Jobe Bellingham has surprised fans since joining Dortmund by having his forename, rather than the family surname, on the back of his shirt. It has been interpreted as a way to distance himself from his brother and step out of that shadow, but the player insists there is nothing to it beyond being “cool”.

He told FIFA media: “If I’m being really honest, it started when I first signed for Sunderland. I thought about it a few times, and thought that would be quite cool, but only when people brought it up to me. I never thought about it spontaneously on my own.

“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.

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

Trent Alexander-Arnold has gone down a similar route since joining Real Madrid, opting for just ‘Trent’ on the back of shirt. His reasoning is that he’s found his double-barrelled surname has confused non-English fans when he’s visited Europe in the past.