England’s Blues brothers – how the Bellinghams helped save Birmingham

Jude and Jobe Bellingham’s time at Birmingham City left a lasting mark on the club and its supporters, and their careers may soon bring another historic moment: the brothers could become the first to play for England together in 19 years. Their connection to Birmingham is also seen as part of the club’s recovery, with supporters pointing to the transfer income from both players as helping the club through difficult years.

The brothers made 70 league and cup appearances for Birmingham between them, though they never played together in the senior team. Jude left for Borussia Dortmund for an initial £20m after signing a professional contract with Birmingham, and the club later reportedly received at least £10m from his move to Real Madrid. Jobe made his first-team debut aged 16 before moving on to Sunderland and then Germany; meanwhile, Birmingham are now top of the Championship after 15 matches and plan a 62,000-capacity stadium for 2030-31.