German football club Borussia Dortmund sign Jobe Bellingham, who follows in the footsteps of Real Madrid star his brother Jude.
Borussia Dortmund have signed English midfielder Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland until 2030, five years after bringing older brother Jude to the club.
Dortmund announced the signing on Tuesday, the final day of the FIFA Club World Cup transfer window.
“The England U21 international put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the eight-time German champions on Tuesday morning,” Dortmund said in a statement.
Dortmund reportedly paid a fee of around 33 million euros ($38m), with five million euros ($5.7m) in additional bonuses, to secure the midfielder’s services, the most the club has paid up front for a player.
“I’m very happy to be a Borussia Dortmund player now and to fight for titles together with this great club,” said 19-year-old Bellingham.
“I want to play my part in celebrating success with these great fans here and will work on myself and with the team every day. And I’m very happy that I’ll be wearing the black and yellow jersey at the FIFA Club World Cup.”
Dortmund’s transfer record remains the 35 million euros ($40m) paid to bring Ousmane Dembele from Rennes in 2018 – although this was originally 15 million euros ($17m), which rose by 20 million ($23m) in sell-on fees once the player transferred to Barcelona.
“Jobe is an extremely talented footballer with an impressive level of maturity and intelligence on the pitch for someone so young,” said Lars Ricken, Borussia Dortmund’s managing director for sport.
“We have no doubt that he’s the perfect fit for our philosophy of developing talented youngsters and giving them the opportunity to improve and establish themselves at the highest level.
“His professionalism, his dynamism and his hunger to succeed will make him a real asset for our team.”
At 19, Jobe is two years younger than his Real Madrid and England midfielder brother.
In moving to Dortmund, Jobe will follow in Jude’s footsteps of trading the Championship for the Bundesliga and the Westfalenstadion.
After leaving Birmingham City, Jude spent three seasons at Dortmund and has become one of the most recognisable players in world football since joining Real in 2023.
As he did at Sunderland, the younger Bellingham will wear “Jobe” on his jersey at Dortmund rather than his last name in a bid to distinguish himself from his brother.
Jobe scored four goals and laid on three assists in 40 games for Sunderland this season as he helped the club win promotion to the Premier League.
Jobe’s signing means the two brothers could face off in this season’s expanded Club World Cup in the United States, if Dortmund meet Real Madrid during the knockouts of the competition.
Jude Bellingham joined Dortmund from boyhood club Birmingham in 2020, at age 17 and for around 23 million euros ($26m), a fee that rose to 30 million euros ($34m) when a sell-on fee was added after his 100-million-euro ($114m) move to Real Madrid.
He made 132 appearances in yellow and black, scoring 24 times and laying on 25 assists, and helped the club win the German Cup in 2021 alongside Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho.
After leaving Dortmund, Jude faced off against his former side in the 2023-24 Champions League final, with Real winning 2-0 at Wembley.
Jobe became the second-youngest Birmingham City player behind his brother when he made his debut aged 16 years and 107 days.
He was named the young player of the season in the English second flight, again following in his brother’s footsteps, five years on.
“He’s fit as a fiddle and raring to go,” said club sporting director Sebastian Kehl.
“He’s determined to forge his own path at Borussia Dortmund and make his mark on how we play, and we’re confident that he will do exactly that,” Kehl added.
After a disappointing 2024-25 campaign, Dortmund snuck into fourth place after a late-season flurry, picking up 22 of a possible 24 points in their final eight games. The club will take part in next season’s Champions League.
Dortmund kick off their Club World Cup campaign against Fluminense on June 17.