Mark Bellingham scored seven times for England Veterans’ Over 50s in a 13-1 victory against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, while his son Jude also found the net for Real Madrid.
The 50-year-old striker scored six goals before half-time and set up another as England established a 7-0 lead. He completed his remarkable haul after the interval as the side secured a comfortable win.
Jude scored in Real Madrid’s 3-0 LaLiga victory over Racing de Santander on the same day. The Bellingham family narrowly missed out on a unique weekend hat-trick, after Jude’s brother Jobe had a goal disallowed during Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 defeat by Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Mark, who made his first appearance for the England Veterans Over 50s team, played as a non-league striker during a 25-year career that ended in 2017. He scored more than 700 goals for at least 20 clubs, including Leamington, Stourbridge and Sutton Coldfield Town, and was nicknamed the ‘Non-League Pele’.
England Veterans were crowned Seniors World Cup champions this year after winning their ninth title in Thailand.
Away from his own football, Mark is a regular presence at his sons’ matches. A Southend United supporter, he took Jude to his first live games at Roots Hall and helped develop his interest in the sport.
Speaking recently about his father, Jude said: “We talk about footballing heroes, and my dad was like my first.
“When you go and watch him play every week in non-league, you know it’s not the Premier League or anything, but seeing the way that he played and the atmosphere, it made me fall in love with football so he was probably my first hero.
“After the first few times of going, I’d start to pay a bit more attention to the games and stuff, the atmosphere and he’s scoring goals so you see him celebrating and stuff like that – you want that to be me.
“Growing up, he’d always give me tips on what I could do and now it gets to a certain age and it sort of flips and that’s brilliant because we have that sort of relationship like father and son and then as I got older, like coach and player.”
Mark helped establish Stourbridge Juniors, Jude’s first club, and worked as a sergeant before concentrating fully on his sons’ careers. He later became their agent, negotiating Jude’s £88.5m move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid in 2023 and handling Jobe’s transfer from Sunderland to Borussia Dortmund in 2025.
While in Germany, Mark reportedly had an emotional discussion with Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl after being unhappy with Jobe’s half-time substitution on his Bundesliga debut.
German publication BILD reported that Mark also sought a meeting with manager Niko Kovac and “made no secret of his opinion”. Borussia Dortmund subsequently banned all family members from the dressing room.
Mark’s influence as an agent is also understood to have extended to Jude’s media duties with England. Jude has made a point of speaking more during the most recent World Cup, having previously avoided doing more than his required media work despite his growing influence within the squad.
Mark and Denise, Jude and Jobe’s mother, are understood to have separated but remain close. Both attended Jude’s matches at the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico this past summer.
