Birmingham City have announced that they have retired their number 22 shirt following the departure of 17-year-old Jude Bellingham.
The teenager secured a move to German club Borussia Dortmund last weekend in a move understood to be in the region of £20m, having been a part of the Birmingham youth ranks since he was playing at under-eights.
In a tearful farewell, Bellingham made his final appearance for the Blues in Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat by Derby County, which saw the club finish the Championship season down in 20th position just two points above the relegation zone.
His performances both at youth level and over the last 11 months since his first-team debut against Portsmouth on 6 August last year caught the eye of a number of clubs across Europe, though Dortmund won the race for his signature thanks largely for the way they have developed young players including England’s Jadon Sancho into first-team regulars.
But despite only taking the No 22 shirt at the start of the 2019/20 season and making 44 appearances to date, the club have elected to retire the jersey number in an attempt to inspire future players.
In a club statement, Birmingham said: “In such a remarkably short space of time Jude has become an iconic figure at (the) Blues, showing what can be achieved through talent, hard work and dedication.
“His caring, humble and engaging off-the-field demeanour has also made him such an impressive role model.
“The 22 shirt has become synonymous with Jude, his rise to the first team aged just 16 years and 38 days and these qualities.
“And as such the club have decided it would be fitting to retire this number, to remember one of our own and to inspire others.”
Bellingham spent around 45 minutes sitting on the St Andrew’s pitch after full-time on Wednesday night, with the youngster the last player to leave the field as he took in his final moments as a Birmingham player.
The midfielder said his farewells to teammates, club staff and friends before sitting on his own, and he said afterwards that the process of leaving his childhood team had proven a hard decision to make.
"I do love the club and I struggle to hide how much this club means to me. I just hope the fans have enjoyed seeing me play," Bellingham said.
"It will always have a massive place in my heart because it's my club and the club I support, and it's been a privilege."
Bellingham also revealed that he was targeted with racist abuse on social media following the match, and reported the incident to police who have launched an investigation.
"Times have to change. More has to be done," Bellingham added.
"To not rate me as a player or even dislike me as a person is fine with me. But how someone can use my race and disgraceful stereotypes to criticise a decision I've made for my career is beyond me."
