Christian Burgess

For the Bermudian cricketer, see Christian Burgess (cricketer).

Christian Burgess

Burgess in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Christian Albert Elliot Burgess [1]
Date of birth	(1991-10-07) 7 October 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Barking, London, England
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Union Saint-Gilloise
Number	16
Youth career
	Arsenal
	West Ham United
	Bishop's Stortford
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2014	Middlesbrough	1	(0)
2013–2014	→ Hartlepool United (loan)	41	(0)
2014	→ Peterborough United (loan)	1	(0)
2014–2015	Peterborough United	30	(2)
2015–2020	Portsmouth	179	(10)
2020–	Union Saint-Gilloise	126	(12)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 March 2024

Christian Albert Elliot Burgess (born 7 October 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Belgian Pro League club Union Saint-Gilloise.

Career

Youth career

Burgess began his career at Arsenal's academy and after he was released he went on to play with the youth and reserves teams at non-League Bishop's Stortford before deciding to study history at the University of Birmingham. Whilst in his second year university, Burgess earned a trial at Middlesbrough through a coach of the university's first team.

Middlesbrough

He impressed at Boro and he signed a two-year contract in July 2012. ^[2] He made his professional debut on 4 May 2013 in a 2–0 defeat away at Sheffield Wednesday. ^[3]

Hartlepool United

He joined Hartlepool United on loan in August 2013. ^[4] The loan deal was extended until the end of the season in December. ^[5] Burgess scored his first goal in professional football in a 5–0 win for Hartlepool in a Football League Trophy game against Bradford City in September 2013. ^[6]

Peterborough United

On 19 August 2014, Burgess signed on a month's loan for Peterborough United. ^[7] He completed a single game on loan, a 2–1 home defeat by Sheffield United, before completing a permanent transfer on 21 August 2014. Burgess signed a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. ^{[8] [9]}

Portsmouth

On 25 June 2015, Burgess signed for south coast club Portsmouth as part of the summer overhaul at the club by new manager Paul Cook.

He went on to make his debut on 11 July 2015, in a pre-season friendly against local Conference South club Havant & Waterlooville.

During the 2015–16 season, in which Portsmouth reached the play-off semi-finals, Burgess made 43 appearances in all competitions, partnered in most games by either Matthew Clarke or Adam Webster.

2016–17 season

Following a successful first campaign for Pompey, during which he established himself as the club's first-choice centre back, Burgess began the 2016–17 season as one of the team's central figures. In total, Burgess made 45 appearances and scored four goals over the course of the season, as Portsmouth won the League Two title. Burgess, along with teammate and fellow defender Enda Stevens, was named in the League Two team of the year; a reward for their part in Portsmouth's league-best defensive record. ^[10]

2019–20 season

Burgess was awarded the EFL League One Player of the Month award in January 2020 and won the award for Portsmouth Player of the Season in the same year.

Union SG

Burgess turned down a contract extension at Portsmouth and on 7 July 2020 joined Belgian First Division B club Union SG, signing a three-year deal with the option of an additional year. ^[11] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 victory against Club NXT. At the end of the season USG were promoted, making it the second league title victory of Burgess' career. Burgess was awarded a place in the Team of the Season at the end of the season. ^[12]

On 21 November 2021, Burgess scored two goals for the club in a 7–1 victory against Oostende. ^[13] The team finished first in the regular season of their return campaign, although they would lose out on the title during the six-game playoffs, finishing second. ^[14]

The following year, RUSG once again qualified for the championship playoffs, having finished level on points with Genk. ^[15] In a close fight for first on the final day, Burgess and Union would lose out when they conceded three late goals against Club Brugge on the final day, thus losing out to Antwerp by a point. ^[16] During 2023, Burgess, who had missed just three games throughout the league season, was given the nickname "Air Burgey" as a nod to his aerial prowess. ^[17]

Personal life

He earned a BA Hons in history part-time at Teesside University, ^[18] having previously studied history at University of Birmingham before his move to Middlesbrough.

Career statistics

As of match played 26 October 2023 ^[19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup [lower-alpha 2]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Middlesbrough	2012–13 [20]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	2013–14 [21]	Championship	0	0	—		—		—		—		0	0
	2014–15 [22]	Championship	0	0	—		—		—		—		0	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
Hartlepool United (loan)	2013–14 [21]	League Two	41	0	2	0	1	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 3]	1	46	1
Peterborough United	2014–15 [22] [lower-alpha 4]	League One	30	3	2	2	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	33	5
Portsmouth	2015–16 [23]	League Two	37	2	4	0	0	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 5]	0	43	2
	2016–17 [24]	League Two	44	4	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	45	4
	2017–18 [25]	League One	35	0	1	0	1	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 6]	0	39	0
	2018–19 [26]	League One	25	1	2	0	1	1	—		10 [lower-alpha 7]	0	38	2
	2019–20 [27]	League One	32	3	5	1	3	0	—		5 [lower-alpha 8]	0	45	4
	Total		173	10	13	1	5	1	—		19	0	210	12
Union SG	2020–21 [28]	Belgian First Division B	27	2	3	0	—		—		—		30	2
	2021–22 [29]	Belgian Pro League	34	4	2	1	—		—		6 [lower-alpha 9]	0	42	5
	2022–23	Belgian Pro League	37	5	4	0	—		12 [lower-alpha 10]	1	—		53	6
	2023–24	Belgian Pro League	24	1	2	0	—		10 [lower-alpha 11]	1	—		36	2
	Total		122	12	11	1	—		22	2	6	0	142	15
Career total			367	22	28	4	6	1	22	2	28	1	451	30

1. Includes FA Cup, Belgian Cup
2. Includes Football League Cup
3. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
4. Burgess made one appearance for Peterborough United on loan from Middlesbrough before signing permanently in the summer transfer window
5. Appearances in League Two play-offs
6. Appearances in EFL Trophy
7. Eight appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances in League One play-offs
8. Three appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances in EFL League One play-offs
9. Six appearances in Pro League play-off I
10. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, ten in UEFA Europa League
11. Eight appearances in UEFA Europa League, two in UEFA Conference League

Honours

Portsmouth

• EFL League Two: 2016–17 ^[30]
• EFL Trophy: 2018–19 ^[31]

Union SG

• Belgian Cup: 2023–24 ^[32]
• Challenger Pro League: 2020–21

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2016–17 League Two ^[33]
• PFA EFL League One Player of the Month: January 2020 ^[34]
• Portsmouth Player of the Season: 2019–20 ^[35]
• Belgian First Division B Team of the Season: 2020–21 ^[12]

References

1. "Player profile: Christian Burgess".
2. "Christian Burgess handed Middlesbrough professional deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
3. "Sheff Wed 2–0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
4. "Hartlepool sign Middlesbrough's Christian Burgess on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
5. "Cooper thrilled as Boro agree to let Dolan, Burgess extend Hartlepool loans". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
6. "Five-star Pools find their scoring feet". Northern Echo. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
7. "BBC Sport - Middlesbrough's Christian Burgess joins Peterborough United". BBC Sport.
8. "BBC Sport - Peterborough United 1-2 Sheffield United". BBC Sport.
9. "Wyke Loaned/Burgess sold".
10. "League Two (Sky Sports)". SkySports. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
11. Rooney, Will (7 July 2020). "Portsmouth defender Christian Burgess' completes move to Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise". The News. Portsmouth.co.uk.
12. "D1B Pro League XI van het seizoen // CENTRUMVERDEDIGER 1 // Christian Burgess (Union SG)" [D1B Pro League XI of the Season // CENTER DEFENDER 1 // Christian Burgess (Union SG)] (in Dutch). 6 May 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
13. "Royale Union Saing-Gilloise KV Oostende – Union SG: 1–7". rusg.brussels/en. 21 November 2021. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
14. Times, The Brussels. "Union Saint-Gilloise finish second with a chance to play in the Champions League". www.brusselstimes.com. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
15. Times, The Brussels. "Union Saint-Gilloise tipped as favourites to win the league in playoffs". www.brusselstimes.com. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
16. Onyeagwara, Will Jeanes and Nnamdi. "Royal Antwerp win Belgian title after 94th-minute Alderweireld wonder goal". The Athletic. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
17. Allen, Neil (16 May 2023). "Air Burgey is still flying high - the ex-Portsmouth favourite now adored by a new fan base amid pursuit of glory". portsmouth.co.uk.
18. "Christian Burgess: The Hartlepool United defender keen to learn". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
19. "Christian Burgess". flashscore.com.
20. "Games played by Christian Burgess in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
21. "Games played by Christian Burgess in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
22. "Games played by Christian Burgess in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
23. "Games played by Christian Burgess in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
24. "Games played by Christian Burgess in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
25. "Games played by Christian Burgess in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
26. "Games played by Christian Burgess in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
27. "Games played by Christian Burgess in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
28. "C. Burgess: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
29. "England - C. Burgess - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
30. Anderson, John, ed. (2017). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2017–2018. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 298–299. ISBN   978-1-4722-3397-4.
31. Williams, Adam (31 March 2019). "Portsmouth 2–2 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
32. "Union St Gilloise end 110 year wait for third Belgian Cup victory". One Football. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
33. "PFA teams of the year: Chelsea and Tottenham dominate Premier League XI". BBC Sport. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
34. Burgess Wins PFA Award
35. Burgess Named Player Of The Season

External links

• Christian Burgess at Soccerbase
• Christian Burgess at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)