| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | February 17, 2008 | ||
| Place of birth | Surrey, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Club NXT | ||
| Number | 60 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Coastal FC | |||
| Supra Academy | |||
| 2022–2023 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024 | Vancouver FC | 17 | (0) |
| 2025– | Club NXT | 4 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022–2023 | Republic of Ireland U15 | 11 | (0) |
| 2023 | Canada U15 | 4 | (2) |
| 2023 | Republic of Ireland U16 | 2 | (1) |
| 2023– | Republic of Ireland U17 | 10 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 May, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:50, 25 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
Grady McDonnell (born February 17, 2008) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Club NXT in the Belgian Challenger Pro League. Born in Canada, he is a youth international for Ireland.
Born in Surrey, British Columbia, [2] McDonnell began playing youth soccer with Coastal FC at the age of five. [3] [4] Afterwards, he played with the Supra Academy, until the age of 13. [5] [6] He spent some time with the Whitecaps FC Pre-Academy, before officially joining the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy in August 2022. [7] He then had training stints with Blackburn Rovers in England, Schalke 04 in Germany, and Shamrock Rovers in Ireland. [8]
On January 17, 2024, McDonnell signed a professional contract with Vancouver FC of the Canadian Premier League through the 2026 season. [9] [10] He became the youngest player in the league's history to ever sign a professional deal, at 15 years and 11 months. [11] [12] He made his professional debut for the club on May 3, aged 16, in a 3–1 league loss to Cavalry FC; [13] in the process, he became the second-youngest player to ever debut in Vancouver's history (behind only T.J. Tahid), [14] and the third-youngest in the league's history. [14] In July 2024, he was named to the CPL Team of the Week for the first time, being included in the Best XI for week 15. [15]
On January 31, 2025, McDonnell moved to Club NXT, the second team of Belgian club Club Brugge, [16] [17] for an undisclosed fee of €350,000, plus add-ons, making it the second-largest fee in Canadian Premier League history. [16]
McDonnell is eligible to represent Canada, where he was born, and Ireland, where his grandfather was from. [18] [19]
In September 2022, McDonnell was invited to join a training camp with the Ireland U15 national team for the first time; the following month, he was subsequently called up to the squad for the UEFA Development Tournament. [20] While with the Ireland U15, he served as the team captain. [21]
In August 2023, he was called up to the Canada U15 national team for the 2023 CONCACAF Boys' Under-15 Championship. [22] He scored two goals in a group stage victory over the Dominican Republic. [23]
In October 2023, he was called up to the Republic of Ireland U17 national team for three 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification matches. [24] In November of the same year, he played with the Republic of Ireland U16 team, helping them win the Victory Shield, a friendly tournament involving the U16 teams of Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales. [25] On 5 September 2024, McDonnell scored his first goal for the Republic of Ireland U17s in a 2–1 loss to Denmark. [26]