![]() Bailey with Bayer Leverkusen in 2018 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Leon Patrick Bailey [1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 9 August 1997||
Place of birth | Kingston, Jamaica | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Right winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Aston Villa | ||
Number | 31 | ||
Youth career | |||
2009–2011 | Phoenix All-Star Academy | ||
2011 | Anif Jugend | ||
2011–2013 | Liefering | ||
2013–2015 | Trenčín | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2017 | Genk | 56 | (8) |
2017–2021 | Bayer Leverkusen | 119 | (28) |
2021– | Aston Villa | 87 | (15) |
International career‡ | |||
2015 | Jamaica U23 | 1 | (1) |
2019– | Jamaica | 30 | (5) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:01, 17 August 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 November 2023 |
Leon Patrick Bailey (born 9 August 1997) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Jamaica national team.
Bailey arrived in Europe at the age of 13 and played for a number of clubs at youth level before being signed by Belgian side Genk in 2015, where he was named Belgian Young Footballer of the Year. His success in Belgium earned him a move to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in 2017. After four years at the club, he was signed by Aston Villa in 2021 for a fee of around £30 million. [3]
Bailey started his career playing for the Phoenix All-Star Academy operated by his adoptive father, Craig Butler. [4] In 2011, Butler arrived in Europe to find a club for Bailey and Butler's biological son, Kyle. Bailey caught the eye of Genk in Belgium, but because of the very strict regulations on minors by FIFA, they could not offer him a contract. [5] Bailey almost joined Standard Liège, [6] but the transfer was not approved because Butler had no work permit. Aged 13, Bailey signed for Austrian non-league side Anif Jugend, [7] before moving to Liefering.
In the beginning of 2013, Bailey signed a professional contract with Slovakian side Trenčín. [8] In October 2013, Bailey reached a verbal agreement Ajax, but a transfer did not materialize due to FIFA rules. [9]
Bailey joined Genk in 2015 from Trenčín. He made his Belgian Pro League debut on 21 August 2015 in a 3–1 away defeat against Sint-Truiden replacing Siebe Schrijvers after 62 minutes. [10] He scored his first professional goal for KRC Genk on 21 November versus OH Leuven. At the end of the 2015–16 season he won the Belgian Young Footballer of the Year award. His goal in the Europa League against Rapid Wien on 15 September 2016 was chosen as the top goal of the competition for the 2016–17 season by UEFA. [11]
Bailey joined Bayer Leverkusen in January 2017 for a fee of €20 million, after interest from Manchester United and Chelsea. He made his debut for Leverkusen on 3 February 2017, in a 1–0 defeat against Hamburg. His Champions League debut came on 24 February 2017, in a 2–2 draw against Atlético Madrid. He made ten appearances for Leverkusen in his first half season at the club. [12]
He scored his first goal for the club on 11 August 2017, in the first game of the 2017–18 season in a 3–0 victory in the German Cup against Karlsruher SC. His first league goal for the club came on 29 September against Schalke 04. [13] He finished the season scoring 12 goals in 34 games in all competitions, helping guide Bayer Leverkusen to a fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga. [14] On 30 November 2019, he scored twice in a 2–1 win over champions Bayern Munich, one goal with each foot. [15]
On 4 August 2021, Bailey signed for Premier League club Aston Villa. [16] On 14 August 2021, he made his Premier League debut as a substitute in a 3–2 loss to Watford. [17] On 18 September 2021, he scored his first goal for Villa in a 3–0 home victory over Everton, in which he also took a corner that led to a Lucas Digne own goal. [18] Bailey's first season with Aston Villa was punctuated with injuries - suffering a hamstring injury in August that ruled him out for a month, a quad injury in the game above against Everton that ruled him out for another month, another thigh injury in December that ruled him out until February, which was followed by an ankle injury in April which prematurely ended his season - ultimately limiting Bailey to only 7 starts. [19] [20]
On 6 November 2022, Bailey scored the first goal under Unai Emery in a 3–1 home victory over Manchester United and was later named player of that month. [21] On 6 December 2023, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Manchester City, which was his club's first win against the latter since 2013. [22]
In the 2023/24 Premier League season, Bailey was impressive and scored ten goals and registered nine assists [23] to help Aston Villa secure a top-4 finish above the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle , and Manchester United. [24] This guaranteed Villa a place in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, Europe’s elite competition. [25]
Bailey played in a friendly match for Jamaica under-23s on 8 March 2015 versus the Cayman Islands under-23 side, where he scored directly from a free kick. [26]
In March 2017 it was reported that Bailey would refuse Jamaica call ups until the standards of Jamaican football improved. [27] In September 2017, Bailey told German football magazine Kicker: "They always want me to play for Jamaica, but I've had personal problems with the association since I was eleven or twelve years old". [28] In January 2018, Winfried Schäfer, the former Jamaica national team coach told a German newspaper Bild "I really wanted to make him a national player. I have invited him several times – among others to the Gold Cup in America and to international matches. I also called at Genk. But his step-father blocked everything." [29] Bailey was thought to have accepted a call-up in October 2018, but reneged after demanding that his brother Kyle Butler, who at the time played for the reserves of FC Juniors OÖ in the Austrian 2. Liga, be called up too. [30]
In May 2019, Bailey was named to the Jamaican provisional squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with Bailey officially announcing that he would accept the call-up and represent the Reggae Boyz. [31] [32] He would earn his first Jamaica international cap on 17 June 2019 against Honduras. [33] Bailey scored his first goal for Jamaica on 6 September 2019 against Antigua and Barbuda, netting the fifth goal in a 6–0 victory in CONCACAF Nations League play. [34]
Bailey was thought to have been eligible to represent England as he has two grandparents who have British citizenship. [35] However, it was discovered he was not eligible to play for England as none of his grandparents were born in England. [30]
On March 20, 2024, Bailey announced via a podcast on YouTube that he will be taking a break from the Jamaican National Team. In his interview Bailey highlighted key issues he faces whenever he comes to represent the Reggae Boyz, such as the unprofessionalism of the Jamaica Football Federation towards the team and himself. [36]
On June 12, 2024, Bailey was listed in Jamaica's Copa America 2024 squad. His agent and step-father subsequently stated on social media that Bailey's position regarding his participation with Jamaica was unchanged and he would not be joining up with the squad for the tournament. [37] In response, the Jamaica Football Federation announced that Bailey had been temporarily suspended from selection for the Jamaican national team. [38]
Club | Season | League | National cup [lower-alpha 1] | League cup [lower-alpha 2] | Europe | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Genk | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 37 | 6 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 7 | ||
2016–17 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 12 [lower-alpha 3] | 7 | 35 | 9 | |||
Total | 56 | 8 | 9 | 1 | — | 12 | 7 | 77 | 16 | |||
Bayer Leverkusen | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | — | — | 2 [lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
2017–18 | 30 | 9 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 34 | 12 | ||||
2018–19 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 [lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 39 | 5 | |||
2019–20 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | 8 [lower-alpha 5] | 1 | 33 | 7 | |||
2020–21 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | — | 8 [lower-alpha 3] | 5 | 40 | 15 | |||
Total | 119 | 28 | 11 | 5 | — | 26 | 6 | 156 | 39 | |||
Aston Villa | 2021–22 | Premier League | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |
2022–23 | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 36 | 5 | |||
2023–24 | 35 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 [lower-alpha 6] | 4 | 52 | 14 | ||
2024–25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Total | 87 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 107 | 20 | ||
Career total | 262 | 51 | 25 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 51 | 17 | 340 | 75 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Jamaica | 2019 | 6 | 1 |
2020 | 2 | 0 | |
2021 | 4 | 0 | |
2022 | 6 | 2 | |
2023 | 12 | 2 | |
Total | 30 | 5 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 September 2019 | Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica | ![]() | 5–0 | 6–0 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League B |
2 | 30 March 2022 | Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica | ![]() | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
3 | 14 June 2022 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A | |
4 | 28 June 2023 | CityPark, St. Louis, United States | ![]() | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
5 | 15 October 2023 | Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | ![]() | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League A |
Individual
Koninklijke Racing Club Genk, commonly known as KRC Genk or Racing Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four championship titles; in 1998–99, in 2001–02, in 2010–11 and in 2018–19. They have also won five Belgian Cups, most recently in 2020–21. They qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2002–03, 2011–12 and 2019–20.
Unai Emery Etxegoien is a Spanish football manager and former player who is the manager of the Premier League club Aston Villa. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world.
Christian Benteke Liolo is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United.
Kevin De Bruyne is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. De Bruyne is often described as one of the best and most complete modern day advanced playmakers due to his technique, skill, athleticism, work-rate off the ball, vision, crossing accuracy, wide range of passing, and powerful long-range shooting ability with either foot.
Emre Can is a German professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, which he captains, and the Germany national team. A versatile player, he primarily plays as a central midfielder, but is also capable of playing as a defensive midfielder, centre-back, or full-back.
Dennis Praet is a Belgian professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Premier League club Leicester City and the Belgium national team.
Divock Okoth Origi is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club AC Milan.
Youri Marion A. Tielemans is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Belgium national team.
Leander Dendoncker is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as either a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Belgium national team.
Timo Werner is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, on loan from Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, and for the Germany national team.
Demarai Remelle Gray is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq and the Jamaica national team.
Marcus Højriis Ingvartsen is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland and the Denmark national team. On 1 January 2025, he will join Major League Soccer club San Diego FC ahead of their inaugural season.
Mbwana Ally Samatta is a Tanzanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Super League Greece club PAOK, and captains the Tanzania national team.
Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and the Nigeria national team.
Joakim Mæhle Pedersen is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Denmark national team.
Kai Lukas Havertz is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Premier League club Arsenal and the Germany national team.
Dominik Szoboszlai is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Hungary national team. A versatile player, he is able to play as a box-to-box midfielder, right midfielder or attacking midfielder.
Moussa Diaby is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad and the France national team.
Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha, commonly known as Matheus Cunha, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Brazil national team. He has also been deployed as a second striker or winger.
Noah Mbamba-Muanda is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for German 2. Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan from Bayer Leverkusen.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty |title=
(help){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)