Matty Virtue

Matty Virtue

Personal information
Full name	Matthew Joseph Virtue-Thick [1]
Date of birth	(1997-05-02) 2 May 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth	Epsom, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [2]
Position	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Fleetwood Town
Number	8
Youth career
0000–2006	Chelsea
2008–2017	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2019	Liverpool	0	(0)
2018	→ Notts County (loan)	13	(0)
2019–2024	Blackpool	84	(7)
2022–2023	→ Lincoln City (loan)	30	(3)
2024–	Fleetwood Town	71	(12)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:04, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

Matthew Joseph Virtue-Thick ^[3] (born 2 May 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two side Fleetwood Town. He has previously played for Liverpool and Notts County.

Career

Virtue joined Liverpool at under-11 level, having played with Chelsea until the age of 9. ^[4] He moved on loan to Notts County in January 2018. ^[5]

He was named captain of Liverpool's Under-23 team in October 2018. ^[6] In January 2019, he signed for Blackpool. ^[7] He scored his first professional goal against Accrington Stanley on 5 March 2019. ^[8]

On 16 October 2020, Virtue signed a new two-year contract with Blackpool. ^[9] In December 2020 he tested positive for COVID-19 and had to self-isolate, missing matches. ^[10] In October 2021 he extended his contract for a further year. ^[11]

He moved on loan to Lincoln City on 1 September 2022. ^[12] He made his debut coming off the bench against Cambridge United on 3 September 2022. ^[13] He scored his first goal for Lincoln City against Bristol Rovers in a 6–3 win on 17 September 2022. ^[14] After a period injured, he returned to the Lincoln first-team. ^[15]

Following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, Blackpool confirmed that Virtue would be departing the club upon the expiration of his contract. ^[16]

Virtue signed for Fleetwood Town on 1 July 2024. ^[17]

Career statistics

As of match played 3 March 2026

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Liverpool	2017–18 [18]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2018–19 [8]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Notts County (loan)	2017–18 [18]	League Two	13	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	15	0
Blackpool	2018–19 [8]	League One	13	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	3
	2019–20 [19]	League One	24	2	4	1	0	0	3 [a]	0	31	3
	2020–21 [20]	League One	16	2	2	0	1	0	1 [a]	0	20	2
	2021–22 [21]	Championship	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2022–23 [22]	Championship	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2023–24 [23]	League One	25	0	2	0	2	0	5	1	34	1
	Total		84	7	8	1	3	0	9	1	104	9
Lincoln City (loan)	2022–23 [22]	League One	30	3	1	0	2	1	3	0	36	4
Fleetwood Town	2024–25 [24]	League Two	41	9	1	0	3	0	2	0	47	9
	2025–26 [25]	League Two	30	3	3	0	1	0	4	0	38	3
	Total		71	12	4	0	4	0	6	0	85	12
Career total			198	23	14	1	9	1	19	1	240	25

1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References

1. "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
2. "Matty Virtue". Lincoln City F.C. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
3. "Liverpool release seven players as they submit retained squad list to Premier League" – Liverpool Echo , 9 June 2017
4. "Profile". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
5. "Matty Virtue: Liverpool midfielder joins Notts County". BBC Sport. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
6. "Gini's delight, Shaq eyes glory, and Juve want Origi – Monday's Liverpool FC News Roundup". This Is Anfield. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
7. "Blackpool: Matty Virtue joins from Liverpool and Antony Evans on loan from Everton". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
8. "Games played by Matty Virtue in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
9. Match Preview: Crewe Alexandra (A) – Blackpool F.C., 16 October 2020
10. "Maxwell and Virtue Return Positive COVID-19 Tests". www.blackpoolfc.co.uk.
11. "Virtue Signs New Deal" – Blackpool F.C., 19 October 2021
12. "Virtue joins Lincoln on season loan from Blackpool". BBC Sport.
13. "Cambridge United 2 Imps 0" – via Lincoln City FC.
14. "Blackpool winger making waves on the South Coast with League One Portsmouth" – via Blackpool Gazette.
15. Allen, Sam (14 March 2023). "Matty Virtue on Lincoln City injury return as he weighs up long-term future". LincolnshireLive.
16. "Retained List Confirmed". www.blackpoolfc.co.uk. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
17. "Matty Virtue: Blackpool midfielder joins Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport. 31 May 2024.
18. "Games played by Matty Virtue in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
19. "Games played by Matty Virtue in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
20. "Games played by Matty Virtue in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
21. "Games played by Matty Virtue in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
22. "Games played by Matty Virtue in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
23. "Games played by Matty Virtue in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
24. "Games played by Matty Virtue in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
25. "Games played by Matty Virtue in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2025.