Riley McGree
Riley McGree | |
|---|---|
| Born | Riley Patrick McGree November 2, 1998 Gawler, South Australia, Australia |
| Occupation | Professional soccer player |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Known for | Attacking midfielder for Middlesbrough and the Australian national team |
Riley Patrick McGree (born 2 November 1998) is a professional Australian soccer player who operates as an attacking midfielder for English Championship club Middlesbrough and represents the Australian national team.
Originating from Gawler, South Australia, McGree advanced through the youth ranks at Gawler, the FFSA NTC, and Adelaide United before making his professional debut with Adelaide United in 2016. In 2017, he secured a contract with Belgian top-division side Club Brugge, although he spent time on loan back in Australia playing for Newcastle Jets and Melbourne City. Subsequently, he returned to Adelaide United, which later transferred him to MLS expansion franchise Charlotte FC. Charlotte immediately arranged an eighteen-month loan to English Championship club Birmingham City before completing his move to Middlesbrough in 2022.
On the international stage, McGree made his senior debut for Australia in 2017 after previously representing the under-17 team in 2013.
Early life
Born and raised in Gawler, South Australia, located north of Adelaide, McGree began playing football at age four, joining the local club Gawler Eagles FC after the town’s Australian rules football team had no available spots. He remained with the Eagles for eight years.
Adelaide United
McGree’s first appearance for Adelaide United in the A-League came on 19 March 2016 against Western Sydney Wanderers. His first start occurred during a 2016 FFA Cup match on 3 August 2016, a defeat to Redlands United, following his promotion from the youth squad. Two weeks later, he secured a one-year contract with the senior team. McGree netted his inaugural goal for Adelaide on 29 January 2017 in a draw versus Wellington Phoenix.
Club Brugge
After impressive displays for Adelaide United and earning a call-up to the Australian national squad, McGree moved to Belgian top-tier side Club Brugge in July 2017.
Loan to Newcastle Jets
On 19 December 2017, McGree was loaned to the Newcastle Jets for the remainder of the 2017–18 A-League season as cover for injured player Jake Adelson. The deal was finalized in January, with McGree joining later due to commitments at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship.
During the A-League semi-finals, he attracted global attention by scoring a remarkable scorpion kick goal that earned a nomination for the prestigious FIFA Puskas Award, recognizing it as one of the most spectacular goals of the year.
At the conclusion of that season, McGree returned to Club Brugge,Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
International career
McGree's initial involvement with the Australia U-17 squad came in August 2013 during the 2013 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, where he notably scored a hat-trick against Brunei.
In March 2017, he earned his first call-up to the senior national team for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification fixtures facing Iraq and the UAE. However, in November 2019, McGree was suspended from the U-23 side due to "unprofessional conduct," which prevented him from participating in the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship, although he remained eligible for senior team selection.
McGree debuted for Australia's senior team on 3 June 2021 as a substitute during a World Cup qualifying match that ended in a 3–0 victory over Kuwait. In his first starting appearance, he earned man-of-the-match honors by assisting twice in a dominant 5–1 win against Chinese Taipei. He opened his international scoring account on 27 January 2022 with a goal in a convincing 4–0 triumph over Vietnam during the third round of qualifiers.
Selected for Australia's squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, McGree started in the opening group game against France, which concluded with a 4–1 defeat. He then provided an assist for Mathew Leckie's decisive goal in Australia's 1–0 group stage win over Denmark and also started in the Round of 16 match where Australia was eliminated by Argentina.
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other Competitions | Overall Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | ||
| Adelaide United | 2015–16 | A-League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | A-League | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 21 | 2 | |||
| Aggregate | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 22 | 2 | ||||
| Club Brugge | 2017–18 | Belgian Pro League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Newcastle Jets (loan) | 2017–18 | A-League | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 5 | |||
| Melbourne City (loan) | 2018–19 | A-League | 27 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 30 | 8 | |||
| Adelaide United | 2019–20 | A-League | 23 | 10 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | 28 | 13 | |||
| Birmingham City (loan) | 2020–21 | Championship | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Championship | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 2 | |||
| Aggregate | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 3 | ||||
| Middlesbrough | 2021–22 | Championship | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | ||||||||
| 2022–23 | Championship | 43 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 6 | |||||||
| 2023–24 | Championship | 22 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 6 | |||||||
| 2024–25 | Championship | 14 | 1 | 14 | 1 | |||||||||
| Aggregate | 91 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | 97 | 15 | |||
| Career totals | 198 | 39 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 219 | 46 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2021 | 7 | 0 |
| 2022 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 |
Scores and results display Australia's goal count first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score at time of goal | Final result | Competition | Reference |
|---|
|- | 1 || 27 January 2022 || Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, Australia || || 4–0 || 4–0 || 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round || |}
Honours
Adelaide United
- A-League Premiership title: 2015–16 season
- FFA Cup winner: 2019
Individual Achievements
- Middlesbrough's Goal of the Season award: 2022–23
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with reference errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1998 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Gawler, South Australia
- Australian men's soccer players
- Australia men's international soccer players
- Australia men's youth international soccer players
- Men's association football midfielders
- Adelaide United FC players
- Club Brugge KV players
- Newcastle Jets FC players
- Melbourne City FC players
- Charlotte FC players
- Birmingham City F.C. players
- Middlesbrough F.C. players
- A-League Men players
- National Premier Leagues players
- English Football League players
- Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Olympic soccer players for Australia
- Australian expatriate men's soccer players
- Australian expatriates in Belgium
- Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
- Australian expatriates in the United States
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- Australian expatriates in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- 2022 FIFA World Cup players
- 2023 AFC Asian Cup players
- 21st-century Australian sportsmen