Introduction
Robert Brady (born 14 January 1992) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger and a left-back for English club Burnley and the Republic of Ireland national team.
Brady began his career in the Manchester United academy. However, after featuring just once for United's first team, he joined Hull City initially on loan and then permanently in 2013. He made 124 appearances for the Tigers, helping them reach the 2014 FA Cup Final. In July 2015, he joined Norwich City for £7 million. Brady suffered relegation to the Championship with Norwich in 2016. He became Burnley's record signing in January 2017 when he completed a transfer for a fee reported to be around £13 million.
Brady has represented Ireland at all youth levels. After becoming their highest under-21 scorer of all time with seven goals, Brady made his senior international debut against Oman in 2012, scoring and setting up two more goals in a 4–1 victory. He has earned over 30 caps for his country and represented them at UEFA Euro 2016, scoring two goals during the tournament.
Club career
Early career
Born in Baldoyle, Dublin, Brady attended Pobalscoil Neasáin and was part of their under-16 All-Ireland Championship winning team. He was spotted by Manchester United scouts while playing for St. Kevin's Boys, and joined the club's academy shortly after his 16th birthday in January 2008. He made his first appearance for Manchester United in an under-18s match against Liverpool on 19 January 2008. His reserve team debut came just two months later, in a 3–1 win over Newcastle United.
In July 2008, Brady signed on as an academy scholar, and cemented his place in the under-18s throughout the following two seasons, as well as playing for the reserves. In the 2010–11 season, Brady graduated to the reserve team on a permanent basis. He was named as an unused substitute for the first team's League Cup Fourth Round win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 26 October 2010. He made his only appearance for Manchester United on 26 September 2012, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute for Alexander Büttner in a 2–1 victory over Newcastle United in the third round of the League Cup.
Hull City
On 19 July 2011, Manchester United loaned Brady to Championship club Hull City until 31 December. He made his debut in the first match of the season on 5 August 2011 at the KC Stadium in a 1–0 defeat to Blackpool. Three weeks later, he scored his first competitive goal for the Tigers in a 1–0 win against Reading at the KC Stadium. The loan was extended until the end of the 2011–12 season on 5 January 2012. On 21 January, Brady scored in a 1–0 win against Reading at the Madejski Stadium.
On 5 November 2012, Manchester United loaned Brady to Hull until 2 January 2013. He came off the bench the following day against Wolverhampton Wanderers as a replacement for Liam Rosenior. Brady scored his first goal since returning to Hull on 8 December 2012 against Watford; he scored with a 25-yard free kick that went in off the crossbar, making it 2–0 to Hull.
On 8 January 2013, Brady was signed by Hull on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee.
Brady scored a first-half penalty in Hull's opening home Premier League match on 24 August 2013, giving them a 1–0 win against Norwich City. He went on to score two more goals in the Premier League the following month. He then underwent two separate groin operations which made him miss most of the rest of the season.
Brady scored three goals during the 2014–15 campaign including two goals in the second leg of the Europa League play-off round tie against Belgian Pro League side K.S.C. Lokeren on 28 August. Hull won 2–1 on the night but lost the tie on the away goals rule. There was to be more disappointment for Brady as Hull were relegated after finishing the season in 18th position, three points behind Aston Villa.
Norwich City
On 29 July 2015, Brady joined newly promoted side Norwich City on a three-year deal, for a reported fee of £7 million. He netted his first league goal in a Norwich City shirt on 26 September 2015, opening the scoring in a 2–2 draw against West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground. On 1 March 2016, Brady lost two teeth in a clash of heads with teammate Gary O'Neil in a Premier League match against Chelsea. Norwich ended the season in 19th place which meant back-to-back relegations for Brady.
Brady opened his 2016–17 goalscoring account on 1 October 2016 with a stunning 25-yard strike in the 2–1 away win at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He doubled his goal tally for the season on 5 November, opening the scoring in a 3–2 home defeat to Leeds United. On 31 December, Brady was sent off in the 0–0 draw at Brentford in a controversial decision with manager Alex Neil saying: "Robbie clearly isn't going in to injure the lad and both of them are sliding at impact, but we're not getting the rub of the green right now and that's just another example." Norwich appealed the red card shown to Brady but it was rejected, meaning the Irishman would miss the next three matches. He returned to the side for a 1–0 defeat by Southampton in the FA Cup on 18 January 2017 and scored a penalty in the following league match, a 3–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 28 January, he made his final appearance for Norwich in a 2–0 win over Birmingham City, registering an assist for a Timm Klose goal just before half-time.
Burnley
On 31 January 2017, the final day of the January transfer window in England, Brady completed a move to Premier League club Burnley in a club record deal reportedly worth £13 million, meaning he would link up with his longtime friend Jeff Hendrick and international teammate Stephen Ward. He signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the option of another year. Four days later, he made his Burnley debut as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 away defeat to Watford. Eight days after that, on 12 February, he scored his first Burnley goal, a 20-yard free kick, on his full debut for the club in a 1–1 home draw against league leaders Chelsea. In the following match on 25 February, Brady provided an assist for Michael Keane's equalising goal in the 1–1 draw away to Hull City, his former club.
International career
Youth
In September 2010, Brady made his under-21 debut in the Cornaredo Stadium in Lugano. On 9 August 2011, Brady scored two goals in a 2–1 win for Republic of Ireland U21s in a friendly match against Austria U21s. He also scored in the 2013 European Championship qualifiers against Hungary and Liechtenstein.
On 26 February 2012, Brady was named 2011 Under-21 International Player of the Year for his terrific performances throughout the year. In September 2012, he became the record goalscorer at Irish under-21 level with his seventh goal for his country.
Senior
On 8 September 2012, Brady received his first senior international call-up for a friendly against Oman. He scored and set up two more goals in a 4–1 victory over the Arab opponents. On 18 November 2014, he scored his first brace for Ireland against the United States. On 29 March 2015, Brady started at left-back in Ireland's Euro 2016 qualifier against Poland at the Aviva Stadium in a match that finished 1–1. On 13 November 2015, Brady scored in the 82nd minute of the crucial Euro 2016 play-off first leg match against Bosnia and Herzegovina to earn a 1–1 draw. Three days later, he assisted one of Jonathan Walters' two goals to earn Ireland a 2–0 victory and qualification to UEFA Euro 2016.
On 22 June 2016, Brady scored a crucial header against Italy in the 85th minute of Ireland's last Euro 2016 group stage match resulting in a 1–0 victory, which enabled Ireland to progress to the knockout stage of the competition as one of the best-performing third-placed teams. He also scored a penalty in Ireland's 2–1 defeat to the host nation, France, as The Boys in Green exited the tournament in the Round of 16 stage.
On 28 March 2017, Brady captained Ireland for the first time in a 1–0 defeat friendly international defeat against Iceland at the Aviva Stadium.
Personal life
Brady is in a relationship with choreographer Kerrie Harris, who runs a dance school called Soul2Sole Dance Academy in her native Swords, Dublin. They have one child together, a daughter named Halle. His younger brother, Gareth, has played internationally for Ireland at under-17 level. His other brother, Liam, also appeared for Ireland at under-18 level.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 10 September 2017
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United | 2010–11 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Hull City | 2011–12 | Championship | 39 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 41 | 3 | |
| 2012–13 | Championship | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 4 | |||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 18 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 3 | |
| Total | 114 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 124 | 14 | ||
| Norwich City | 2015–16 | Premier League | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 3 | |
| 2016–17 | Championship | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 4 | ||
| Total | 59 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 62 | 7 | |||
| Burnley | 2016–17 | Premier League | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 5 | 1 | ||
| Total | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 19 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 191 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 206 | 23 | ||
International
- As of match played 5 September 2017
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2012 | 4 | 1 |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 7 | |
International goals
- As of match played 2 September 2017. Republic of Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Brady goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 September 2012 | Craven Cottage, London, England | 1 |  Oman |
2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 18 November 2014 | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | 11 |  United States |
2–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 4–1 | ||||||
| 4 | 13 November 2015 | Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 19 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
| 5 | 22 June 2016 | Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France | 26 |  Italy |
1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 |
| 6 | 26 June 2016 | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon, France | 27 |  France |
1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2016 |
| 7 | 31 August 2016 | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | 28 | Oman |
1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Individual
- FAI Under-21 International Player of the Year: 2011, 2012
- FAI Senior International Player of the Year: 2016