Charles Patrick Mulgrew (born 6 March 1986) is a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

side Dundee United. Mulgrew began his career at Celtic, during which time he spent time on loan at Dundee United. He then played for

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

on loan and

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

. He returned for a second spell with Celtic in 2010, spending six years at the club. In August 2016, Mulgrew left Celtic to join Blackburn Rovers. He played on loan for

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 193 ...

during the 2019–20 season, returning to Blackburn in January 2020, then spending the following season on loan at

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed ...

. He signed for Dundee United for a second time in June 2021. Mulgrew has made more than 40 international appearances for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

Early life

Mulgrew grew up in

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; sco, Kirkintulloch; gd, Cair Cheann Tulaich) is a town and former barony burgh in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. ...

and attended Holy Family Trinity Primary School and St Ninian's High School in the

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bear ...

town.

Club career

Celtic

Having progressed through Celtic's

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

alongside Aiden McGeady, Mulgrew turned professional in July 2002. Originally playing at centre back, he was soon encouraged to switch to left back due to the shortage of players in that position at the club. He won the

Scottish Youth Cup The Scottish Youth Cup (also known as the SFA Youth Cup) is an annual Scottish football competition run by the Scottish Football Association for under-18 teams,

with the club in 2004–05, beating St Mirren 2–0 at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

Dundee United

In order for him to gain competitive experience, in January 2006 Mulgrew was loaned out to fellow SPL side Dundee United for the remainder of the 2005–06 season. A successful spell at Tannadice saw him feature regularly, scoring twice (both free kicks) in 14 appearancesPlayer Profile – Charlie Mulgrew
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and being named SPL Young Player of the Month for February. He then returned to Celtic hoping to force his way into first team contention, but was transferred to

shortly thereafter without ever appearing for the Celtic first team.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Mulgrew joined

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

in part exchange for left back Lee Naylor on 23 August 2006. He made his debut for the club on 10 September in a 1–0 win at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

. However, injury kept him out of most of the campaign and he was unable to force his way back into first team contention afterwards.

Southend United

Mulgrew was loaned out to English League One side

at the end of the January

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer ...

for the remainder of the 2007–08 season, which saw the club lose in the play-offs to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at T ...

. He scored his only goal for the club against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park ...

Aberdeen

Mulgrew was due to join

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

in July 2008 for a fee of approximately £150,000, but pulled out of the move. He eventually left for

on 15 July 2008, where he signed a two-year deal, moving for an undisclosed fee. Mulgrew scored the only goal against

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–08 SPL season. ...

on 16 August 2008 with a left-footed free kick, in his second competitive match for Aberdeen. He scored two goals, a volley and a free kick, against Celtic in a 3–2 defeat on 27 September 2008. On 16 May 2009, during the penultimate league match of the 2008–09 season at

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . ...

against

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

, Mulgrew and Rangers' Kyle Lafferty were at the centre of controversy. As Mulgrew made a clearance from his own half, Lafferty made a sliding tackle on him. Both players squared up to each other and Lafferty fell to the ground clutching his face as though he had been

headbutt A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...

ed. Referee Stuart Dougal sent Mulgrew off for violent conduct, but television pictures clearly showed that Mulgrew had not made clear contact with Lafferty. Lafferty was seen to wink to a teammate after Mulgrew had left the field. Mulgrew later had his red card rescinded and Lafferty was given a two-month suspension. In October 2009, Mulgrew was offered a new contract by Aberdeen, but he rejected the deal and left the club at the end of the 2009–10 season. In 83 games for the Dons, Mulgrew scored ten goals, including a string of free kicks.

Return to Celtic

On 1 July 2010, Mulgrew returned to Celtic on a three-year deal, becoming new manager

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish football coach and former player. During his playing career he represented English clubs Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Leicester City. Lennon moved to Celtic in 2000, wher ...

's first signing. On 2 January 2011, having played only a handful of games, he played against Rangers in a 2–0 win at Ibrox on the left wing. On 29 January, he deputised for Daniel Majstorović at centre back against former team Aberdeen in a 4–1

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

semi-final win at

. He scored his first goal for Celtic in that game, nodding home Kris Commons' corner from close range. Mulgrew became a regular in the centre of defence alongside Majstorović. In the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,the final against

. He scored the final goal of Celtic's 3–0 win with a free kick into the top corner, and helped earn him his first medal in football. On 25 August 2011, Mulgrew continued his set piece record by scoring a free kick in Celtic's 1–3 defeat to Sion in their second leg

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

qualifier. The following day, Mulgrew signed a contract extension at Celtic to keep him at the club until at least 2015. On 17 September 2011 he was sent off against Rangers for a second bookable offence, a challenge on Steven Davis. Mulgrew scored his first SPL goal for Celtic on 15 October 2011, a headed equaliser at

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for c ...

as Celtic came back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 with Kilmarnock. On 7 April 2012, Celtic beat Kilmarnock at Rugby Park to confirm them as

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

champions. Mulgrew scored two and set up two in the 6–0 win. On 29 April 2012, he scored Celtic's first goal in a 3–0 victory over Rangers. His performances won him the SPL, Players' and writers' player of the year awards for 2011–12. He also picked up Celtic's Player of the Year and Player's Player of the Year awards. On 21 July 2012 Mulgrew was sent off for a deliberate handball in a pre-season friendly against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

at the

Amsterdam ArenA The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...

. As a result, he missed Celtic's opening 2012–13 SPL game with his former club Aberdeen. On 1 August 2012, Mulgrew scored the winning goal in Celtic's 2–1 victory against

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history ...

in the first leg of the Champions League Third Qualifying Round. His contract with Celtic expired at the end of the 2015–16 season. Mulgrew was offered the use of Celtic's training facilities during the early part of the 2016–17 season.

Blackburn Rovers

2016–17

On 31 August 2016, Mulgrew signed for

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

on a three-year contract. He scored his first goal for Blackburn in a 1–0 away win against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

on 26 November 2016 and later scored a free-kick against them in another 1–0 victory in the reverse fixture on 2 January 2017. He made 30 appearances and scored three times in his first season in the club, but they were relegated to League One. Following this, the ''

Lancashire Telegraph The ''Lancashire Telegraph'', formerly the ''Lancashire Evening Telegraph'', is a local tabloid newspaper distributed in East Lancashire, England. It is edited by Karl Holbrook. There are around twenty towns in the area, including Blackburn, B ...

'' reported that

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...

were interested in signing him.

2017–18

In July 2017, Blackburn rejected a bid of £200,000 by

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

. On 24 April 2018, Mulgrew scored the only goal of the game at

, which secured promotion back to the Championship. It was his 14th goal of the season, which set a new club record for a defender.

2019–20

On 8 August 2019, Mulgrew signed for

on a season-long loan deal; The transfer deadline day move almost failed to happen after Mulgrew struggled to find Wigan's

Euxton Euxton ( ) is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 9,993, however, the population is now estimated to be around 14,000 due to the incre ...

training ground to complete the paperwork in time. During January 2020 Mulgrew opted to end the loan.

2020–21

On 16 October 2020, Mulgrew signed for

on a season-long loan deal. He scored his first goal for Fleetwood in a 5-1 win against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

on 21 November 2020. Mulgrew's departure from Rovers was announced at the end of the 2020–21 season.

Dundee United

On 16 June 2021, Mulgrew agreed a two-year deal to return to former loan club Dundee United.

International career

Mulgrew has represented Scotland at all levels up to and including senior international level. In June 2011, Mulgrew stated that he would consider playing for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, whom he was qualified to play for due to an American-born grandmother, if he was continually overlooked for

. In February 2012, Scotland manager

Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is currently a full-time advisor to the board of directors at Highland Football League club Brechin City. During his playing career ...

handed Mulgrew his first call-up to the senior squad, and he made his international debut on 29 February, starting at left back in a 1–1 draw with

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

. He also played in a 5–1 defeat to the USA in Florida in May 2012. On 7 September 2014, as Scotland began their

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

qualification with a 2–1 defeat away to Germany, Mulgrew was sent off in stoppage time. Following the retirement of former club teammate Scott Brown from international football in 2018, Mulgrew was chosen as the new

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Scotland.

Personal life

Mulgrew's cousin is Canadian

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensi ...

player

Sean Greenhalgh Sean Greenhalgh (born July 15, 1982) is a former professional lacrosse player. Sean is a cousin to Charlie Mulgrew, a Scottish footballer, who plays for Dundee United. Junior career Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Greenhalgh had a very success ...

, who plays for the

Buffalo Bandits The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse team in the East Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, t ...

in the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...

. Mulgrew married Alana in 2013, and they have two sons and a daughter. In December 2010, Mulgrew and girlfriend Alana were questioned by

Strathclyde Police Strathclyde Police was the territorial police force responsible for the Scotland, Scottish subdivisions of Scotland, council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrsh ...

after businesswoman Michelle Mone alerted them when she saw Mulgrew's child left alone in a car in freezing temperatures. The couple were originally charged with child neglect, although charges were later dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mulgrew goal.''

Honours

Celtic *

: 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Blackburn Rovers * EFL League One runner-up: 2017–18 Individual * Scottish Premier League Player of the Month: April 2012 *

PFA Scotland Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland Team of the Year (often called the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the four national tiers of the Scottish foo ...

2011–12 Scottish Premier League The 2011–12 Scottish Premier League was the fourteenth season of the Scottish Premier League, the highest division of Scottish football, since its inception in 1998. The season started on 23 July 2011 and ended on 13 May 2012. A total of twe ...

, 2012–13 Scottish Premier League *

PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year The PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year (often called the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in Scottish football ...

: 2011–12 *

SFWA Footballer of the Year The Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the SFWA Footballer of the Year, or simply the Scottish Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the se ...

: 2011–12 * Celtic Players' Player of the Year: 2011–12 * Scottish Premier League Player of the Year: 2011–12 * EFL Team of the Season: 2017–18 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...

: 2017–18 League One

References

External links

* *
Charlie Mulgrew
Guardian Stats Centre
Profile
at ''AFC Heritage Trust'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mulgrew, Charlie 1986 births Aberdeen F.C. players Association football defenders Celtic F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players English Football League players Living people People educated at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch Footballers from Glasgow Sportspeople from Kirkintilloch Scotland international footballers Scottish footballers Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players Scotland under-21 international footballers Southend United F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players

Early life

Club career

Celtic

Dundee United

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Southend United

Aberdeen

Return to Celtic

Blackburn Rovers

2016–17

2017–18

2019–20

2020–21

Dundee United

International career

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links