Conor Ciaran Masterson (born 8 September 1998) is an Irish

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 lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club Gillingham.

Club career

Early career

Originally from

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

, in Ireland, Masterson played for Lucan United before joining

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on his 16th birthday for a reported fee of €1m after being spotted playing for a Dublin & District Schoolboys League select team in 2012. He made his U18s debut in 2014–15. Masterson went on to captain the under-18s and was an unused sub for Liverpool in their FA Cup tie at

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in January 2016. He moved to the U23s squad ahead of the 2017–18 season. He was named on the bench for Liverpool's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

3–0 quarter final victory against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

on 4 April 2018. He was named in Liverpool's

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

squad for the match against Everton on 7 April 2018 and was included on the substitutes' bench. Masterson was released by Liverpool at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Queens Park Rangers

On 3 July 2019, Masterson signed a two-year deal with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. On 5 January 2020, he made his debut for the club in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third round 5–1 defeat of

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

. On 18 July 2020, Masterson scored his first senior goal when he opened the scoring in an eventual 4–3 victory over

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. On 19 January 2021, Masterson joined League One side

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

on loan until the end of the 2020-21 season On 21 August 2021, Masterson joined another League One side,

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

, on loan until January 2022. Masterson was named in the starting line-up on the same day as the U's faced

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

. On 4 January 2022, Masterson returned to QPR. On 28 January 2022, Masterson joined a third League One club, Gillingham, on loan until 30 April 2022. He again joined Gillingham on loan in January 2023.

Gillingham

After Queens Park Rangers opted not to renew his contract at the end of the 2022–23 season, Masterson signed a permanent contract with Gillingham to take effect on 1 July. He was named as the Kent side's Player of the Year for the 2023–24 season. On 24 June 2025, the club announced he had signed a new one-year deal.

International career

On 6 March 2014, Masterson made his debut for Republic of Ireland Under-17s in a 2–1 friendly win over

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

. At the 25th Annual FAI International Football Awards Masterson was named as the Under-16 International Player of the Year for 2014. Masterson graduated to the Under-19 side on 10 October 2015 as an unused substitute in a 1–1 friendly draw against

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, before making his debut in a 1–2 loss against the same side two days later. He was first called up to the Under-21 side in March 2019 ahead of a European Championships qualifier against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, going on to play the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 victory.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * FAI Under-16 International Player of the Year: 2014 * Gillingham Player of the Season: 2023–24

References

External links

Conor Masterson
at Gillingham F.C. website *
Football Association Ireland profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masterson, Conor 1998 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Association footballers from Dublin (city) Men's association football central defenders Liverpool F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players English Football League players Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers 21st-century Irish sportsmen