Garath James McCleary (born 15 May 1987) is a 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 lea ...

who plays as a winger for club

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

. Born in England, he played for the Jamaica national team.

Club career

Early career

McCleary was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, Oxfordshire. His football career began with Oxford City, and spent time with

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

but never signed a contract with the team despite spending three months with the club. He joined Slough Town playing in 24 games and scoring on six occasions. He then moved to

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

in January 2007. In total McCleary made over 40 appearances for Bromley scoring 11 goals.

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

manager

Colin Calderwood Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. As a player, he was a centre-back who played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa and in the Football League for Mansfi ...

offered him a trial where he did well enough to secure a contract on 31 January 2008.

Nottingham Forest

McCleary made his first team debut as an 87th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 home defeat against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

, on 3 March 2008. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 April 2008 in injury time, in a 2–0 win at Carlisle. On 5 April he was handed his first start where he was voted Man of the Match as Forest beat

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

3–1 at the City Ground. In the 2011/12 season McCleary scored nine goals after returning from injury in December 2011; six of which came in March 2012. Four came in a high-scoring game away to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

, where Forest won 7–3. These performances resulted in McCleary being named as the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

Player of the Month. He was voted Forest's Player of the Season by the Forest supporters, beating

Joel Lynch Joel John Lynch (born 3 October 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for UAE Second Division League club Precision. He previously played for Brighton & Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield Town and Queens Park Ran ...

and

Chris Gunter Christopher Ross Gunter (born 21 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a defender. An attacking full back, he was capable of playing on both flanks but usually played on his preferred right side. Since 2023, he h ...

into second and third respectively.

Reading

On 16 May 2012 it was announced that McCleary had turned down a new contract at Forest and instead signed a three-year contract at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and fulfill his dream of playing in the

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 ...

. His first goal for Reading came in a 3–3 draw with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

. McCleary signed a new contract with Reading on 3 October 2014, keeping at the club until the summer of 2017, before again extending it on 17 January 2017, this time until the summer of 2020.

Wycombe Wanderers

On 4 November 2020, it was announced by

manager during a live webcast that the club had signed McCleary, who had been training with the club as a free transfer until the end of the current season. He scored his first goal for Wycombe in a 2–2 draw against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

on 5 December 2020.

International career

In October 2012 he was earmarked by the

Jamaica Football Federation The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is the governing body of football in Jamaica and is in charge of the Jamaica national football team and the Jamaican football league system, including the Jamaica Premier League. History Early history ( ...

to play for Jamaica during their 2014

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

qualifying campaign. He received his first call up on 24 January 2013 alongside

teammates

Jobi McAnuff Joel Joshua Frederick Melvin "Jobi" McAnuff (born 9 November 1981) is a former Association football, footballer. He was predominantly a Midfielder#Winger, winger but he has also played as an occasional Midfielder#Central midfielder, central midf ...

and Adrian Mariappa for the World Cup qualifier against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on 6 February. McCleary started the match and helped Jamaica to a 0–0 draw at the

Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () (officially known as Estadio Banorte for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium located in Coyoacán, Mexico City. It is the official home of football team Club América, as well as the Mexico national team. The stadium ...

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first.''

Honours

Wycombe Wanderers *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

runner-up: 2023–24 Individual * Nottingham Forest Player of the Season: 2011–12

References

External links

Garath McCleary profile
at Reading F.C. * at the Jamaica Football Federation * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCleary, Garath 1987 births Living people Footballers from Oxford English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people English men's footballers Jamaican men's footballers 21st-century Jamaican sportsmen Jamaica men's international footballers Men's association football wingers Oxford City F.C. players Slough Town F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Reading F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players Isthmian League players 2015 Copa América players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players 21st-century English sportsmen