Leon Bailey
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Leon Patrick Bailey (born 9 August 1997) is a Jamaican 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
right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
for club
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
and the Jamaica national team. Bailey arrived in Europe at the age of 13 and played for a number of clubs at youth level before being signed by Belgian side
Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...
in 2015, where he was named Belgian Young Footballer of the Year. His success in Belgium earned him a move to
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
side
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
in 2017. After four years at the club, he was signed by Aston Villa in 2021 for a fee of around £30 million.


Club career


Early career

Bailey started his career playing for the Phoenix All-Star Academy operated by his adoptive father, Craig Butler. In 2011, Butler arrived in Europe to find a club for Bailey and Butler's biological son, Kyle. Bailey caught the eye of
Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...
in Belgium, but because of the very strict regulations on minors by FIFA, they could not offer him a contract. Bailey almost joined
Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...
, but the transfer was not approved because Butler had no work permit. Aged 13, Bailey signed for Austrian non-league side Anif Jugend, before moving to Liefering. In the beginning of 2013, Bailey signed a professional contract with Slovakian side
Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a List of towns in Slovakia, city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech Republic, Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a populati ...
. In October 2013, Bailey reached a verbal agreement with
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), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
, but a transfer did not materialise due to FIFA rules.


Genk

Bailey joined
Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...
in 2015 from Trenčín. He made his
Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...
debut on 21 August 2015 in a 3–1 away defeat against
Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...
replacing
Siebe Schrijvers Siebe Schrijvers (born 18 July 1996) is a Belgian footballer who currently plays for Oud-Heverlee Leuven. He plays as an attacking midfielder. Career On 6 December 2012, he made his debut for Genk in the UEFA Europa League against FC Basel. His ...
after 62 minutes. He scored his first professional goal for KRC Genk on 21 November versus
OH Leuven Oh, OH, or Oh! is an interjection, often proclaiming surprise (emotion), surprise. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * Oh! (Girls' Generation album), ''Oh!'' (Girls' Generation album), 2010 * Oh! (ScoLoHoFo album), ''Oh!'' (S ...
. At the end of the 2015–16 season he won the Belgian Young Footballer of the Year award. His goal in the
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
against
Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English, is an Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the f ...
on 15 September 2016 was chosen as the top goal of the competition for the 2016–17 season by UEFA.


Bayer Leverkusen

Bailey joined
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
in January 2017 for a fee of €20 million, after interest from
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and Chelsea. He made his debut for
Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. The city is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan ...
on 3 February 2017, in a 1–0 defeat against Hamburg. His Champions League debut came on 24 February 2017, in a 2–2 draw against
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
. He made ten appearances for Leverkusen in his first half season at the club. He scored his first goal for the club on 11 August 2017, in the first game of the 2017–18 season in a 3–0 victory in the German Cup against
Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...
. His first league goal for the club came on 29 September against
Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...
. He finished the season scoring 12 goals in 34 games in all competitions, helping guide Bayer Leverkusen to a fifth-place finish in the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
. On 30 November 2019, he scored twice in a 2–1 win over champions
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
, one goal with each foot.


Aston Villa

On 4 August 2021, 23-year-old Bailey signed for
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 ...
club
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
. On 14 August 2021, he made his Premier League debut as a substitute in a 3–2 loss to
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
. On 18 September, he scored his first goal for Villa in a 3–0 home victory over Everton, in which he also took a corner that led to a
Lucas Digne Lucas Digne (born 20 July 1993) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left back for club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa and the France national football team, France national team. Digne began his career at Li ...
own goal. Bailey's first season with Aston Villa was punctuated with injuries – suffering a hamstring injury in August that ruled him out for a month, a
quad QUaD, an acronym for QUEST at DASI, was a ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiment at the South Pole. QUEST (Q and U Extragalactic Sub-mm Telescope) was the original name attributed to the bolometer detector instrume ...
injury in the game above against Everton that ruled him out for another month, another thigh injury in December that ruled him out until February, which was followed by an ankle injury in April which prematurely ended his season – ultimately limiting Bailey to only 7 starts. On 6 November 2022, Bailey scored the first goal under
Unai Emery Unai Emery Etxegoien (born 3 November 1971) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa. He is widely regarded as o ...
in a 3–1 home victory over
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and was later named player of that month. On 6 December 2023, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over
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 ...
, which was his club's first win against the latter since 2013. Bailey scored against Hibernian in both home (3–0) & away legs (0–5) to help qualify Villa for the
UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...
group stage as well as against Ajax (4–0) in the Round of 16 eventually bowing out to Olympiakos (6–2 on aggregate) in the semi-finals. In that season, Bailey scored 10 goals in the Premier League to help Villa finish fourth & qualify for the
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 ...
. In the 24/25 season, Bailey scored his first goal of the season against Leicester at home on the 20th match day. Leon Bailey became the second Jamaican player to score in the UEFA Champions League, following
Wes Morgan Westley Nathan Morgan (born 21 January 1984) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Centre Back, centre-back. Born in England, he played for the Jamaica national football team, Jamaica national team. He was als ...
, after scoring for Aston Villa against Club Brugge in a 1–3 win on 4 March 2025

Leon Bailey is the first Jamaican player to assist a goal in the UEFA Champions League, following a brilliant pass to
Marco Asensio Marco Asensio Willemsen (; born 21 January 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national team. After starting his career with Mallorca, Asensio si ...
who converted during the second leg of the round of 16 tie against
Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...
on 12 March 2025.


International career


Under-23

Bailey played in a
friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...
for Jamaica under-23s on 8 March 2015 versus the Cayman Islands under-23 side, where he scored directly from a free kick.


Senior

In March 2017 it was reported that Bailey would refuse Jamaica call ups until the standards of Jamaican football improved. In September 2017, Bailey told German football magazine Kicker: "They always want me to play for Jamaica, but I've had personal problems with the
association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...
since I was eleven or twelve years old". In January 2018,
Winfried Schäfer Winfried "Winnie" Schäfer (born 10 January 1950) is a German football manager and former player who is the technical director for the Ghana national football team. Playing career Winfried Schäfer played 403 Bundesliga matches and scored 46 goa ...
, the former Jamaica national team coach told a German newspaper
Bild ''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...
"I really wanted to make him a national player. I have invited him several times – among others to the Gold Cup in America and to international matches. I also called at Genk. But his step-father blocked everything." Bailey was thought to have accepted a call-up in October 2018, but reneged after demanding that his brother Kyle Butler, who at the time played for the reserves of
FC Juniors OÖ FC Juniors OÖ is an Austrian association football club, from Pasching, Upper Austria. It was newly founded after the move of ASKÖ Pasching, who last appeared as FC Superfund, to Carinthia and the associated renaming in SK Austria Kärnten in 2 ...
in the Austrian 2. Liga, be called up too. In May 2019, Bailey was named to the Jamaican provisional squad for the
2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was p ...
, with Bailey officially announcing that he would accept the call-up and represent the Reggae Boyz. The 21-year-old would earn his first Jamaica international cap on 17 June 2019 against
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
. Bailey scored his first goal for Jamaica on 6 September 2019 against
Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...
, netting the fifth goal in a 6–0 victory in
CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...
play. Bailey was thought to have been eligible to represent England as he has two grandparents who have British citizenship. However, it was discovered he was not eligible to play for England as none of his grandparents were born in England. On 20 March 2024, Bailey announced via a podcast on YouTube that he will be taking a break from the Jamaican National Team. In his interview Bailey highlighted key issues he faces whenever he comes to represent the Reggae Boyz, such as the unprofessionalism of 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 ( ...
towards the team and himself. On 12 June 2024, Bailey was listed in Jamaica's Copa America 2024 squad. His agent and step-father subsequently stated on social media that Bailey's position regarding his participation with Jamaica was unchanged and he would not be joining up with the squad for the tournament. In response, the Jamaica Football Federation announced that Bailey had been temporarily suspended from selection for the Jamaican national team.


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bailey goal''


Honours

Individual * Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year: 2015–16 *
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
Golden Boy (award) nomination: 2016 *
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
goal of the season award: 2016–17 * VDV Newcomer of the Season: 2017–18 *VDV Team of the Season: 2017–18 *
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
Team of the Season: 2017–18 *Bundesliga Goal of the Month:
December 2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns, and the largest economic recession since the Great Depr ...
*
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
Player of the Month. February 2024 *
UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...
Team of the Season: 2023–24


References


External links


Leon Bailey
at
Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional Association football, football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English foot ...
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Leon 1997 births Living people Footballers from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican men's footballers 21st-century Jamaican sportsmen Men's association football wingers K.R.C. Genk players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Aston Villa F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Bundesliga players Premier League players Jamaica men's youth international footballers Jamaica men's international footballers 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Jamaican expatriate men's footballers Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Germany Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in England Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Expatriate men's footballers in Slovakia Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in Austria