Riley Patrick McGree (born 2 November 1998) is an Australian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as an

attacking midfielder 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

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

and the Australian national team. Born in

Gawler, South Australia Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor of South Australia, Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. ...

, McGree played youth football for Gawler, the FFSA NTC and

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

before starting his professional career with Adelaide United in 2016. He joined

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 ...

of the Belgian top flight in 2017, and spent two loan spells back in Australia with

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

and Melbourne City before returning to Adelaide United. That club sold him to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

expansion franchise

Charlotte FC Charlotte Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the e ...

, who loaned him to English Championship club

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

for eighteen months, before selling him to Middlesbrough in 2022. McGree was first called up to the Australian national team in 2017, having previously played for the under-17 side in 2013.

Early life

McGree was born and raised in

, to the north of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. He joined Gawler Eagles FC as a four-year-old after the town's

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

club was full, and remained with the Eagles for eight years.

Club career

Adelaide United

McGree made his debut for

in the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

on 19 March 2016 in a draw with

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

. He made his first start for the club in a

2016 FFA Cup The 2016 FFA Cup was the third season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams again took part in the competition proper (from the round of 32), including the 10 A-League teams and 21 Football Fede ...

loss to Redlands United on 3 August 2016, having been called up from the club's youth squad. Two weeks later, McGree signed a one-year senior contract with Adelaide. McGree scored his first goal for the Reds in his second A-League start, on 29 January 2017, with a shot from the edge of the area in a draw with

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...

Club Brugge

After impressing at Adelaide United, including being called up for the Australian national team, McGree left the national Australian league in July 2017 to join Belgian club

Loan to Newcastle Jets

On 19 December 2017, it was announced that McGree would be joining the

on a short-term loan deal for the remainder of the 2017–18 A-League season, as an injury replacement for Jake Adelson. The transfer would be officially lodged in January, with him expected to join the squad in late January, due to his international commitments in

2018 AFC U-23 Championship The 2018 AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the 2018 AFC U-23 Asian Cup) was the third edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) f ...

. In that season's A-League semi-finals, McGree became the subject of international attention after scoring with a scorpion kick, and which received a nomination for the FIFA Puskas Award for the most beautiful goal in the world that year. At the end of the season McGree returned to Club Brugge, though Newcastle Jets looked to sign him on loan once more.

Loan to Melbourne City

In June 2018, a few weeks after the announcement that McGree returned to Club Brugge, he returned to the

, joining Melbourne City on a season-long loan.

Return to Adelaide United

On 5 July 2019, it was announced that McGree would return to Adelaide United for an undisclosed fee for the next three seasons. McGree starred for Adelaide United in his season back for Adelaide United scoring 10 goals in the league and 3 goals in the cup, including one in the FFA Cup final against Melbourne City. He capped off his season by winning the Aurelio Vidmar Club Champion award for the best and fairest player at Adelaide United, and winning the club's golden boot award.

Charlotte FC

On 5 October 2020, McGree was sold to

expansion franchise

for an undisclosed fee.

Loan to Birmingham City

Immediately after joining Charlotte FC, McGree was loaned to English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

for the season. He made his Birmingham City debut on 17 October, as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat at home to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

. Two weeks later, he scored his first goal two minutes into his first start, away to

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 ...

, when he reacted quickest to a loose ball after Lukas Jutkiewicz's mis-hit shot; the match ended 2–1 to Birmingham. McGree finished the season with 15 appearances, and his loan was renewed until 1 January 2022. He made his first league start of 2021–22 in October, in place of the injured

Tahith Chong Tahith Jose Girigorio Djorkaef Chong (born 4 December 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder, winger or forward for club Luton Town. Chong joined the Manchester United Academy aged 16, after progressing through the Fey ...

, and according to the ''

Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...

'', became "undroppable, impressing with his work-rate, mobility, versatility and, latterly, quality." He scored twice and made two assists in 13 league matches before his loan expired. Although McGree was expected to return to Charlotte FC in preparation for their MLS debut, rumours in early January linked him with a permanent move either to

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, managed by

Ange Postecoglou Angelos "Ange" Postecoglou ( ; ; born 27 August 1965) is a soccer manager and former player who was most recently manager of club Tottenham Hotspur. Born in Greece, Postecoglou grew up in Melbourne from the age of five. As a player, he spen ...

, the coach who first called him up to the senior national team, or to another EFL Championship club. He chose not to join Celtic, and on 14 January, he signed for

Middlesbrough

McGree signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with EFL Championship club

on 14 January 2022; the fee was undisclosed. McGree made his debut for the club on 12 February, coming off the bench during a 4–1 win against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. On 17 July 2024, McGree signed a new contract with Middlesbrough.

International career

McGree was called up to the Australia under-17 team in August 2013 for the 2013 AFF U-16 Youth Championship in Myanmar. He scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in the side's group stage win over

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

. In March 2017, McGree was called up to the Australian team for the first time, for

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

matches against

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

. In November 2019 he was one of four players suspended by the Australia national under-23 soccer team due to "unprofessional conduct". The four players allegedly mistreated a woman after an intimate encounter. As a result, McGree was forbidden to play in the upcoming

2020 AFC U-23 Championship The 2020 AFC U-23 Championship was the fourth edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted men's football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for under-23 national teams. A total of ...

, but was free to be selected for their World Cup team if Australia qualify. McGree made his senior debut on 3 June 2021, as a late substitute in a 3–0 win against

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in a 2022 World Cup qualifier. In a man-of-the-match performance on his first start, he provided two assists in a 5–1 victory against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

, and was a late substitute as Australia beat

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

to complete a perfect record in the second phase of qualifying. He scored his first international goal to complete Australia's 4–0 defeat of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

on 27 January 2022 in a third-phase qualifier. In November 2022, McGree was called up to play in the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. He started in Australia's opening match against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

where Australia lost 4–1. In their final group stage game, McGree assisted Mathew Leckie’s goal to beat Denmark 1-0. McGree started for the fourth time in a row in Australia's 2-1 loss to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Career statistics

Club

International

''Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first.''

Honours

Adelaide United *

Premiership: 2015–16 *

FFA Cup The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia (known as Football Federation Austra ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Individual * Middlesbrough Goal of the Season: 2022–23

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGree, Riley 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Gawler, South Australia Australian men's soccer players Australia men's international soccer players Australia men's youth international soccer players Men's association football midfielders Adelaide United FC players Club Brugge KV players Newcastle Jets FC players Melbourne City FC players Charlotte FC players Birmingham City F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players A-League Men players National Premier Leagues players English Football League players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic soccer players for Australia Australian expatriate men's soccer players Australian expatriates in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Australian expatriates in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Australian expatriates in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 AFC Asian Cup players 21st-century Australian sportsmen