Ross McCormack (born 18 August 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 lea ...

who plays as a striker for English side Doncaster City, who play in the Central Midlands Alliance League North Division. McCormack started his career with

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

club

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

in 2002, where he made few appearances and was loaned to English League One side

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

in January 2006. At the end of the season he was released by Rangers and joined fellow SPL side

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

. Although his first season was disrupted by a long illness, he became a regular player and scorer in his second season there. In 2008 McCormack joined Championship club

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

upon the expiry of his contract. In 2010, he moved 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 ...

for a fee of around £350,000, eventually becoming their

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

. In the 2013–14 season, he was the Championship top scorer with 28 goals, prompting a transfer to

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 ...

in July 2014 for an undisclosed fee. He scored 42 goals in 100 competitive appearances over two years at Fulham, and was signed by

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 ...

for a £12 million fee. He fell out of favour with Villa manager

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was a centre-back in a twenty-year playing career. He is currently the head coa ...

and was loaned to

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 ...

, Melbourne City,

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

and Motherwell before being released in 2019. McCormack played ten times for

Scotland U21s Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, scoring three goals, and he was also capped once for the Scotland B team. He made his full international debut for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 2008 and has been capped 13 times overall, scoring twice.

Club career

Rangers

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, McCormack started his career at

joining the club on 4 June 2002. He made his first appearance on 1 May 2004 against future club

at the age of 17, coming on in place of Mikel Arteta in the 61st minute of a 4–0 win at Ibrox. Fifteen days later, McCormack scored his first goal for the club in the final match of the 2003–04 season against

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

East End Park East End Park, currently named KDM Group East End Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium situated in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland with a seating capacity of . The stadium plays host to the home matches of side, Dunfermline Athle ...

. He started the game and won a penalty when fouled by Barry Nicholson, which he converted himself in a 3–2 win. On 23 November 2005, he made his European debut away to

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

in 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 ...

group stage, replacing Francis Jeffers with 14 minutes remaining. Seven minutes later, with the Gers' first shot on target, he equalised in a 1–1 draw. McCormack's opportunities were limited in a Rangers side when

Dado Pršo Miladin "Dado" Pršo (born 5 November 1974) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Pršo played for seven different teams and made over 300 league appearances as a professional. He was included in the Monaco tea ...

and

Nacho Novo Ignacio Javier Gómez Novo (; born 26 March 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Novo was an assistant coach and served as the interim head coach for the final 5 matches of the 2023 season for USL League O ...

returned from injury and the club signed

Kris Boyd Kris Boyd (born 18 August 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a forward, currently working as a sports pundit. As a player he was a forward. Boyd grew up in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton and started h ...

from

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

in January 2006. On 21 January, he was sent out on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

to English League One club

in order to gain first team experience. He scored five times for Doncaster.

Motherwell

At the start of the 2006–07 season, McCormack was told he did not feature in new Rangers manager Paul Le Guen's plans and was released. On 11 July 2006, he signed a two-year deal at Motherwell. His new manager Maurice Malpas, who had worked with him at Scotland under-21, said that he had seen him improve by playing regularly at Doncaster. McCormack made his Well debut on 30 July as the team began the SPL season with a 2–1 home loss to Rangers, in which he assisted their goal by Phil O'Donnell. His first season at

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 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

was disrupted by illness that caused an overactive

thyroid gland The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, it is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam's apple. It consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by ...

and ruled him out from September until February 2007. On 28 February, he scored his first goal for the team, a consolation in a 2–1 home loss to First Division team St Johnstone in the quarter-finals of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,St Mirren. In 2007–08, McCormack became a fixture in the Motherwell first team, where he found himself better suited to playing in a 4–3–3 formation, receiving the October 2007 Young Player of the Month award. The season also saw an improvement in his goal tally as he scored a total of 11 goals, although he reached this mark on 16 February with a brace against Gretna and suffered a goal drought in the remaining 14 games of the season.

Cardiff City

In January 2008, McCormack was linked with a move to

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 ...

sides

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, even coming as close as having a contract ready to be signed with the club, and

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 ...

but no deal was agreed and he eventually signed for

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 ...

side

on 28 June on a free transfer, although the clubs would later agree on a compensation fee of £120,000. On his arrival, McCormack stated that one of the biggest reasons that persuaded him to sign for the club, alongside the chance to play first-team football and the group of Scottish players on the club's books, was the presence of his idol

Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football coach and former player. He most recently managed Saudi First Division League side Al-Qadsiah. As a player, he was a striker, and is the ninth-highest goalscorer in the histor ...

, only for the former

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

international to leave the club soon after. McCormack made his league debut on the opening day of the season in a 2–1 victory over

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and went on to score his first competitive goal for Cardiff in a 1–1 draw against Doncaster the following week. He finished the season as the club's top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions and joint second place Championship top scorer. His final goals of the season in a 3–1 win over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

were the last goals scored at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

by a Cardiff player in a competitive match. On 23 July 2009 it was reported McCormack handed in a transfer request. This was denied by his agent who claimed that there is a 'gentleman's agreement' in his contract that stipulates that he can speak to any Premier League club who bid for his services. Amidst interest from Premier League clubs, on 8 August he was involved in three goals of a 4–0 win over

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

in the first match at the

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium () is a stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City and the Wales national football team, Wales national team. Following expansion of the Ninian S ...

Leeds United

On 24 August 2010, Cardiff agreed a fee with

over a possible transfer, and three days later he signed a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his Leeds debut on 28 August as a 70th-minute substitute in a 1–0 win over

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 ...

, and his first start in a 0–0 draw with

on 17 September. On 30 April 2011, he scored his first goal for Leeds in a 1–0 win over Burnley, and was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. His only other goal of the campaign was in Leeds' 2–1 win over champions

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 ...

in the final game of the season. Ross McCormack Leeds 2012

With two goals in a 3–3 draw against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

on 23 September 2011, including an injury-time equaliser, McCormack became the first Leeds player in over 50 years to score in six consecutive league games. He was nominated for the Championship Player of the Month Award for September, which went to Middlesbrough's

Matthew Bates Matthew David Bates (born 10 December 1986) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, as well as holding a UEFA B coaching licence. Born in Stockton-on-Tees, he began his youth career with Manchester United before moving ...

. He was linked with a move to

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

during November, but manager

Simon Grayson Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who is head coach of National League (division), National League club Hartlepool ...

stated that he did not want to sell McCormack. During December, he was linked with moves to Premier League clubs

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

and Wolves again. In April 2012, Leeds were in negotiations with McCormack over extending his current deal. He finished the season as the club's top scorer. On 28 April, after he scored 19 goals in all competitions for Leeds during the 2011–12 season won the ''

Yorkshire Evening Post The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' (''YEP'') is a regional daily newspaper covering the City of Leeds. Founded in 1890 it is published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, National World. Despite being having coverage and being sold across West Yorkshire ...

'' Player of the Year Award for Leeds United. On 17 August 2012, he signed a new three-year deal with the club. In the first few minutes of the match against his former club

, McCormack was tackled by Jordon Mutch and picked up a serious ankle injury as a result of the tackle. He underwent surgery on the damaged ankle and was expected to be out until the new year, but returned to action on 18 November. McCormack scored the winning goal for Leeds in a 2–1

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 ...

victory against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

on 27 January 2013. At the club's end-of-season awards, this won the club's Goal of the Season award. On 3 August, Leeds confirmed they had rejected a joint bid from

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

for McCormack and Aidy White. Later in the month he entered negotiations for a new contract, ending the uncertainty about the player's future after three separate bids by

in the region of £1.8 million. On 30 August, after Leeds had rejected those bids, McCormack signed a new four-year deal with the club. McCormack became the first Leeds player to score four times in a league match since

Brian Deane Brian Christopher Deane (born 7 February 1968) is an English football coach and former player. His most recent managerial position was as the manager of the Norwegian side Sarpsborg 08. During his playing career, he played as forward from 19 ...

in 2004, and the first to do so in an away match for 87 years, in a 4–2 victory over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on 9 November 2013 which put him to the top of the Championship leading scorers of the 2013–14 season with 11 goals. On 16 January 2014, McCormack was named club

after Rodolph Austin stepped down from the role. In January 2014, Leeds rejected bids for McCormack from

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and then on transfer deadline day from Cardiff. With rumours of interest also from

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

on deadline day, McCormack released a statement via

Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Group, Sky, a division of Comcast. History Sky Sports first started broadcasting sports news bulletins when it began broadcasting the Premi ...

that he pledged his future to Leeds and also his support of manager Brian McDermott, who was sacked only 30 minutes later. The next day, McCormack scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 victory against local rivals

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

, taking his tally to 22 goals for the season. McCormack finished the 2013–14 season scoring 29 goals in all competitions for Leeds, and was second to

Danny Ings Daniel William John Ings (born 23 July 1992) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. He will become a free agent on 1 Ju ...

as Championship Player of the Year. He was named in the Championship

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 Football in England, En ...

, and also named the LUDO Player of the Year and the LUSC Player of the Year, as well as the

Player of the Year. At the club's annual awards ceremony, McCormack won the Fans Player of the Year award, Players Player of the Year award and also the Goal of the Season Award for his strike against

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 ...

. On 5 June, Leeds owner

Massimo Cellino Massimo Cellino (; born 28 July 1956) is an Italian entrepreneur and football club owner. Through his family trust Eleonora Sport Ltd, he was the owner of Italian club Brescia Calcio, and is the former owner of Italian club Cagliari, and English ...

said he had rejected a substantial offer for McCormack from

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, which that club denied. On 30 June, McCormack was left out of Leeds' pre-season training camp in Italy. On 2 July, BBC Sport reported that McCormack had handed in a transfer request. Leeds commented on his future the following day, reiterating that they wanted the player to remain at the club and that the club 'no longer needs to sell their best players in order to run the club successfully'.

Fulham

McCormack signed for newly relegated Championship team

on 8 July 2014. He was transferred for an £11 million fee, including add-ons, and signed a four-year contract with the option of a fifth. He made his debut on 9 August as Fulham began the season with a 2–1 loss at Ipswich, after which manager

Felix Magath Wolfgang Felix Magath (; born 26 July 1953) is a German football manager and former player. The most notable spell of his playing career was with Hamburger SV, with whom he won three Bundesliga titles, the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final a ...

criticised his fitness level. Fifteen days later he scored his first goal for his new team, the only one in a League Cup second round victory at West London rivals

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. On 17 September, he opened his league account for the Whites with a brace in a 5–3 loss at Nottingham Forest. McCormack was sent off for two yellow cards in a 3–3 draw at Wigan Athletic on 1 November. On 21 January 2015, McCormack scored a hat-trick in the first 32 minutes of a 3–2 win over Forest at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

. At the start of April, he scored in four consecutive games, and on the 25th he scored another treble in a 4–3 home win over Middlesbrough. He received the majority of the fans' votes for Fulham's Player of the Season. McCormack retained the club's award the following season, with nearly three-quarters of the votes cast, and was also included in the Championship PFA Team of the Year and beaten only by top scorer

Andre Gray Andre Anthony Gray (born 26 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays a striker for Fatih Karagümrük. Born in England, he represents the Jamaica national team. A product of the Shrewsbury Town youth system, Gray came to prominence ...

as the league's Player of the Season. He scored 23 times over the season in addition to nine assists.

Aston Villa and loans

McCormack joined

, under

Roberto di Matteo Roberto Di Matteo (; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. A midfielder, he played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau early in his career. After winning the Swiss league title with Aarau i ...

, on 4 August 2016 for £12 million on a four-year deal. Three days later, he was included in Villa's starting lineup for their 2016–17 Championship opening fixture away to

, a 1–0 loss. He scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw with Huddersfield Town at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

on 16 August. On 21 January 2017, Villa manager

revealed that McCormack had been dropped from the first team squad for "continually missing training", adding that "he is nowhere near fit enough to play and be involved". Twelve days later, he joined fellow Championship team

on loan until the end of the season. After making the loan move, McCormack admitted that he had once missed training when he had been trapped in his home by a faulty electronic gate. He scored on his debut for Forest in a 5–1 loss at

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on 11 February. McCormack made himself unavailable for "personal issues" in March, as Forest struggled against relegation. McCormack made only two EFL Cup substitute appearances in the early part of the 2017–18 season after returning to Villa. On 29 September 2017, he signed for

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 ...

club Melbourne City on loan until January 2018. He made his debut in the season opener on 6 October, starting as his team defeated

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...

2–0 at the

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, currently known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the suburb of East Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victor ...

. Fifteen days later, he scored his first goal, a free kick to win a home game against the

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 ...

. On 28 October, he scored both goals of a 2–0 win at

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 ...

. After the game, he told the media that he was pleased to be in scoring form again. On 22 November, it was reported that McCormack had been dropped from the Melbourne City squad for being "exceptionally late to training". After returning to Villa, McCormack was still frozen out of the team due to his disputes with Bruce. In May 2018, it was revealed that his annual salary of £2.3 million would have a bonus £1 million added if Villa were promoted, despite him not playing a league match for them that season. On 20 September 2018, McCormack signed a one-year loan deal with A-League club

Central Coast Mariners FC Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under Professional sports lea ...

. He played alongside the Olympic sprinting champion

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

for Central Coast, and assisted Bolt's first goal in an official football match. On 5 January 2019, McCormack was recalled by Aston Villa; he made just five appearances for the Mariners, scoring once. McCormack was then loaned to Motherwell for the rest of the 2018–19 season, returning to the club after a decade elsewhere. After making four appearances for Motherwell, McCormack returned to Aston Villa in March for treatment of a calf injury that had kept him from playing for a month. Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson said in April that McCormack would not return to Motherwell. He was released by Aston Villa at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Non-League

On 18 September 2020, McCormack signed for

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...

. On 24 July 2023, after some time without a club, McCormack signed for English

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

(East) side

Liversedge Liversedge is an industrial town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The Kirklees ward is now called Liversedge and ...

. In January 2024, McCormack departed Liversedge. Whilst at the club, McCormack made two substitute appearances whilst working as the club's director of football. In February 2024, as part of a

publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utiliz ...

, alongside Charlie Mulgrew and

Wes Hoolahan Wesley Patrick Hoolahan (born 20 May 1982) is an Irish professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Central Midlands Alliance club Doncaster City F.C., Doncaster City. Hoolahan began his playing career ...

, McCormack signed for

Central Midlands League The Central Midlands Alliance is an English football league covering the northeast-central part of England. Formed in 1971 as the South Derbyshire League, changing name initially to the Derbyshire League before changing to the Central Midlands L ...

North side Doncaster City. All three players were registered in time to face Dearne & District on 16 February, a match Doncaster City won 3–1.

International career

McCormack made his debut for the Scotland U21 in 2006. He scored his first goal for the side on 11 October 2007 against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and scored again in his next appearance, a 4–0 victory over Slovenia U21s. McCormack won 10 caps for the under-21 side. He made his debut for the senior side on 30 May 2008 when he came on as a substitute during the 3–1 defeat of

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. McCormack was called up again in March 2009 for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. He started both matches, scoring his first goal for Scotland in a 2–1 win over Iceland on 1 April 2009. Scotland manager

Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional association football, football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone. During his playing c ...

received several complaints for not including the in-form McCormack in his Scotland squad in their final two European Championship qualifiers. McCormack received a call up to the Scotland squad in August 2012, and scored his second international goal in a 3–1 win over Australia. McCormack received a call-up to

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player who is currently Technical Director of Dundee. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Sc ...

's first Scotland squad for the friendly against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

in February 2013 but pulled out of the squad after suffering an illness. On 24 August, after scoring 4 goals in his first 5 games for Leeds during the 2013–14 season, McCormack's form earned him a recall to

's Scotland squad for

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 ...

qualifiers against Belgium and Macedonia.

Personal life

On 27 October 2009, McCormack was arrested in

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

on a drink-driving charge after crashing his

Range Rover The Land Rover Range Rover, generally shortened to Range Rover, is a Sport utility vehicle, 4x4 Luxury car, luxury SUV produced by Land Rover, a marque and sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors. The Range Rover line was launched ...

into metal railings in the early hours of the morning. On 23 November, he pleaded guilty to the charge and was banned from driving for 17 months and fined £15,500. In July 2013 McCormack was handed a £200 fine, ordered to pay £883.25 in costs and a £20 victim surcharge at a hearing at Leeds Magistrates' Court, for the offense of flytipping. McCormack married former model Courtney St John in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

in June 2016, they had been together since 2006. They have two sons together, while McCormack has an older son from another relationship. They divorced in 2019.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 29 May 2016. Scotland score listed first, score column indicates score after each McCormack goal.''

Honours

Individual *

: 2013–14 Championship, 2015–16 Championship *

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 ...

Golden Boot: 2013–14 * Football League Championship Player of the Month: November 2013 * Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month: October 2007, November 2007 *

Player of the Year: 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Players' Player of the Year: 2013–14 *Leeds United Fans' Player of the Year: 2013–14 *Leeds United Goal of the Season: 2012–13 versus

, 2013–14 versus

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormack, Ross 1986 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Scotland men's B international footballers Scotland men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Rangers F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Melbourne City FC players Central Coast Mariners FC players Scottish Premier League players English Football League players A-League Men players Aldershot Town F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players National League (English football) players Scottish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Marquee players (A-League Men) Doncaster City F.C. players 21st-century Scottish sportsmen