Ryan James Jack (born 27 February 1992) 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
central midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
for
TFF First League
The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
, spending 17 years connected with the club across youth and senior categories; he was in the team that won the
2013–14 Scottish League Cup
The 2013–14 Scottish League Cup was the 68th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition.
Format
The competition is a single elimination knock-out competition. In each round, fixtures are determined by random dr ...
, their first trophy since 1995, and served as captain for two years. He left Aberdeen in 2017 and signed for Rangers as a free agent. In seven years at Ibrox he won one
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 ...
title and one
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2022 UEFA Europa League final, before departing in 2024 upon the expiry of his contract.
Jack made his full international debut in November 2017.
Early life
Ryan James Jack was born on 27 February 1992 in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
.
Club career
Aberdeen
Jack signed professional terms with
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
in the summer of 2008, having been part of his hometown club's youth academy since the age of eight. He made his first team league debut for the club against Rangers in September 2010 and soon became a regular in the first team.
In January 2011 he scored his first goal for Aberdeen against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, which was voted as the club's Goal of the Season for 2010–11. A week later, he came on as a substitute in the Scottish Cup semi-final at
Hampden Park
Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
, a 4–1 defeat to
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 ...
.
Jack signed a new contract with Aberdeen in October 2011. On 13 December 2011 in a
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 ...
fixture against St Johnstone, he scored a goal from the halfway line to put his team 2–0 up after opposing goalkeeper Peter Enckelman miskicked a clearance. The match ended 2–1 to Aberdeen, with Jack's winner helping the Dons move up to ninth in the table.
In June 2013, Jack signed a three-year deal at Aberdeen, keeping him at the club until 2016. He subsequently played a pivotal role in Aberdeen's season, helping them into the League Cup semi-final, but was injured in January in a league match at
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 ...
. and was ruled out for around six weeks, missing the semi-final with St Johnstone. He had returned by the time of the final of the competition, playing all 120 minutes as his club overcame Inverness CT in a penalty shoot-out. Jack did participate in a semi-final during the campaign in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,SPFL Player of the Month for December 2014. Two weeks later, he missed out on another League Cup final appearance as his team were beaten in the semis by
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
. On 20 May 2015, he signed a one-year extension to his contract, keeping him at Aberdeen until the end of the 2016–17 season. On 24 June 2015, Jack was named captain for the 2015–16 season.
After much speculation that he would move on, Jack left Aberdeen in May 2017 when his contract expired, having played 250 times for the ''Dons''. His last game was the 2017 Scottish Cup Final; earlier in the season he had also led out the team in the League Cup final, with both showpiece matches lost to Celtic.
Rangers
Jack signed a three-year contract with Rangers on 1 June 2017. Upon signing, the former Aberdeen captain said that he was a huge Rangers fan growing up and that it was an "honour and a privilege" to join the club he supported. He made his debut 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 ...
2017–18 UEFA Europa League
The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League was the 47th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The final was played at the Parc Olymp ...
on 29 June 2017, a tie which Rangers lost 2–1 on aggregate after losing 2–0 away from home.
On Rangers' first visit to Aberdeen since his move, Jack started the game but was sent off in the second half for a bad tackle, although his team won the match 2–1. It was his fourth
red card
A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction.
Red card may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers
* Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...
in the 2017–18 season (two were rescinded after reviews). In January 2018, Rangers confirmed that Jack required surgery on a knee injury sustained in a match the previous month, ruling him out of action for some time.
Jack signed a new contract with Rangers in December 2018, due to run until the end of the 2020–21 season. On 29 December, he scored his first Rangers goal in the
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
derby against Celtic, a match which Rangers won 1–0. In October 2019 he signed a new four-year contract with the club.
Jack helped Rangers win the
2020–21 Scottish Premiership
The 2020–21 Scottish Premiership was the eighth season of the Scottish Premiership, the 124th edition of the highest division of Scottish football. The fixtures were published on 6 July 2020, with the season beginning on 1 August, following ...
, their first league championship since
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
. In the later part of the season he was troubled by a calf injury that required surgery, he eventually returning to the team in early November 2021. He scored the opening goal in the 2022 Scottish Cup final as Rangers overcame Hearts 2–0 after extra time, three days after losing the 2022 UEFA Europa League final to
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...
in a penalty shootout.
Jack signed a one-year contract extension with Rangers in May 2023, but missed much of the subsequent season through injury and was allowed to depart on a free transfer in June 2024.
Esenler Erokspor
In September 2024, Jack signed for Turkish side Esenler Erokspor.
International career
Jack has represented Scotland at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. He captained the Under-21 side and is on the top ten list for appearances at this level. In May 2013, he received a call-up to the full Scotland squad for the game against
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
.
Jack eventually made his full Scotland debut in a friendly against
the 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 ...
in November 2017, by which time he had moved from formative club Aberdeen to Rangers. The match happened to take place in Aberdeen, and in the opening stages he was booed whenever he touched the ball by some of the crowd, due to the rivalry between those clubs and the ill-feeling his transfer had stirred; other fans responded to this by cheering and applauding him.
Jack made his first competitive start for Scotland in November 2019, forming a midfield partnership with Callum McGregor. He helped Scotland qualify for
UEFA Euro 2020
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...
, but missed the finals due to a calf injury that required surgery. In contrast, he was selected for the Scotland squad for
UEFA Euro 2024
The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...
despite taking part in few matches at club level in the months leading up to the tournament; he did not make an appearance in Germany as the team were eliminated at the group stage.
In August 2024 he was left off the Scotland side for Nations League matches with Portugal and Poland.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Aberdeen
*
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2016–17
Rangers
*
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 ...
UEFA 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 ...