Ryan McLaughlin (born 30 September 1994) is a Northern Irish

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 last played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

club

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League ...

. He has been capped five times by the

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

national team during his career.

Club career

Liverpool

Liverpool signed 16-year-old Ryan McLaughlin in the summer of 2011 from Glenavon on a three-year deal. On 9 January 2014, McLaughlin was signed by

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 ...

side

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

on a 28-day loan deal and was given squad number 27. He made his club and senior career debut on 18 January against

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 ...

in the

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 ...

. On 29 January 2014 it was announced that McLaughlin sustained an injury that will keep him out for four weeks. Two days later his loan was extended until the end of the season. The only senior appearance McLaughlin made in the 2014–15 season was in an international friendly for

. In August 2015, he was loaned 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

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 ...

. On 10 June 2016, he was released from the club.

Oldham Athletic

On 8 August 2016, McLaughlin signed a one-year deal with

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

side

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

, with the option of a further year. He was offered a new contract by Oldham at the end of the 2017–18 season, following their relegation.

Blackpool

He joined

on 17 July 2018 with the clubs agreeing a compensation package.

Rochdale

On 23 January 2019, McLaughlin signed for

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

for an undisclosed fee. On 17 August 2020, McLaughlin returned to

signing a one-year contract.

Morecambe

On 10 September 2021, McLaughlin joined

side

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

on a one-year deal. On 1 September 2022, it was announced that McLaughlin had departed the club by mutual consent.

St Patrick's Athletic

On 28 July 2023, McLaughlin signed for

club

. He made his debut for the club on 25 August 2023, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 win away to UCD. McLaughlin featured in the Quarter and Semi Finals of the club's run to the 2023 FAI Cup Final, but missed out on the matchday squad due to injury as his side defeated

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

3–1 at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...

in front of a record

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

Final crowd of 43,881. He signed a new contract with the club on 7 December 2023. On 8 October 2024, McLaughlin captained a second string Pats side to a 2–1 win over St Mochta's in the final of the

2023–24 Leinster Senior Cup The 2024 PTSB Leinster Senior Cup was the 120th edition of the Leinster Football Association's primary competition. It included all Leinster based League of Ireland clubs from the Premier Division and First Division, as well as a selection of ...

. On 5 December 2024, it was announced that McLaughlin had signed a new contract with the club. On 10 July 2025, McLaughlin made the first appearance in European competition of his career in a 1–0 win over Hegelmann of

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 ...

in 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 ...

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...

International career

McLaughlin has represented Northern Ireland at Under-16, Under-17 and currently at Under-19 and Under-21 level. He was called up to the Northern Ireland senior squad for a friendly against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

on 15 August 2012 but was forced to withdraw due to a hip injury. On 19 May 2014, he was once again called up to the senior squad for two friendly matches in South America. On 31 May 2014, he made his National Team debut as a substitute against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. McLaughlin became the first Liverpool player to appear for the

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team (1882–1950), Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became t ...

selection since

Elisha Scott Elisha Scott (24 August 1893 – 16 May 1959) was a Northern Irish football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1912 to 1915 and from 1919 to 1934, and still holds the record as their longest-serving player. Life and playing career Elisha ...

78 years previously. May 2018 saw a return to the Northern Ireland team, after he was called up to the cohort for a tour of

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, featuring games against

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Personal life

Born and raised in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, McLaughlin has stated that he is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. McLaughlin is the younger brother of fellow defender Conor McLaughlin. He is friends with boxer Michael Conlan, and is sometimes nicknamed " Becks". McLaughlin proposed to his partner Jennifer on Christmas Eve 2023 at the Rockefeller Ice Rink. In 2024, McLaughlin stated in an interview that as well as providing him with occasional media work, his former club

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

were currently putting him through his

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 ...

B licence for coaching.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

;St Patrick's Athletic *

(1):

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* Leinster Senior Cup (1): 2023–24

References

External links

*
Ryan McLaughlin
at irishfa.com * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Ryan 1994 births Living people Association footballers from Belfast Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Men's association football defenders Northern Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Liverpool F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players English Football League players Glenavon F.C. players NIFL Premiership players Northern Ireland men's international footballers Aberdeen F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Blackpool F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players League of Ireland players 21st-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's youth international footballers