Leon Bailey, born on August 9, 1997, is a Jamaican professional footballer who serves as a right winger for both Aston Villa in the Premier League and the Jamaica national team.
Early Life and Education
Growing up in Jamaica, Bailey aspired to become a footballer. At the age of seven, he was one of 23 children adopted by football coach Craig Butler, and he played for Butler’s Phoenix Academy team during his childhood. Butler left a successful career as a business executive with Toshiba to move to Europe, where he worked menial jobs, including cleaning toilets, to support Bailey and his sons, Kyle and Kevaun, with the aim of finding them professional football opportunities. Since the age of 13, Bailey has lived in Europe, where he continued his education and football training.
Career
Bailey began his career at the Phoenix All-Star Academy, run by his adoptive father, Craig Butler. In 2011, Butler traveled to Europe seeking clubs for Bailey and his biological son, Kyle. Bailey impressed K.R.C. Genk in Belgium, but due to strict FIFA regulations regarding minors, he couldn’t sign a contract. He nearly joined Standard Liège, but the transfer fell through as Butler lacked a work permit. At 13, Bailey signed with Austrian non-league side Anif Jugend before moving to FC Liefering.
In early 2013, Bailey signed a professional contract with Slovakian team AS Trenčín. In October 2013, he reached a verbal agreement with AFC Ajax, but the move was blocked by FIFA rules.
Bailey joined K.R.C. Genk from Trenčín in 2015, making his Belgian Pro League debut on 21 August 2015 in a 3–1 defeat against Sint-Truiden, replacing Siebe Schrijvers after 62 minutes. He scored his first professional goal for Genk on 21 November against OH Leuven. At the end of the 2015–16 season, he won the Belgian Young Footballer of the Year award. His goal against Rapid Wien in the Europa League on 15 September 2016 was named the competition’s top goal for the 2016–17 season by UEFA.
In January 2017, Bailey transferred to Bayer Leverkusen for €20 million, amid interest from Manchester United and Chelsea. He debuted for Leverkusen on 3 February 2017 in a 1–0 loss to Hamburg and made his Champions League debut on 24 February 2017 in a 2–2 draw against Atlético Madrid. Bailey made ten appearances in his first half-season at Leverkusen.
He scored his first goal for Leverkusen on 11 August 2017, in a 3–0 German Cup victory over Karlsruher SC, and his first league goal on 29 September against Schalke 04. Bailey finished the 2017–18 season with 12 goals in 34 games, helping Leverkusen secure a fifth-place Bundesliga finish. On 30 November 2019, he scored twice in a 2–1 win over Bayern Munich, with one goal from each foot.
On 4 August 2021, Bailey signed with Premier League club Aston Villa. He made his Premier League debut on 14 August 2021 as a substitute in a 3–2 loss to Watford. On 18 September 2021, Bailey scored his first goal for Villa in a 3–0 home win over Everton and assisted in an own goal by Lucas Digne. His first season with Aston Villa was marred by injuries, including a hamstring injury in August, a quad injury in September, a thigh injury in December, and an ankle injury in April, limiting him to only seven starts.
On 6 November 2022, Bailey scored the first goal under manager Unai Emery in a 3–1 home victory over Manchester United and was later named player of the month. On 6 December 2023, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Manchester City, marking Villa’s first victory over City since 2013.
Bailey played for Jamaica’s under-23 team in a friendly match against the Cayman Islands under-23 side on 8 March 2015, scoring directly from a free kick.
In March 2017, Bailey stated he would refuse call-ups to the Jamaican national team until the standards of Jamaican football improved. In September 2017, he expressed in an interview with German football magazine Kicker that he had personal issues with the Jamaican football association dating back to his early teens. Former Jamaica national team coach Winfried Schäfer revealed in January 2018 that he had repeatedly invited Bailey to join the national team, including for the Gold Cup and other international matches, but Bailey’s stepfather had blocked these opportunities.
In October 2018, Bailey appeared to accept a call-up but later withdrew, demanding that his brother, Kyle Butler, also be called up. In May 2019, Bailey was included in Jamaica’s provisional squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup and confirmed his acceptance of the call-up, committing to represent the Reggae Boyz. He earned his first international cap for Jamaica on 17 June 2019 against Honduras. Bailey scored his first goal for Jamaica on 6 September 2019, in a 6–0 victory over Antigua and Barbuda during a CONCACAF Nations League match.
Bailey was previously thought to be eligible to represent England, as he has two grandparents with British citizenship. However, he is not eligible because none of his grandparents were born in England.
Personal life
Bailey remains very close to Butler, who also acts as his manager.
Net Worth
Undisclosed