Kyle Lafferty facts for kids
Lafferty playing for Northern Ireland in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kyle Joseph George Lafferty | ||
| Date of birth | 16 September 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Enniskillen, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Johnstone Burgh | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2005 | Burnley | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2008 | Burnley | 83 | (10) |
| 2006 | → Darlington (loan) | 9 | (3) |
| 2008–2012 | Rangers | 104 | (31) |
| 2012–2013 | Sion | 25 | (5) |
| 2013–2014 | Palermo | 34 | (11) |
| 2014–2017 | Norwich City | 31 | (2) |
| 2015 | → Çaykur Rizespor (loan) | 14 | (2) |
| 2016 | → Birmingham City (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Heart of Midlothian | 37 | (13) |
| 2018–2019 | Rangers | 21 | (4) |
| 2019 | Sarpsborg 08 | 9 | (1) |
| 2020 | Sunderland | 5 | (2) |
| 2020 | Reggina | 9 | (1) |
| 2021 | Kilmarnock | 9 | (8) |
| 2021 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 5 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Kilmarnock | 26 | (9) |
| 2023 | Linfield | 8 | (0) |
| 2023– | Johnstone Burgh | 15 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| Northern Ireland U17 | 5 | (5) | |
| Northern Ireland U19 | 6 | (4) | |
| 2006 | Northern Ireland U21 | 2 | (4) |
| 2006–2022 | Northern Ireland | 89 | (20) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:38, 29 July 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:50, 16 February 2022 (UTC) |
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Kyle Joseph George Lafferty (born 16 September 1987) is a professional footballer from Northern Ireland. He plays as a striker for Johnstone Burgh.
Kyle Lafferty started his career at Burnley in England. He then moved to Rangers in 2008. With Rangers, he won three Scottish Premier League titles. He also won the Scottish Cup once and the Scottish League Cup twice. After leaving Rangers, he played for clubs in Switzerland, Italy, and Turkey. He also played for several other teams in Scotland and England.
He has played for the Northern Ireland national team since 2006. He has played over 80 games for his country. Kyle Lafferty was part of the team that played in UEFA Euro 2016. He is the second-highest goal scorer for Northern Ireland with 20 goals. Only David Healy has scored more goals for the team.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Burnley
Kyle Lafferty began his youth career at Burnley in 2004. He made his first team debut in August 2005. This was in a league game against Crewe Alexandra.
In January 2006, he went on loan to Darlington. He scored three goals in nine games for them. He scored in his very first game for Darlington. Kyle returned to Burnley in January 2007. He scored his first goal for Burnley in April 2006. Overall, he played 89 games for Burnley and scored 10 goals.
Time at Rangers
In June 2008, Kyle Lafferty joined Rangers. The transfer fee was £3 million. He made his debut in a UEFA Champions League game in August 2008. His first goal for Rangers came soon after, in a league match.
In May 2009, he was involved in an incident during a game. He was given a two-match ban for pretending to be hurt. Rangers won the league title in April 2010. Kyle scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Hibernian.
In September 2010, Kyle scored his first hat-trick for Rangers. This was in a 7–2 win in the Scottish League Cup. He scored another hat-trick in the final game of the 2010–11 season. Rangers won the league title for the third time in a row that day. In September 2011, he scored his first goal against rivals Celtic. He left Rangers in June 2012.
Playing in Switzerland and Italy
Kyle Lafferty signed with Swiss Super League club FC Sion in June 2012. He joined his former Rangers teammate Gennaro Gattuso there. He made his debut for Sion in July 2012. He scored his first goal a week later.
In June 2013, Kyle moved to Italy. He joined Serie B club Palermo. He signed a three-year contract with them. He scored 11 goals in 34 games for Palermo. He helped them win the Serie B title. This meant they were promoted to Serie A. Fans even voted him their Player of the Season.
Norwich City and Loan Spells
Kyle Lafferty signed with Norwich City in June 2014. They were in the Football League Championship. He played his first game for Norwich in August. He scored only one goal in 20 games for the club.
In February 2015, he went on loan to Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor in Turkey. He scored two goals in 14 games there. Norwich was promoted to the Premier League while he was away. In March 2016, he joined Birmingham City on loan. He scored one goal for them. In May 2017, he left Norwich City.
Return to Scotland with Hearts
On 28 June 2017, Kyle Lafferty joined Heart of Midlothian (Hearts). He signed a two-year deal. He scored in his debut game for Hearts. He scored four goals in his first three games.
He scored 12 goals in the league for Hearts. This made him the fourth-highest scorer in the Scottish Premiership. One of his goals helped Hearts beat Celtic 4–0. This ended Celtic's 69-match unbeaten run.
Second Time at Rangers
Kyle Lafferty returned to Rangers in August 2018. He signed a two-year deal. In his first league game back, he scored two goals. Rangers drew 3–3 with Motherwell. He left Rangers in July 2019.
Later Career Clubs
After Rangers, Kyle played for Sarpsborg 08 in Norway in 2019. In 2020, he joined Sunderland in England. He scored two goals in 11 games.
In July 2020, he moved back to Italy to play for Reggina. He scored once in nine games. He then returned to Scottish football in February 2021. He signed with Kilmarnock. He scored 12 goals in eight games for Kilmarnock. This included a hat-trick against Dundee United. Kilmarnock was later relegated.
He then played for Anorthosis Famagusta in Cyprus. In January 2022, he returned to Kilmarnock for a second time. He helped them get promoted back to the Scottish Premiership. In February 2023, he joined Linfield in Northern Ireland.
In July 2023, Kyle Lafferty joined Johnstone Burgh. This is a club in the Scottish seventh tier. He scored two goals on his debut. However, he got a serious knee injury in his second game. This means he will be out of action until 2024.
International Career
Kyle Lafferty played for Northern Ireland's under-19 team in 2006. He scored in his first game. Later that year, he was called up to the senior Northern Ireland squad. He made his debut in a friendly game.
He scored his first goal for Northern Ireland in 2007 against Finland. He scored his first goal in a competitive game against Liechtenstein. He also scored an important goal against Sweden. In March 2008, he scored two goals in one game for the first time. This was in a 4–1 win against Georgia.
Kyle Lafferty scored in Northern Ireland's first three games of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. This was a first for the team. He scored two goals against Finland in March 2015. He also scored against the Faroe Islands and Hungary. These goals helped Northern Ireland qualify for their first European Championship. He was the team's top scorer in the qualifiers with seven goals.
On 27 May 2016, Kyle played his 50th international game. He scored a goal in a 3–0 win against Belarus. He has scored 20 goals for Northern Ireland. This makes him the second-highest scorer in the team's history.
Personal Life
Kyle Lafferty married Nicola Mimnagh in June 2012. She was a former Miss Scotland. They had a son together. They later divorced. In May 2016, Kyle married Vanessa Chung. She is a model and was also a Miss Scotland contestant. They have two daughters, born in 2018 and 2020.
Career Statistics
Club Statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Burnley | 2005–06 | Championship | 11 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| 2006–07 | Championship | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Championship | 37 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 40 | 5 | ||
| Total | 83 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 10 | ||
| Darlington (loan) | 2005–06 | League Two | 9 | 3 | — | — | — | 9 | 3 | |||
| Rangers | 2008–09 | Scottish Premier League | 25 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 9 |
| 2009–10 | Scottish Premier League | 28 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 7 | |
| 2010–11 | Scottish Premier League | 31 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 44 | 15 | |
| 2011–12 | Scottish Premier League | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 7 | |
| Total | 104 | 31 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 138 | 38 | ||
| Sion | 2012–13 | Swiss Super League | 25 | 5 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 28 | 8 | ||
| Palermo | 2013–14 | Serie B | 34 | 11 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 12 | ||
| Norwich City | 2014–15 | Championship | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 1 | |
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | Championship | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 16 | 2 | ||
| Total | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 4 | ||
| Çaykur Rizespor (loan) | 2014–15 | Süper Lig | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 2 | ||
| Birmingham City (loan) | 2015–16 | Championship | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Heart of Midlothian | 2017–18 | Scottish Premiership | 35 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | — | 41 | 19 | |
| 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | ||
| Total | 37 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 20 | ||
| Rangers | 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 26 | 5 |
| Sarpsborg 08 | 2019 | Eliteserien | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Sunderland | 2019–20 | League One | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | 11 | 2 | |||
| Reggina | 2020–21 | Serie B | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| Kilmarnock | 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 9 | 8 | 2 | 4 | — | 2 | 1 | 13 | 13 | |
| Anorthosis Famagusta | 2021–22 | Cypriot First Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | 11 | 1 | |
| Kilmarnock | 2021–22 | Scottish Championship | 14 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 8 | |
| 2022–23 | Scottish Premiership | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 17 | 5 | ||
| Total | 26 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 13 | ||
| Linfield | 2022–23 | NIFL Premiership | 8 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Johnstone Burgh | 2023-24 | West of Scotland League First Division | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 | |
| Career total | 443 | 107 | 30 | 14 | 30 | 12 | 23 | 3 | 531 | 138 | ||
International Statistics
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 2006 | 7 | 1 |
| 2007 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 5 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 3 | |
| 2015 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2016 | 12 | 4 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 89 | 20 | |
International Goals
- As of match played 5 September 2021
- Northern Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lafferty goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 August 2006 | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland | 3 |  Finland |
2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 22 August 2007 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 11 |  Liechtenstein |
3–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 3 | 17 October 2007 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | 13 |  Sweden |
1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 4 | 26 March 2008 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 16 |  Georgia |
1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 6 | 15 October 2008 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 18 |  San Marino |
3–0 | 4–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 5 September 2009 | Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland | 22 |  Poland |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 12 October 2010 | Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands | 28 |  Faroe Islands |
1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 9 | 15 August 2012 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 31 | Finland |
2–0 | 3–3 | Friendly |
| 10 | 7 September 2014 | Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary | 38 |  Hungary |
2–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
| 11 | 11 October 2014 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 39 | Faroe Islands |
2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
| 12 | 14 October 2014 | Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece | 40 |  Greece |
2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
| 13 | 29 March 2015 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 42 | Finland |
1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
| 14 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 15 | 4 September 2015 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands | 44 | Faroe Islands |
3–1 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
| 16 | 7 September 2015 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 45 | Hungary |
1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
| 17 | 27 May 2016 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 50 |  Belarus |
1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 18 | 8 October 2016 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 53 | San Marino |
2–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 19 | 4–0 | ||||||
| 20 | 11 November 2016 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 54 |  Azerbaijan |
1–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours and Achievements
Rangers
- Scottish Premier League: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
- Scottish Cup: 2008–09
- Scottish League Cup: 2009–10, 2010–11
Palermo
- Serie B: 2013–14
Kilmarnock
- Scottish Championship: 2021–22
Images for kids
-
Lafferty with Rangers in November 2010
See also
In Spanish: Kyle Lafferty para niños
