Leigh Griffiths facts for kids

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Leigh Griffiths

Griffiths playing for Celtic in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Leigh Griffiths
Date of birth	(1990-08-20) 20 August 1990 (age 35)
Place of birth	Leith, Scotland
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Stirling Macedonia
Number	11
Youth career
1997–2002	Leith Athletic
2002–2003	Falkirk
2003–2004	Inch Colts
2004–2006	Hutchison Vale
2006–2007	Livingston
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2009	Livingston	48	(22)
2009–2011	Dundee	47	(21)
2011–2014	Wolverhampton Wanderers	26	(12)
2011–2013	→ Hibernian (loan)	66	(31)
2014–2022	Celtic	173	(90)
2021–2022	→ Dundee (loan)	15	(2)
2022	Falkirk	12	(2)
2022–2024	Mandurah City	35	(20)
2025–	Stirling Macedonia	5	(3)
International career‡
2008–2009	Scotland U19	6	(1)
2008–2012	Scotland U21	11	(3)
2009	Scotland B	1	(1)
2012–2020	Scotland	22	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 July 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:09, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Leigh Griffiths, born on August 20, 1990, is a Scottish professional footballer. He plays as a striker for the Australian club Stirling Macedonia. He also recently played for Mandurah City, where he was part of the coaching team.

Leigh started his football journey at Livingston. He made his first team appearance when he was just sixteen years old. In 2009, he moved to Dundee for £125,000. During his five years in the Scottish First Division, he won six "young player of the month" awards. When Dundee faced money problems, Griffiths joined Wolves in January 2011 for about £150,000.

He did not play much for Wolves' main team. So, he spent the 2011–12 season on loan at Scottish Premier League club Hibernian. His loan was extended for another season. During this time, he won the SFWA Footballer of the Year award and played his first game for Scotland. After it seemed he would be a key player for Wolves in the 2013–14 season, he moved to Celtic halfway through.

Griffiths scored many goals in his first few seasons with Celtic. He also played regularly for Scotland, scoring two goals in a 2–2 draw against England in June 2017. Later, he did not play as well for Celtic. He spent the first half of the 2021–22 season on loan with Dundee. Celtic then brought him back and released him in January 2022. After that, he signed with Scottish League One club Falkirk. On August 9, 2022, he joined the Australian team Mandurah City.

Early Life and Football Start

Leigh Griffiths was born in Leith, a town in Edinburgh, Scotland. He began his football career at a young age.

Playing for Livingston

Griffiths made his first appearance for Livingston when he was sixteen. This happened on December 30, 2006, in a game against Airdrie United. He came on as a substitute in the 82nd minute. During his time at Livingston, he played alongside future Scotland teammates Robert Snodgrass and Graham Dorrans. In the 2007–08 season, Griffiths won the SFL under-19 League with the youth team. He also had trials with Italian team Parma and English team West Bromwich Albion.

Time at Dundee

On June 25, 2009, Griffiths moved to Dundee for £125,000. Dundee was a rival team in the Scottish First Division. He scored three goals during Dundee's journey to the 2009–10 Scottish Challenge Cup final. He played in their 3–2 win over Inverness in that final. Griffiths became a favorite among Dundee fans. He scored 34 goals in 62 games for the club. This included a great 30-yard free kick goal against Rangers in the Scottish League Cup.

Joining Wolverhampton Wanderers

On January 27, 2011, Griffiths signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with English Premier League team Wolverhampton Wanderers. The transfer fee paid to Dundee was about £150,000. He was a substitute for a game against Tottenham in March 2011. However, he did not play in any other matches for Wolves that season. His first game for Wolves was on August 23, 2011. He came on as a substitute in a League Cup match against Northampton Town. This was his only game for the club during the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons.

Loan to Hibernian

Wolves loaned Griffiths to Scottish Premier League club Hibernian in August 2011 for six months. This loan was later extended until the end of the season. He scored a winning goal in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen. Overall, Griffiths scored 11 goals in 36 games for Hibs during the 2011–12 season.

Hibs agreed to another loan deal for Griffiths in July 2012. He scored three goals early in the 2012–13 season, including two goals in one game against St Mirren. He won the SPL Player of the Month award for August 2012. He then scored both goals in a 2–1 win against Kilmarnock. Two more goals against St Mirren on November 3 brought his total to eleven for the season. This good form led to his first game for the Scotland senior team. This was in a friendly match against Luxembourg.

In January 2013, Griffiths trained with Wolves. Wolves then said that Griffiths would likely stay at Hibs for the rest of the 2012–13 season. He scored in every SPL match during February, earning him a second SPL player of the month award. On March 3, 2013, he scored his first professional hat-trick in a Scottish Cup game against Kilmarnock. In the Scottish Cup semi-final on April 13, 2013, he scored in extra time. This helped Hibs win 4–3 against Falkirk.

By mid-April, Griffiths had scored 25 goals in all competitions. He was nominated for several awards. He won the Young Player of the Year award from PFA Scotland. He was also named player of the year in the Scottish Premier League Yearly Awards. On May 17, he was named the SFWA Footballer of the Year. He was the first Hibs player to win this award since Pat Stanton in 1970.

After his successful loan, Wolves decided to keep Griffiths for the 2013–14 season. Hibernian tried to buy him permanently, but Wolves refused. New Wolves manager Kenny Jackett said Griffiths was part of his plans. Griffiths made his league debut for Wolves on August 3, 2013, against Preston. He scored his first goals for the club a week later, scoring twice against Gillingham. By January 2014, Griffiths was Wolves' top goalscorer with thirteen goals. This attracted interest from Celtic. Wolves accepted a bid of £1 million for him on January 31.

Joining Celtic

Griffiths signed a four-year deal with Scottish champions Celtic on January 31, 2014. The fee was not made public.

First Season at Celtic (2013–14)

Griffiths played his first game for Celtic as a substitute. This was in a 2–1 loss in the 2013–14 Scottish Cup against Aberdeen. On February 22, 2014, he scored his first goal for Celtic against Hearts. On March 1, 2014, he scored a hat-trick against Inverness in a 5–0 home win. He worked well with fellow striker Anthony Stokes. Griffiths finished the season with 7 goals from 14 games for Celtic.

Second Season at Celtic (2014–15)

New Celtic manager Ronny Deila mostly used Griffiths as a substitute at the start of the next season. He did not play for the first team at all during September. Manager Ronny Deila said Griffiths needed to improve his fitness.

Griffiths returned to playing in October, often coming on as a substitute. He scored twice in a 6–0 win over Partick Thistle in the League Cup quarter-final. He started playing more often after the New Year. On February 1, 2015, he scored the first goal in a 2–0 win over Rangers. This was the first Old Firm match since April 2012. He went on to score six goals in his next ten games for Celtic.

On March 15, he started in the League Cup Final. Celtic won 2–0 against Dundee United. Griffiths scored a hat-trick on April 15. This happened after he came on in the second half of a 4–1 league win over Kilmarnock. Deila praised his performance. Eleven days later, he scored another hat-trick. All goals came in a 3–0 win over Dundee United. Celtic won the league championship. They defeated Inverness 5–0 in their final game on May 24. Griffiths came on as a substitute and scored Celtic's fourth goal. This was his 20th goal of the season.

Third Season at Celtic (2015–16)

At the start of the 2015–16 season, Griffiths took the number 9 shirt for Celtic. On August 19, 2015, he scored two goals against Swedish team Malmö FF. This was in a 3–2 win at Celtic Park in the Champions League playoffs.

Celtic did not qualify for the Champions League. They then played in the Europa League. Griffiths continued to score regularly. By early October, he had scored 10 goals in 18 games. He signed a new contract with Celtic on December 18, keeping him at the club until 2021. He said he did not see why he needed to leave Celtic. He also mentioned that he had become more mature.

On January 15, 2016, Griffiths scored his 50th goal for Celtic. He was the fastest Celtic player to reach this milestone since Charlie Nicholas in the 1980s. He finished the season with 40 goals in all competitions for Celtic. He was the first player to do this since Henrik Larsson in the 2003–04 season.

Griffiths was a very important player in Celtic winning their fifth league title in a row. He scored 31 goals in the league. His great performance that season earned him several awards. He won the PFA Scotland, Scottish Football Writers', and Scottish Premiership Player of the Year awards.

Later Years at Celtic (2016–2022)

Griffiths playing for Celtic in 2017

Griffiths scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season in a Champions League qualifying match. He scored twice in a 5–2 win against Hapoel Beer Sheva. After an injury, Griffiths found it hard to get back into the team. This was because Moussa Dembélé was playing very well.

When Dembélé got injured, Griffiths returned to the first team. He helped Celtic finish the league season without losing a game. They also won the Treble (three major trophies in one season).

In Celtic's first game of the 2017–18 season, Griffiths was given a warning. This was during a Champions League qualifier against Linfield in Belfast. He picked up a bottle thrown from the crowd and showed it to the referee. After the match, Griffiths tied a Celtic scarf to the goalposts.

On September 23, 2017, Griffiths scored in a 2–0 win against Celtic's rivals Rangers. He celebrated his goal with a scarf thrown onto the pitch by Celtic fans.

On August 30, 2018, Griffiths scored his 100th goal for Celtic against FK Sūduva. He was the first player to reach this milestone since John Hartson thirteen years earlier. In September, Griffiths signed a new contract with Celtic until 2022.

Griffiths played less often for Celtic over the next two seasons. He made only nine starts during 2020–21. His contract with Celtic ended on June 30, 2021. However, he signed a new one-year contract on July 1, 2021.

Loan to Dundee

On August 31, 2021, Griffiths rejoined Dundee on a loan for the season. He played his second debut for Dundee in a 0–0 draw with Livingston on September 11. After recovering from a small injury, Griffiths returned and scored his first goal for Dundee in over ten years. This was in a home win against Aberdeen. Celtic ended Griffiths' contract on January 31, 2022. This also ended his loan spell at Dundee. Griffiths chose not to sign for Dundee permanently.

Playing for Falkirk

On February 8, 2022, Griffiths signed with Falkirk for the rest of the 2021–22 season. He left the club when the season ended.

Moving to Mandurah City

Griffiths moved to Australia in August 2022. He signed a short-term deal with Mandurah City, a third-tier club. Griffiths scored in his first game for the team. By October 2022, Griffiths had returned to Scotland. He was allowed to train at Livingston.

Griffiths went back to Australia to play for Mandurah City again in March 2023. In November, the club announced that Griffiths would be a player-coach for the 2024 season.

Joining Stirling Macedonia

In late June 2025, Griffiths joined Stirling Macedonia for their NPL WA season and the Australia Cup.

International Career

Griffiths was chosen for the Scotland B team. They played against Northern Ireland B at the end of the 2008–09 season. He helped set up one goal and then scored the last goal in a 3–0 win. He played regularly for the Scotland under-19 team. Then, he was selected for the Scotland under-21 team. His first goal for Scotland U21 was on March 2, 2010, when he scored against Azerbaijan.

Even though he played often for Hibernian in the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League, Griffiths was sometimes left out of Scotland U21 teams. He was called back for qualification games against Luxembourg (where he scored) and Austria in September 2012.

Griffiths was added to the main Scotland squad in November 2012 for a friendly match against Luxembourg. His second game for Scotland was against Croatia. Scotland won 1–0 away in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

On June 10, 2017, Griffiths scored his first goal for Scotland. It was an 87th-minute free kick against England. He then scored another goal just three minutes later, putting Scotland ahead 2–1. The match ended 2–2. Griffiths scored more goals against Malta and Slovenia during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Due to fitness issues, Griffiths did not play for Scotland during 2019. He was called back to the squad in November 2020. He was part of the team that won the play-off qualifier, which sent Scotland to Euro 2020. However, he was not chosen for Steve Clarke's 26-man squad for the finals in May 2021.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Griffiths goal.

List of international goals scored by Leigh Griffiths

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 June 2017	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	England	1–1	2–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2				2–1
3	4 September 2017	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Malta	2–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	8 October 2017	Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Slovenia	1–0	2–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Football Achievements

Livingston Youth

• SFL under-19 League: 2007–08

Dundee

• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2009–10

Wolverhampton Wanderers

• Football League One: 2013–14

Celtic

• Scottish Premiership: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
• Scottish Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20
• Scottish League Cup: 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19

Mandurah City

• Football West State League Division 1 Top Four Cup: 2022, 2023

Individual Awards

• PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year: 2015–16
• Celtic Player of The Year: 2015–16
• SFWA Footballer of the Year: 2012–13, 2015–16
• SPL Player of the Year: 2012–13
• Scottish Premiership Player of the Year: 2015–16
• Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA) Player of the Year: 2016
• SPFA Young Player of the Year: 2012–13
• SFL Young Player of the Year: 2008–09, 2009–10
• SFL Young Player of the Month: March 2008, August 2008, March 2009, September 2009, October 2009, November 2010
• SPL Player of the Month: August 2012, February 2013
• SPFL Player of the Month: April 2015
• Scottish Premiership Player of the Month: August 2015, October 2015
• SFWA International Player of the Year: 2017–18

See also

In Spanish: Leigh Griffiths para niños