Leon Bailey facts for kids
Bailey with Bayer Leverkusen in 2018
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leon Patrick Bailey | ||
| Date of birth | 9 August 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Kingston, Jamaica | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right winger | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Aston Villa | ||
| Number | 31 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2011 | Phoenix All-Star Academy | ||
| 2011 | Anif Jugend | ||
| 2011–2013 | Liefering | ||
| 2013–2015 | Trenčín | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Genk | 56 | (8) |
| 2017–2021 | Bayer Leverkusen | 119 | (28) |
| 2021– | Aston Villa | 110 | (16) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Jamaica U23 | 1 | (1) |
| 2019– | Jamaica | 39 | (7) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:44, 16 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:37, 25 June 2025 (UTC) |
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Leon Patrick Bailey, born on August 9, 1997, is a professional football player from Jamaica. He plays as a right winger for the English club Aston Villa and also for the Jamaican national team.
When Leon was 13, he moved to Europe to start his football journey. He played for several youth teams before joining the Belgian club Genk in 2015. At Genk, he was named the Belgian Young Footballer of the Year. His great performance in Belgium led him to join the German team Bayer Leverkusen in 2017. After playing there for four years, he moved to Premier League club Aston Villa in 2021 for about £30 million.
Contents
Leon Bailey's Club Career
Starting His Football Journey
Leon Bailey began his football career at the Phoenix All-Star Academy. This academy was run by his adoptive father, Craig Butler. In 2011, Craig Butler traveled to Europe to find a club for Leon and his own son, Kyle.
Leon caught the attention of Genk in Belgium. However, strict rules from FIFA about young players meant they could not offer him a contract right away. Leon almost joined Standard Liège, but the transfer did not happen because his father did not have a work permit. At 13, Leon signed with a non-league team in Austria called Anif Jugend. Later, he moved to Liefering.
In early 2013, Leon signed a professional contract with the Slovakian team Trenčín. In October 2013, he had a verbal agreement to join Ajax, a famous Dutch club. But again, FIFA rules prevented this transfer from happening.
Playing for Genk
Leon Bailey officially joined Genk in 2015 from Trenčín. He made his first appearance in the Belgian Pro League on August 21, 2015. He came into the game as a substitute against Sint-Truiden.
He scored his first professional goal for Genk on November 21 against OH Leuven. At the end of the 2015–16 season, he was honored with the Belgian Young Footballer of the Year award. In the UEFA Europa League, his goal against Rapid Wien on September 15, 2016, was chosen as the best goal of the competition for that season by UEFA.
Moving to Bayer Leverkusen
In January 2017, Leon Bailey joined Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. The transfer fee was €20 million. Big clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea had also shown interest in him.
He made his debut for Leverkusen on February 3, 2017, in a game against Hamburg. His first time playing in the UEFA Champions League was on February 24, 2017, in a match against Atlético Madrid. He played ten games for Leverkusen in his first half-season there.
Leon scored his first goal for the club on August 11, 2017, in a German Cup match against Karlsruher SC. His first league goal came on September 29 against Schalke 04. He had a great 2017–18 season, scoring 12 goals in 34 games. This helped Bayer Leverkusen finish fifth in the Bundesliga. On November 30, 2019, he scored two goals in a 2–1 win against the champions, Bayern Munich.
Joining Aston Villa
On August 4, 2021, Leon Bailey, then 23 years old, signed with the Premier League club Aston Villa. He made his Premier League debut on August 14, 2021, as a substitute against Watford.
On September 18, he scored his first goal for Villa in a 3–0 home win over Everton. In that same game, his corner kick led to an own goal by an Everton player. Leon's first season with Aston Villa was tough due to several injuries. He had a hamstring injury, a quad injury, another thigh injury, and an ankle injury. These injuries limited him to only 7 starts that season.
On November 6, 2022, Leon scored the first goal under Aston Villa's new coach, Unai Emery. This was in a 3–1 home victory against Manchester United. He was later named the player of the month for November. On December 6, 2023, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Manchester City. This was Villa's first win against Manchester City since 2013.
Leon scored against Hibernian in both home and away games (3–0 and 0–5) to help Villa qualify for the UEFA Conference League group stage. He also scored against Ajax (4–0) in the Round of 16. Villa eventually lost to Olympiakos (6–2 on total score) in the semi-finals. In that season, Leon scored 10 goals in the Premier League. This helped Villa finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Champions League. In the 2024–25 season, Leon scored his first goal of the season against Leicester at home on the 20th match day.
Leon Bailey became the second Jamaican player to score in the UEFA Champions League. He scored for Aston Villa in a 3–1 win against Club Brugge on March 4, 2025. He is also the first Jamaican player to assist a goal in the UEFA Champions League. This happened on March 12, 2025, when he made a brilliant pass to Marco Asensio against Club Brugge.
Leon Bailey's International Career
Playing for Jamaica Under-23s
Leon Bailey played in a friendly match for the Jamaica under-23s on March 8, 2015. This game was against the Cayman Islands under-23 team. In that match, he scored a goal directly from a free kick.
Playing for the Senior Team
In March 2017, it was reported that Leon Bailey would not play for Jamaica until the standards of Jamaican football improved. In September 2017, he told a German football magazine that he had personal problems with the association since he was young. In January 2018, Winfried Schäfer, a former coach for the Jamaican national team, said that Leon's step-father had prevented him from joining the national team. Leon was expected to join the team in October 2018, but he changed his mind. He demanded that his brother, Kyle Butler, also be called up to the team.
In May 2019, Leon Bailey was named to Jamaica's temporary squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Leon officially announced that he would accept the call-up and play for the "Reggae Boyz." He earned his first cap for Jamaica on June 17, 2019, against Honduras. Leon scored his first goal for Jamaica on September 6, 2019, against Antigua and Barbuda. He scored the fifth goal in a 6–0 victory in the CONCACAF Nations League.
It was once thought that Leon might be able to play for England because two of his grandparents had British citizenship. However, it was later found that he was not eligible to play for England, as none of his grandparents were born there.
On March 20, 2024, Leon Bailey announced on a YouTube podcast that he would be taking a break from the Jamaican National Team. In his interview, Leon talked about issues he faced when playing for the Reggae Boyz. He mentioned the lack of professionalism from the Jamaica Football Federation towards the team and himself.
On June 12, 2024, Leon Bailey was listed in Jamaica's squad for the Copa America 2024. However, his agent and step-father later stated on social media that Leon's decision about playing for Jamaica had not changed. He would not join the squad for the tournament. Because of this, the Jamaica Football Federation announced that Leon Bailey had been temporarily suspended from being chosen for the Jamaican national team.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Genk | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 37 | 6 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 7 | ||
| 2016–17 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 12 | 7 | 35 | 9 | |||
| Total | 56 | 8 | 9 | 1 | — | 12 | 7 | 77 | 16 | |||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 30 | 9 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 34 | 12 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 39 | 5 | |||
| 2019–20 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | 8 | 1 | 33 | 7 | |||
| 2020–21 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | — | 8 | 5 | 40 | 15 | |||
| Total | 119 | 28 | 11 | 5 | — | 26 | 6 | 156 | 39 | |||
| Aston Villa | 2021–22 | Premier League | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 36 | 5 | |||
| 2023–24 | 35 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 52 | 14 | ||
| 2024–25 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 38 | 2 | ||
| Total | 110 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 5 | 144 | 22 | ||
| Career total | 285 | 52 | 29 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 59 | 18 | 377 | 77 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaica | 2019 | 6 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 39 | 7 | |
- Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bailey goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 September 2019 | Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica |  Antigua and Barbuda |
5–0 | 6–0 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League B |
| 2 | 30 March 2022 | Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica |  Honduras |
1–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 14 June 2022 |  Mexico |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A | |
| 4 | 28 June 2023 | CityPark, St. Louis, United States |  Trinidad and Tobago |
2–0 | 4–1 | 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 5 | 15 October 2023 | Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |  Haiti |
3–1 | 3–2 | 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League A |
| 6 | 21 March 2025 | Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification |
| 7 | 20 June 2025 | PayPal Park, San Jose, United States |  Guadeloupe |
1–1 | 2–1 | 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
Awards and Achievements
Leon Bailey has received several awards for his football skills:
- Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year: 2015–16
- Nominated for the UEFA Golden Boy award: 2016
- Europa League Goal of the Season award: 2016–17
- VDV Newcomer of the Season: 2017–18
- VDV Team of the Season: 2017–18
- Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2017–18
- Bundesliga Goal of the Month: December 2020
- Aston Villa Player of the Month: February 2024
- UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season: 2023–24
See also
In Spanish: Leon Bailey para niños
