Robbie Savage facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Robbie Savage

Savage in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Robert William Savage
Date of birth	(1974-10-18) 18 October 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth	Wrexham, Wales
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Forest Green Rovers (manager)
Youth career
	Brickfield Rangers
1990	Lex XI
1991–1993	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–1994	Manchester United	0	(0)
1994–1997	Crewe Alexandra	77	(10)
1997–2002	Leicester City	172	(8)
2002–2005	Birmingham City	82	(11)
2005–2008	Blackburn Rovers	76	(1)
2008–2011	Derby County	124	(7)
2008	→ Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)	6	(0)
2019–2020	Stockport Town	1	(0)
Total		538	(37)
International career
1992	Wales U18	2	(0)
1995	Wales U21	5	(1)
1995–2004	Wales	39	(2)
Managerial career
2023	Macclesfield (caretaker)
2024–2025	Macclesfield
2025–	Forest Green Rovers
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh professional football manager, expert, and former player. He played as a midfielder. He is currently the manager of National League club Forest Green Rovers.

During his playing career, Robbie Savage was mostly a midfielder. He started as a youth player at Manchester United. After leaving Manchester United, he joined Crewe Alexandra. He became a regular player for Leicester City in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He also played important roles for Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers. In 2008, he joined Derby County. After a short loan spell with Brighton & Hove Albion, he returned to captain Derby, where he finished his playing career. He also played 39 times for the Wales national team. Today, he is a football expert for the BBC and hosts 606 on BBC Radio 5 Live. He also co-hosts Early Kick Off on TNT Sports.

Club Career Highlights

Starting Out in Football

Robbie Savage was born in Wrexham, Wales. He began his football journey with local teams Brickfield Rangers and Lex XI. After finishing school, he joined Manchester United as a trainee. He first played as a striker. He was part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup in 1992. He later signed a professional contract but did not play for the first team. In 1994, he moved to Crewe Alexandra.

At Crewe, he switched to midfield. He quickly showed he was a skilled young player. He helped Crewe reach the Division Two play-offs twice. This was amazing for a team that had just been promoted. In 1997, Crewe finally won promotion through the play-offs. This was the first time Crewe reached the second tier of English football. Soon after, Savage asked to leave the club.

Time at Leicester City

Savage playing for Leicester City in 1997–98, his first season with the club.

In July 1997, Savage moved to Premier League team Leicester City. The transfer fee was £400,000. He spent five years at Leicester. Here, he became known as a reliable and competitive midfielder. In 1999, Leicester reached the League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur. Savage was involved in a moment where a Tottenham player was sent off. A year later, Savage reached the League Cup final again. This time, Leicester won 2–1 against Tranmere Rovers.

Moving to Birmingham City

When Leicester was relegated from the Premier League in 2002, Savage moved to Birmingham City. Birmingham had just been promoted. He signed a three-year contract for £1.25 million. He won the club's Player of the Year award in 2003. In January 2005, he asked to leave the club. He wanted to be closer to his family in Wrexham. On 19 January, he joined Blackburn Rovers for £3 million. He had scored 11 goals in 82 league games for Birmingham.

Playing for Blackburn Rovers

In his first five months at Blackburn, Savage helped the team stay in the Premier League. They also reached the FA Cup Semi-final. This was a 3–0 loss to Arsenal in his home country's Millennium Stadium.

In March 2005, Savage ended his international career. This happened after the new Wales manager, John Toshack, did not pick him for a World Cup qualifying game. Savage said he retired because Toshack told him he was not good enough for Wales.

In the 2005–06 season, Savage played regularly for Blackburn. He made 42 appearances and scored one goal against his old club, Birmingham. The next season, he scored in Blackburn's UEFA Cup games. However, his season ended early in January due to a broken leg. This injury kept him out for the rest of the season.

During the 2007–08 season, Savage had more knee problems. He needed surgery, which kept him out for six weeks. When other players returned and played well, it became harder for him to get into the starting team. Blackburn fans liked Savage. They gave him a standing ovation when he returned to play against them with Derby.

Time at Derby County

Savage playing for Derby against West Ham United in the 2007–08 season

On 9 January 2008, Savage joined Derby County for £1.5 million. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract. He said he took a pay cut to join Derby because he wanted to play more. He became the new Derby captain after the previous captain left. He led the Derby team in his first match, which was a 1–0 home loss.

In July 2008, there were rumors that Savage might leave Derby. He missed all the pre-season matches. In August, Leicester City showed interest in him, but Derby said no. The manager, Paul Jewell, often left Savage out of the team. Savage was also replaced as captain.

After not being able to get back into the first team, Savage went on loan to Brighton for a month in October. He later said he tried to get a loan move to Leicester. However, the Leicester manager said no. When Paul Jewell left Derby, the new manager, Nigel Clough, brought Savage back into the first team. Savage became the first-choice central midfielder. He scored his first goal for Derby in a 2–1 loss in February 2009.

Savage extended his Derby contract for another year in August 2009. The next day, he was named in the Championship Team of the Week. Later that month, he was named captain of Derby County again. He said he felt more comfortable with the captaincy this time. Derby had a tough season but managed to stay safe. Savage played in almost all of Derby's 51 league and cup games. He scored two goals and won the club's Player of the Year award.

In the 2010–11 season, Savage continued to play for Derby. He made his 100th appearance for the club in a 2–2 draw. He was then dropped to the bench for the first time since Nigel Clough became manager. On 11 March 2010, Savage even played in goal for Derby for 45 minutes when the goalkeeper was injured.

On 16 October 2010, Savage played his 600th career match. He scored a penalty in injury time to seal a 3–0 win. In January 2011, Savage said he was thinking about leaving Derby. He later decided not to move, saying it was too big a change for his family. On 31 January 2011, Savage announced he would retire at the end of the season. He wanted to focus on his growing media career. In his last two games, fans gave him a round of applause and a standing ovation.

Brief Return to Playing

On 24 November 2019, Savage came out of retirement. He joined Stockport Town in the North West Counties League. He made his league debut the next evening as a substitute. This was his only appearance for the club.

International Career for Wales

Robbie Savage played for Wales at under-18 and under-21 levels. He made his senior international debut in 1995 against Albania. He played 39 times for Wales and scored two goals. Both goals were in World Cup qualifying games against Turkey and Norway. He retired from international football in September 2005. He said he wanted to focus on his club career. However, many believed it was due to a disagreement with Wales manager John Toshack.

Early in his international career, he had a funny moment with former Wales manager Bobby Gould. He jokingly threw a replica of a famous Italian player's shirt into a bin. Savage was briefly dropped from the squad but was brought back the next day.

Media Career

Even during his playing career, Savage sometimes worked as a football expert. He started working in the media more regularly from 2009. He worked as an expert during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He then joined the presenting team for BBC Radio 5 Live's 6-0-6 show. In September 2010, Savage became an official sports ambassador for a bookmaker. In May 2011, he won a "Rising Star Award" for his radio work.

From 2009 to 2013, Savage was an expert on ESPN. He has since moved to TNT Sports.

After retiring from football in May 2011, Savage became a bigger name in broadcasting. In September 2011, he took part in Strictly Come Dancing. He danced with professional dancer Ola Jordan. During one performance, he did a knee-slide towards the camera and broke his nose! Savage and Jordan were eliminated in the quarter-final, finishing sixth.

In October 2012, Savage helped BBC Radio 5 Live try to set a new Guinness World Record. This was for the 'most players in a continuous 5-a-side exhibition match' for BBC Children in Need. Savage also has a BBC Radio 5 Live podcast called Flintoff, Savage & The Ping Pong Guy. He hosts it with former cricketer Andrew Flintoff and table tennis player Matthew Syed. They discuss current sports topics.

Managerial Career

Macclesfield FC

Robbie Savage became involved with the creation of a new football club, Macclesfield F.C., in October 2020. He was appointed as a member of the board, and later became the director of football. On 17 June 2024, Robbie Savage was appointed head coach at Macclesfield.

Under his leadership, the club achieved promotion to the National League North on 22 March 2025. They became champions of the Northern Premier League Premier Division. He left Macclesfield on 1 July 2025.

Forest Green Rovers

On 1 July 2025, Savage was appointed manager of National League team Forest Green Rovers.

Personal Life

Robbie Savage was born in Wrexham on 18 October 1974. He attended Ysgol Bryn Alyn until 1991. After school, he joined Manchester United as an apprentice.

Savage is married to Sarah and they have two sons. One of his sons, Charlie, joined Manchester United's youth academy. In April 2021, Charlie signed his first professional contract with the club. On 8 December 2021, Robbie Savage was commentating for BT Sport when his son Charlie made his senior Manchester United debut. Charlie came on as a substitute in a UEFA Champions League match.

Robbie Savage's father was diagnosed with a type of dementia when he was in his mid-50s. He passed away in 2012. Robbie Savage is an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society, a charity that helps with dementia care and research.

Savage has said he would have liked to finish his playing career at his hometown club Wrexham. He also said his biggest regret was not signing for Everton in 2005.

Savage has published two books: Savage! (2011) and I'll Tell You What... (2015). In October 2014, he received an honorary award from Wrexham's Glyndŵr University for his contributions to sport.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

International goals

Scores and results list Wales's goal tally first. Score column lists score after each Savage goal.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	20 August 1997	Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Turkey	2–2	4–6	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	5 September 2001	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	1–0	2–3	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Managerial

Honours

Player

Manchester United Youth

• FA Youth Cup: 1991–92

Leicester City

• Football League Cup: 1999–2000; runner-up: 1998–99

Manager

Macclesfield FC

• NPL Premier Division: 2024–25

Scholastic

Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships

Location	Date	School	Position
Wales	29 October 2014–present	Wrexham Glyndŵr University	Honorary Fellow

See also

In Spanish: Robbie Savage para niños