1. Overview
Ryan Dominic Bertrand (born 5 August 1989) is an English former professional footballer who primarily played as a left-back. His career spanned notable clubs including Chelsea, Southampton, and Leicester City, alongside numerous loan spells that shaped his early development. Bertrand is notable for being the first player to make his UEFA Champions League debut in the final match, which he did in 2012 with Chelsea. He also represented England at various youth levels, including the U-21 team, and played for the Great Britain Olympic team at the 2012 London Olympics before making his senior international debut for England in 2012. After a distinguished playing career, Bertrand announced his retirement from professional football in June 2024. Beyond his football career, he is also known for his ventures in the fintech industry, co-founding Silicon Markets, a brokerage offering machine learning and algorithmic trading tools.
2. Early life
Ryan Bertrand was born on 5 August 1989 in Southwark, London, England. He joined the youth system of Gillingham at the age of nine, where he began his footballing development. He attended The Robert Napier School in Gillingham, Kent. Bertrand is of Dominican and Irish descent.
3. Club career
Bertrand's professional club career began at Chelsea, where he initially came through the youth ranks before embarking on multiple loan spells to gain experience. He later found significant success at Southampton and concluded his playing career with Leicester City.
3.1. Chelsea
Bertrand was signed by Chelsea in July 2005 from Gillingham. The initial transfer fee was 125.00 K GBP, set by a tribunal, with provisions for it to increase based on his progress. He signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in August 2006.
3.1.1. Loan spells
Bertrand spent considerable time on loan to various clubs early in his career to gain first-team experience.
During the 2006-07 season, he had two separate loan spells at AFC Bournemouth. His time there was interrupted by a ruptured spleen suffered in a youth team match against Arsenal, which sidelined him for the latter part of the season.
In August 2007, Bertrand joined Oldham Athletic on loan until January 2008, making 21 league appearances and a total of 24 appearances, including two in the Football League Trophy.
On 4 January 2008, after his spell at Oldham concluded, Bertrand moved to Norwich City on loan for the remainder of the 2007-08 season. He impressed with his performances as both a left-back and a left winger, earning him the nickname 'Plastic' from the Carrow Road faithful, a reference to Belgian singer Plastic Bertrand. On 4 July 2008, he rejoined Norwich City on loan until January 2009, with an option for extension until the end of the season. In total, he made 60 appearances for Norwich, including 56 league appearances over one and a half seasons.
On 17 July 2009, Bertrand joined Reading on a season-long loan. He scored his first professional league goal on 10 March 2010 in a 4-1 home victory against Derby County. He played 44 league matches and scored 1 goal for Reading, finishing third in the voting for their player of the season.
On 5 August 2010, Bertrand signed an initial six-month loan deal with Championship club Nottingham Forest. He made his debut as a substitute in a 1-0 away defeat against Burnley on 7 August 2010. He became a regular for Forest, making a total of 19 appearances. Nottingham Forest expressed interest in extending his loan or signing him permanently, but he returned to Chelsea on 3 January 2011 after his loan expired.
On 17 January 2014, Bertrand joined Aston Villa on loan for the remainder of the 2013-14 season. He debuted the following day in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool. He made 16 appearances for Aston Villa.
3.1.2. Return to Chelsea
Upon his return to Chelsea, Bertrand began to make inroads into the first team, notably featuring in significant matches and contributing to major trophy successes.
3.2. Southampton
On 30 July 2014, Bertrand joined Southampton on loan for the 2014-15 season. He made his competitive debut for the club on 17 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-1 away defeat to Liverpool. Bertrand scored his first goal for Southampton on 27 September, opening the scoring in a 2-1 home win against Queens Park Rangers. His second goal for the club came on 26 December in a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace. On 1 February 2015, he received a straight red card late in a 0-1 home loss against Swansea City for a foul on Modou Barrow.
On 2 February 2015, Bertrand completed a permanent move to Southampton, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be 10.00 M GBP. His strong performances were recognized on 26 April, when he was the only Southampton player named in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2014-15 Premier League season.
Bertrand scored his only goal of the 2015-16 season in the final match, a penalty in a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace. On 12 July 2016, he signed a new five-year contract with Southampton. During his seven seasons with the club, he appeared 240 times across all competitions. On 12 May 2021, Southampton announced that Bertrand would leave the club upon the expiration of his contract that summer.
3.3. Leicester City
On 15 July 2021, Bertrand joined Premier League club Leicester City on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract. He made his debut for the club in Leicester's 1-0 triumph over reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in the Community Shield on 7 August 2021. During his two seasons with Leicester, he played infrequently, particularly after sustaining a knee injury in the latter half of his first season. He did not return to the pitch for the remainder of his contract. On 5 June 2023, following the club's relegation from the Premier League, it was announced that Bertrand would be leaving Leicester City upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the month.
3.4. Retirement
Ryan Bertrand officially announced his retirement from professional football on 18 June 2024, concluding a 17-year playing career.
4. International career
Ryan Bertrand had a comprehensive international career, representing England at various youth levels, participating in the Olympics, and earning caps for the senior national team.
4.1. England youth teams
Bertrand represented England youth teams across multiple age groups, including under-17, under-18, under-19, under-20, and under-21 levels. He was part of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship squad. He was promoted to the U21s and was called up for several 2009 European Championship qualifiers, although he missed out on the final tournament squad. On 14 November 2009, Stuart Pearce selected him at left-back for an under-21 match against Portugal at Wembley in the Group 9 of the qualification process. He helped the team keep its first clean sheet since 29 June 2009. He was named in the England under-21 squad for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and played in all of England's matches in the tournament.
4.2. Great Britain Olympic team
On 2 July 2012, Bertrand was included in Stuart Pearce's 18-man squad for the 2012 London Summer Olympics. He played his first match for the Great Britain Olympic team on 20 July 2012 in a friendly match against Brazil. He went on to play three matches during the Olympic tournament itself.
4.3. England senior team
On 10 August 2012, Bertrand received his first call-up to the senior England team for a friendly match against Italy. He made his international debut in this match on 15 August, coming on for Leighton Baines in the 78th minute. Shortly after, he cleared a shot off the line from Manolo Gabbiadini, which indirectly led to England's winning goal in their 2-1 victory.
On 11 September 2012, Bertrand came on as a substitute after 73 minutes in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Ukraine and delivered the cross that resulted in Frank Lampard converting a penalty. On 8 October 2012, he was called up for two more qualifying matches against San Marino and Poland, but missed both due to a virus.
Bertrand played as a substitute for England away to Italy on 3 March 2015. He earned his fourth senior cap by starting for England against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 7 June 2015.
Bertrand was part of the England squad for UEFA Euro 2016. On 1 September 2017, he scored his first international goal for England in a 4-0 World Cup qualifier win over Malta.
5. Style of play
Bertrand is described as a modern full-back, recognized for his dual capabilities in both attack and defense. He is known for providing assistance in attacking down the flanks, maintaining possession, and making quick runs into the penalty box, often engaging in one-two passes with teammates. His former manager at Norwich, Glenn Roeder, characterized him as a defender who "likes to bomb forward and is tenacious in the tackle when defending." In a 2018 article for ESPN FC discussing the state of left-backs in England, football writer Michael Cox praised Bertrand as "a truly excellent full-back defensively and offensively."
6. Business ventures
Outside of his football career, Ryan Bertrand has ventured into the business world, particularly in the financial technology sector. He is a co-founder of Silicon Markets, a fintech brokerage. This company provides machine learning and algorithmic trading tools specifically designed for retail traders operating in the Foreign Exchange and CFD (Contracts for Difference) markets.
7. Career statistics
7.1. Club
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | Notes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Chelsea | 2006-07 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007-08 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2010-11 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2011-12 | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 15 | 0 | 1 appearance in UEFA Champions League | ||
| 2012-13 | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 2 | 3 appearances in UEFA Champions League, 5 appearances in UEFA Europa League; 1 appearance and 1 goal in FA Community Shield, 1 appearance in UEFA Super Cup | |
| 2013-14 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 28 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 57 | 2 | |||
| AFC Bournemouth (loan) | 2006-07 | League One | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Oldham Athletic (loan) | 2007-08 | League One | 21 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 2 appearances in Football League Trophy | ||
| Norwich City (loan) | 2007-08 | Championship | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | 20 | 0 | ||||
| 2008-09 | Championship | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 40 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 56 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 60 | 0 | |||||
| Reading (loan) | 2009-10 | Championship | 44 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 51 | 1 | |||
| Nottingham Forest (loan) | 2010-11 | Championship | 19 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 19 | 0 | |||||
| Aston Villa (loan) | 2013-14 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 16 | 0 | |||||
| Southampton | 2014-15 | Premier League | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2015-16 | Premier League | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 34 | 1 | |||
| 2016-17 | Premier League | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | 34 | 3 | 1 appearance in UEFA Europa League | ||
| 2017-18 | Premier League | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 40 | 0 | ||||
| 2018-19 | Premier League | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 24 | 1 | ||||
| 2019-20 | Premier League | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 35 | 1 | ||||
| 2020-21 | Premier League | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 34 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 214 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | 240 | 8 | ||||
| Leicester City | 2021-22 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 4 appearances in UEFA Europa League; 1 appearance in FA Community Shield |
| 2022-23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 407 | 8 | 36 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 485 | 11 | |||
7.2. International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2012 | 2 | 0 |
| 2015 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 9 | 1 | |
| Total | 19 | 1 | |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 September 2017 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | Malta | 2-0 | 4-0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
8. Honours
8.1. Club
- FA Cup: 2011-12 (with Chelsea)
- UEFA Champions League: 2011-12 (with Chelsea)
- UEFA Europa League: 2012-13 (with Chelsea)
- EFL Cup runner-up: 2016-17 (with Southampton)
- FA Community Shield: 2021 (with Leicester City)
8.2. Individual
- PFA Team of the Year: 2014-15 Premier League