Christopher Lloyd Smalling (born 22 November 1989) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

club

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

. Smalling represented the England national team from 2011 to 2017. During his youth, Smalling played for the

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

academy before joining non-League club Maidstone United. After establishing himself in the Maidstone United first team, he signed for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

in May 2008. However, shortly after joining Middlesbrough, Smalling had his contract with the club cancelled after raising concerns over homesickness. Soon after, in June 2008, he signed for Premier League club

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. He made his professional debut with them in May 2009 and helped them reach the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final the following season. In January 2010, Smalling signed a pre-contract agreement with

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and joined them officially in July 2010. He made his competitive debut in the 2010 FA Community Shield victory over

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, which earned him his first career medal. He went on to make more than 300 appearances for the club, winning two Premier League titles, an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

and a further two Community Shields. Smalling represented the England Schools under-18 team in early 2008, before making his debut for the national under-20 and under-21 teams in 2009. He made his senior international debut in September 2011 and has appeared at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

and

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

Early life

Smalling was born in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, London. He is of Jamaican descent. His father Lloyd died when Chris was aged five. Smalling has one brother. After his father's death the family moved to Kent, where he then attended

Chatham Grammar School for Boys Holcombe Grammar School (formerly Chatham Grammar School for Boys) is a grammar school with academy status in Chatham, Kent, England. It is a selective school. From the 2017-18 academic year, the school planned to become co-educational and rema ...

. Smalling was a schoolboy national

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

champion, and also finished second in an international competition. He was a boyhood

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

fan.

Club career

Maidstone United

As a youngster he played for Walderslade Boys and Lordswood. During his teenage years he sometimes missed training as he could not afford to pay for the bus. After a short spell at

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

, a 16-year-old Smalling joined Maidstone United's youth set-up. After rising through Maidstone United's youth and reserve team set-up under the tutelage of coaches Peter Nott and Tony Cornwell, Smalling made his first-team debut for 'The Stones' on 11 April 2007, in a 4–1 loss against Tonbridge Angels in the

Kent Senior Cup The Kent Senior Cup is an English football competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association. History The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three ...

. After making further appearances in the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

and

Isthmian League Cup The Alan Turvey Trophy, formerly the Isthmian League Cup is a football knock-out cup competition organised by the Isthmian League in England. History Isthmian League Chairman and President Alan Turvey was among the FA's "150 Grassroots Heroes" ...

, Smalling made his league debut for the club in December 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against

Harlow Town Harlow Town Football Club is an English association football, football club based in Harlow, Essex. The club is a former member of the and plays at The Harlow Arena. The club is best known for its exploits in the 1979–80 FA Cup, in which it ...

. Smalling impressed and quickly established himself as a vital part of Maidstone United's back line; however, injury and international duty restricted his appearances. Smalling scored one goal for Maidstone United, in a 4–2 win at East Thurrock United on 24 March 2008, a match which was also his last game for the club.

Fulham

After attracting strong interest from

, Gillingham,

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, Smalling signed for

on a two-year contract on 30 April 2008. However, within a month of signing, his contract with Middlesbrough was cancelled, with Smalling concerned about homesickness, and in June 2008, he signed for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club Fulham. Smalling was not on a contract at Maidstone United, for it would have prohibited him from playing for England Schoolboys, and as such the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

club were not entitled to a fee for the player; however, Fulham struck a deal which saw Maidstone United given £10,000 upon the transfer and £10,000 for every 10 league matches he played. He was made captain of the club's Development Squad by manager

Billy McKinlay William James Alexander McKinlay (born 22 April 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former professional footballer who is assistant manager of West Ham United. As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for ...

. On 24 May 2009, Smalling made his Premier League debut for Fulham, replacing

Aaron Hughes Aaron William Hughes (born 8 November 1979) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Hughes played mainly at centre back, but was also used at right back or left back, as well as anywhere in midfield. He i ...

in the 77th minute in the final match of the 2008–09 season, a 2–0 home loss to Everton. Smalling made his first start for Fulham on 17 September 2009, in an away tie with

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...

in the

, with the match ending 1–1. On 28 December 2009, Smalling made his first league start for Fulham, in a 2–1 loss against Chelsea at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

in Fulham's final match of 2009 and scored a decisive

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

in the 75th minute of the match. He was not included in the matchday squad for the

2010 UEFA Europa League Final The 2010 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, the first season of the revamped European football competition formerly known as the UEFA Cup. Played at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany, on 12 May ...

, in which Fulham were beaten 2–1 after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

at the

Volksparkstadion Volksparkstadion () is a football stadium in Hamburg, Germany, and is the home of Hamburger SV. History HSV actually have nothing to do with the origins of the stadium, even though they own the current arena. Before the club moved to the cur ...

Manchester United

2010–2013

On 27 January 2010,

announced that they had signed Smalling, for an undisclosed fee, with the player staying at Fulham for the remainder of the 2009–10 season before joining United for the beginning 2010–11 campaign. The transfer officially went through on 1 July 2010. Smalling made his debut for United on 8 August 2010 in the 2010 FA Community Shield, appearing as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 win over Chelsea. His Premier League debut for United came in their 3–0 home win over

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

on 28 August 2010, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for

Jonny Evans Jonathan Grant Evans (born 3 January 1988) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Leicester City and the Northern Ireland national team. Evans started his career at Manchester United and progressed thr ...

. On 15 September 2010, he made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

debut, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw at home against Rangers. Eight days later, Smalling scored his first goal for Manchester United, also his first senior career goal, in a 5–2 away win over Scunthorpe United in the

. Smalling then made his full Premier League debut for United on 4 January 2011, partnering

Nemanja Vidić Nemanja Vidić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Видић, ; born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is best known for his time at Manchester United, was part of the Serbia national team, and is ...

for the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 home win against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

. On 8 July 2011, Smalling signed a new five-year contract with United. Smalling scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season in the

2011 FA Community Shield The 2011 FA Community Shield (also known as The FA Community Shield sponsored by McDonald's for sponsorship reasons) was the 89th FA Community Shield, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Premier League and ...

against United's local rivals

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, volleying in an

Ashley Young Ashley Simon Young (born 9 July 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or full-back for Premier League club Aston Villa, where he is club captain. Young started his career at Watford and made his first senior appea ...

free kick from close range to reduce the deficit to 2–1. Manchester United went on to win the match 3–2 and take the Shield. The new season also saw Smalling adapt to a new role, as early injuries to Nemanja Vidić and

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and was ...

allowed Smalling, Jonny Evans and new signing Phil Jones to replace them. Evans and Jones played as central defenders, whereas Smalling was deployed as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Smalling scored his first ever Premier League goal, against Chelsea at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

, on 18 September 2011, rising unmarked to place a header into the far corner to open the scoring in a match United went on to win 3–1. Smalling was ruled out of the last Premier League fixture of the season and also for England's

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

campaign due to a groin injury he sustained during Manchester United's 2–0 win over Swansea City in the penultimate week of the league season. On 21 July 2012, it was announced that Smalling would miss the start of the season after being ruled out for 10 weeks after undergoing surgery on a broken metatarsal. The injury had ruled him out of the entire pre-season tour. He made his return on 7 November 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 win away to Portuguese team

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

in the Champions League. He made his Premier League return three days later, helping his team to a 3–2 win against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

2013–2016

On 27 November 2013, Smalling scored his first Champions League goal in a 5–0 win away to

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, th ...

. On 26 December 2013, he scored in a 3–2 win against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

. Smalling was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the first half of United's 1–0 defeat in the

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, east Manchester, while United play at Old Trafford in the borough o ...

on 2 November 2014. Manager

Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spel ...

deemed Smalling "stupid" for his second yellow card in the match, awarded for a foul on

James Milner James Philip Milner (born 4 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool. A versatile player, Milner has played in multiple positions, including on the wing, in midfield and at full-back. ...

. On 29 November 2014, he scored his first Premier League goal of the season in a 3–0 victory over Hull City at Old Trafford, it was also his first Old Trafford goal in three years. On 11 February 2015, Smalling became the first player in the history of the Premier League to score two first-half goals as a substitute, after appearing as a 5th-minute substitute in a 3–1 victory against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

. This entered Smalling into the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for "the fastest goal in the Premier League by a substitute from kick-off" and "the most goals in the Premier League scored by a substitute in the first half". On 12 April 2015, he scored his fourth league goal of the season in a 4–2 win over Manchester City. Nine days later, Smalling signed a new contract with Manchester United, keeping him at the club until June 2019. Having been praised by manager Louis van Gaal for his command of the defensive unit, Smalling captained United for the first time on 17 May 2015 during a 1–1 draw against Arsenal. On 2 May 2016, Smalling won the Manchester United Players' Player of the Year award. Later that month, on 21 May, he was sent off against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

in the 2016 FA Cup Final, which Manchester United won 2–1 after extra time.

2016–2019

Chris Smalling vs Rostov 9 March 2017 (cropped)

He scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season on 24 September with a 22nd-minute header which opened the scoring in a 4–1 victory over reigning Premier League champions,

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. Smalling's first goal of the 2017–18 season came in a 4–1 win over

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

on 18 November 2017. Smalling's next goal didn't come until 5 March 2018 in a 3–2 comeback win over Crystal Palace. He scored again a month later, scoring the

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

winner in a 3–2 comeback victory over Manchester City. Smalling scored his final goal of the season in a 2–0 away victory over

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

. Smalling's only goal and what ending up being his final United goal of the 2018–19 season came in a 2–1 victory over

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

on 15 September 2018, which was regarded as "one of the best goals of his career" by the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

''. On 15 December, Smalling signed a new contract with Manchester United, keeping him at the club until June 2022. This came a week after sustaining a foot injury in United's 4–1 home win over Fulham keeping the defender out until he returned to training prior to the reverse fixture in February. Following his return, Smalling received criticism for his overly physical playing style with former Irish footballer

Tony Cascarino Anthony Guy Cascarino (born 1 September 1962) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker for various British and French clubs and internationally for the Republic of Ireland ...

saying " ewill be in trouble when video assistant referees are introduced to the Premier League" next season.

Roma

On 30 August 2019, Smalling joined

club

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

for the 2019–20 season, with the club paying €3 million to sign him. On 24 November 2019, he became the first English player to score at least two goals in the same Serie A campaign since

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

during the 2008–09 season, and third overall since 2000 after

Jay Bothroyd Jay Bothroyd (born 7 May 1982) is a former English professional footballer who last played as a striker for J1 League club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. A product of the Arsenal Academy, he left in 2000 and signed with Coventry City, spending th ...

in the 2003–04 season. On 5 October 2020, Smalling signed for Roma permanently on a three-year contract for an initial €15 million fee, potentially rising to €20 million with add-ons. On 25 May 2022, Smalling was named man of the match in the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final, which Roma won 1–0 against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

, Albania, to become the inaugural winners of the competition.

International career

Youth

At the age of 17 and studying for his

A Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

, Smalling was selected to represent his county (

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

), and the Kent Schools' Football Association then nominated him for trials for the England Schoolboy international squad. His trial was successful, and Smalling was selected to represent England Schools against Australia in January 2008. England won 2–0, and Smalling went on to play for England in the Centenary Shield, playing all four matches which including 1–0 victory against Wales Schools in which he scored the only goal. Smalling made his debut for the England under-20 team 31 March 2009, playing 45 minutes in a 2–0 win against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

. On 11 August, four months after his under-20 debut, he made his debut for the under-21 squad in a friendly fixture against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, coming on as a substitute in the 58th minute of a 0–0 away draw. On 14 November, Smalling made first start for the under-21s in a 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in a 1–0 win. He scored his first goal for the under-21s on 8 October 2010, against Romania, in England's 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-off first leg, converting from inside the area after an assist from

Daniel Sturridge Daniel Andre Sturridge (; born 1 September 1989) is an English professional footballer who last played as a striker. As well as representing England, he has played in the Premier League for Manchester City, Chelsea, Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool ...

. The goal, scored in the 83rd minute, proved to be the winner as England won 2–1.

Senior

On 13 November 2010, Smalling was called up to the England senior squad for the first time for their friendly against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 17 November; however, he was an unused substitute in the 2–1 loss. He made his senior debut in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

on 2 September 2011, which England won 3–0, in which he played at right-back. On 12 May 2014, Smalling was named in England's 23-man squad for the

. With England's elimination from the group stages already confirmed, Smalling was given a tournament debut as a starter in the final group match, helping the team to a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw with

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

. On 31 May 2016, Smalling was named in England's 23-man squad for

. On 2 June 2016, in England's final warm-up match for Euro 2016, he scored his first goal for England in a 1–0 victory over

. Smalling was dropped by England manager

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup ...

in November 2017, as Southgate felt players such as

John Stones John Stones (born 28 May 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Manchester City and the England national team. Stones began his career with Barnsley, making his first-team debut in the Championship in ...

Harry Maguire Jacob Harry Maguire (born 5 March 1993) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the England national football team, England national team. ...

and

Eric Dier Eric Jeremy Edgar Dier (born 15 January 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays for club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team. A versatile defensive player, Dier has been deployed as a defensive midfielder, a centre-b ...

were better at initiating the play. Smalling registered his surprise and responded, "I'm as good a defender as anyone." He was not included in the squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

Personal life

In June 2017, Smalling married model

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

near

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

, Italy. They have a son, Leo, born in May 2019. Inspired by his wife, he became

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

, which he credits for improving his health and reducing his recovery time. He had cut out

red meat In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw and a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as ...

prior to becoming vegan. Smalling has promoted the vegan diet and kindness to animals through advertisements for

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

. In February 2019, he became a patron of education charity Football Beyond Borders. On 16 April 2021, Smalling and his family were robbed by armed men in their home in southern Rome. The thieves took luxury watches and jewellery in an early morning raid.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 10 June 2017. England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Smalling goal.''

Honours

Manchester United *

: 2010–11, 2012–13 *

: 2015–16 *

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

: 2016–17 *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

: 2016–17 Roma *

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...

: 2021–22 Individual *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...

Team of the Tournament:

* Manchester United Players' Player of the Year: 2015–16 * UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season: 2021–22

References

External links

Profile
at the A.S. Roma website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smalling, Chris 1989 births Living people Footballers from Greenwich English footballers England schools international footballers England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers England international footballers Association football defenders Maidstone United F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players A.S. Roma players Isthmian League players Premier League players Serie A players UEFA Europa League winning players 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players English expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy English expatriate sportspeople in Italy Black British sportspeople English people of Jamaican descent English victims of crime FA Cup Final players UEFA Europa Conference League winning players