Benjamin Anthony Brereton (born 18 April 1999), also known as Ben Brereton Díaz, is a 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 lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

or winger for club

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, and the Chile national team. Brereton Díaz began his club career with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

, making his senior debut in 2017. He moved to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in 2018, initially on loan before joining them on a permanent transfer in 2019. In 2023, he signed for

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

in Spain's

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, but did not score any goals over 20 games and left on loan for Sheffield United and then permanently to Southampton. Born in England, Brereton Díaz represented his birth country at the under-19 and under-20 levels. Qualifying through his mother, he was selected for the senior

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

team in 2021, and played at the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life

Brereton Díaz was born in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, Staffordshire and attended

Blythe Bridge Blythe Bridge () is a village in Staffordshire, England, south-east of Stoke-on-Trent. Etymology Blythe Bridge is so called as it is built around the site of a bridge over the River Blithe (spelt differently from the name of the village itsel ...

High School. He was born to Martin Brereton, an English policeman and former amateur football player in Stoke-on-Trent area and District Sunday League, and Andrea Brereton (), born in Concepción, Chile, who worked at

Churchill China Churchill China PLC () is an English pottery manufacturer based in Stoke-on-Trent in England. History of the company Churchill China traces its origins back to 1795 and the foundation of its first factory in what later became Stoke-on-Trent in ...

Club career

Early career

From the ages of seven to 14 Brereton Díaz was in the youth set-up at

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. In 2013, he moved to his hometown club,

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

Nottingham Forest

Brereton Díaz signed with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

in the summer of 2015 after his release from

. Following his impressive form in the club's academy teams, with 15 goals in 20 appearances, he signed a new contract with the club on 31 December 2016. Brereton Díaz made his first-team debut for Forest on 25 January 2017 as a 76th-minute substitute during a 2–0 loss to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. He scored his first goal on 4 February, netting in injury-time against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

to give Forest a 2–1 victory. On 27 March 2017, having made ten appearances and scoring against

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

and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, Brereton Díaz was nominated for the Championship Apprentice of the Year award. He was one of three players nominated, the others named as

Lloyd Kelly Lloyd Casius Kelly (born 6 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Juventus. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a left-back. Club career Bristol City Kelly joined Bristol City at the age of 1 ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

and

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

George Hirst George Herbert Hirst (7 September 1871 – 10 May 1954) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. One of the best all-r ...

. Brereton Díaz was announced as the winner at the EFL Awards at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, on 9 April. He signed a long-term contract with Forest on 22 June 2017, keeping him under contract at the club until June 2021.

Blackburn Rovers

On 28 August 2018, Brereton Díaz signed for

on loan, with a view to making the transfer permanent in the January 2019 transfer window. On 4 January 2019, the move was made permanent for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £7m. Brereton Díaz was awarded the

Championship Player of the Month The EFL Championship Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player adjudged the best for each month of the season in the EFL Championship, the English football league system, second tier of English football. ...

award for September 2021 after scoring six goals in five matches, including a hat-trick against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. After the 2021–22 season, when he scored 22 goals as Blackburn finished 8th, the club triggered a one-year contract extension for Brereton Díaz. In the 2022–23 season, Brereton Díaz scored 14 goals as Blackburn finished seventh, just outside the playoff positions on goal difference. His final game of the season was against

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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

, in which he scored two goals and Blackburn came back from 3–1 down to win 4–3. On 8 May 2023, it was confirmed that Brereton Diaz would be leaving Blackburn in the summer.

Villarreal

On 4 July 2023, following the expiry of his contract at Blackburn,

club

announced the signing of Brereton Díaz for a four-year contract on a free transfer. He played 20 games across all competitions, starting 6 and playing an average of 28.5 minutes per match, and did not score any goals.

First loan to Sheffield United

On 5 January 2024, Brereton Díaz returned to England on loan until the end of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

relegation-struggling side

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. He made his debut for the club as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 victory over Gillingham in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in his Premier League debut against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

on 21 January; the match finished in a 2–2 draw. He totalled 6 goals in 14 league appearances for the Blades, who were relegated.

Southampton

On 30 July 2024, Brereton Díaz joined Premier League club

on a four-year contract for an estimated fee of £7 million. He made his debut for the club on 17 August in a 1–0 away defeat against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. On 14 September, after a 3–0 loss at Manchester United, he surpassed

Marvin Sordell Marvin Anthony Sordell (born 17 February 1991) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for club Rayners Lane. Sordell started his career with Fulham prior to joining Watford for a two-year scholarship in 2007. He made his professiona ...

's record of 17 Premier League appearances with no win. He was one of several first-team players moved into the under-21 team by manager Russell Martin. He did not score any goals in 13 league and cup appearances for the Saints.

Second loan to Sheffield United

On 20 January 2025, Brereton Díaz returned to Sheffield United of the Championship on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season with an option to buy in the summer. Ben Brereton Diaz went on to score 4 times in his second spell with the blades.

International career

Born in England to a Chilean mother, Brereton Díaz was eligible to play for both nations. He played age-group games for England but switched allegiances to Chile, making his senior debut in 2021.

England

In March 2017, Brereton Díaz received his first call-up to an England side after being named in the under-19s squad for games against their

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, Norwegian and

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

counterparts. Having started his side's 3–0 defeat of Spain and coming off the bench for the 5–1 beating of Belarus, manager

Keith Downing Keith Gordon Downing (born 23 July 1965) is an English former footballer and football manager who is an assistant coach at club Derby County. He made most of his appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers. A former Chelsea youth team player, he ...

praised his performances and ease at settling into the squad. Brereton Díaz was subsequently called up to represent England at the

2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-19 Euro 2017) was the 16th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (66th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual international youth footba ...

. In the group stage, he scored the winner against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and twice against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Brereton Díaz was a second-half substitute during the victory against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in the final. His total of three goals meant Brereton Díaz was joint top goalscorer at the tournament. Brereton Díaz also played at the

2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-19 Euro 2018) was the 17th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (67th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual international youth foot ...

, scoring his only goal of the tournament in the opening group stage match against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Chile

After noticing he was half Chilean whilst playing ''

Football Manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

'', a group of fans began a social media campaign to get Brereton Díaz picked for

. This was subsequently picked up by the national media and on 24 May 2021, Brereton Díaz was called up to the Chile squad for the first time by manager

Martín Lasarte Martín Bernardo Lasarte Arróspide (born 20 March 1961) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a defender, and recently the manager of Nacional Montevideo. He represented five teams in his country, and also had a three-and-a-half-yea ...

for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. He was subsequently included in Chile's squad for the

2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football, football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to ...

in Brazil, and on 14 June he made his debut as a substitute against Argentina in a 1–1 draw. On 18 June, he was handed his first start as he scored his first international goal for ''La Roja'', against Bolivia in a 1–0 win. In Chile's failed 2022 World Cup qualification campaign, Brereton Díaz scored in consecutive home wins over

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

in October 2021. After the latter, he presented his shirt to former international and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

and

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

striker

Iván Zamorano Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora (; born 18 January 1967) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers and one of the greatest strikers of his generation. He first ...

. On 16 June 2023, Brereton Díaz scored his first international hat-trick, in a 5–0 friendly win over the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located withi ...

; it was his mother's first time watching him for her country, and the performance brought her to tears of joy. In March 2024, he was dropped by Chilean coach

Ricardo Gareca Ricardo Alberto Gareca Nardi (; born 10 February 1958), nicknamed ''el Tigre'' and ''el Flaco'' ("Tiger " and "Slim"), is an Argentine football manager and former player. He was recently the manager of the Chile national team. During his play ...

due to his lack of Spanish language skills, but later in June he was called up for the

2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...

. He played all three games as the team were eliminated as third place in their group in the United States.

Personal life

Brereton Díaz first started using the name Ben Brereton Díaz when he debuted for Chile, as

Spanish names Spanish names are the traditional way of identifying, and the official way of registering a person in Spain. They are composed of a given name (simple or composite) and two surnames (the first surname of each parent). Traditionally, the first ...

use both the father's surname and mother's surname. He then announced in July 2021 he would use the name at club level as well. Since playing for the national side, Brereton Díaz said he has been taking Spanish lessons three times a week and learning the national anthem.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 10 September 2024. Chile score listed first, score column indicates score after each Brereton goal.''

Honours

England U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Individual *UEFA European Under-19 Championship Golden Boot:

* EFL Championship Apprentice of the Year: 2016–17 *

EFL Championship Player of the Month The EFL Championship Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player adjudged the best for each month of the season in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Originally named the Football L ...

: September 2021 * Blackburn Rovers Players' Player of the Year: 2021–22 * Junior Rovers Player of the Year: 2021–22 *

Chilean Footballer of the Year Chilean Footballer of the Year is an award that the Circulo de Periodistas de Chile annually grants, to those Chilean soccer players who during the season of Primera División de Chile have obtained the greater number of points, in agreement with th ...

: 2022 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2021–22 Championship

References

External links

Profile
at the Villarreal CF website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brereton Díaz, Ben 1999 births Living people English people of Chilean descent Sportspeople of Chilean descent Chilean people of English descent Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent Chilean men's footballers 21st-century Chilean sportsmen English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Nottingham Forest F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Villarreal CF players Sheffield United F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English Football League players La Liga players Premier League players England men's youth international footballers Chile men's international footballers 2021 Copa América players 2024 Copa América players English expatriate men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Spain English expatriate sportspeople in Spain 21st-century English sportsmen