Max McAuley Power (born 27 July 1993) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

side Bradford City.

Career

Tranmere Rovers

Early career

Born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

, Wirral, Power joined local Tranmere Rovers' youth set-up at the age of eight and captained the club at every age group including the first team. He chose to join the team instead of signing for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. After impressing in the Tranmere Rovers Reserve team he was awarded a professional contract in May 2011. Manager Les Parry was confident Power had a bright future in the game, but warned the youngster about his aggression. He compared him to Joss Labadie, another young and talented Rovers midfielder with a reputation as a hothead. Power spent time on loan at

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

in the 2010–11 season.

2011–12 season

Power made his first team debut in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

clash with Port Vale on 30 August 2011; he replaced

Andy Robinson Richard Andrew Robinson Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol Bears, Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland ...

on 66 minutes before he went on to score a penalty in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory. On 10 September he made his League One debut, starting in a 0–2 defeat away to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

and making way for Labadie after 77 minutes. He ended his first season with four league appearances and two in the Football League Trophy.

2012–13 season

Power scored his first goal for the club on 13 November 2012, concluding a 3–0 win against Braintree Town 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 ...

first round after coming on for James Wallace. He scored his first league goal for the club on 26 December, as they came from behind to win 2–1 against Crewe Alexandra at

Prenton Park Prenton Park is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Prenton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C., Tranmere Rovers Football Club since opening in 1912, and formerly the home ground ...

. On 4 March, he extended his contract, keeping him at the club until June 2015.

2013–14 season

In the following season, Power scored his first goal on 15 March 2014, equalising in the 15th minute of an eventual 1–2 home defeat by

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. His only other goal of the campaign was on 12 April, opening a 2–1 home win over Shrewsbury Town; both teams were relegated at the end of the season.

2014–15 season

On 7 October 2014, Power opened the scoring as Tranmere drew 1–1 at home against Carlisle United in the Football League Trophy second round, advancing via a penalty shootout. He scored the only goal in the FA Cup first round against Bristol Rovers on 8 November, converting a penalty after handball by Mark McChrystal. Three days later, he equalised as Tranmere came from behind to win 2–1 at Bury in the quarter-finals of the Football League Trophy. He opened the scoring in the semi-finals on 9 December, a 2–2 draw against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, and scored in the shootout although his team were knocked out. A week later, Power concluded a 2–1 comeback to defeat Oxford United in an FA Cup second round replay. He again netted in the third round on 3 January 2015, albeit in a 2–6 defeat to

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 ...

club Swansea City. On his 100th league appearance for Tranmere, he opened the scoring in a 2–1 win away to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

on 17 March. Tranmere needed to win away at Plymouth Argyle on 25 April to retain their place in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

, but Power fouled Dominic Blizzard to concede a penalty which Reuben Reid scored. He equalised from the edge of the penalty area, but his team lost 2–3, and thus were relegated to the

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

, ending a 94-year tenure in the league.

Wigan Athletic

On 3 July 2015, Power signed for

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

on a three-year contract. He scored a free-kick in the club's first pre-season match, a 2–1 win against Queen of the South in

La Manga Club La Manga Club is a sports and leisure resort located in the south-eastern region of Spain, Murcia, south of La Manga, and bordered by the Mar Menor and Calblanque Regional Park. The resort complex opened in 1972 and covers an area of 1,400 ...

. On 9 August he played the full 90 minutes as Wigan began the League One season with a 2–0 defeat to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

at the

Ricoh Arena The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, West Midlands, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currentl ...

. On 26 September, he scored his first goal for Wigan in a 1–1 draw at

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

, opening the scoring from 30 yards.

Sunderland

On 9 August 2018, Power signed for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

on loan from

. During his loan spell, Power received three straight red cards against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

, Bradford City and

, although the latter was rescinded 2 days later. On 2 January 2019, Power's loan to Sunderland became permanent, signing a -year contract. Power also went on to make appearances in both the

2019 EFL Trophy Final The 2019 EFL Trophy Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium on 31 March 2019. It decided the winners of the 2018–19 EFL Trophy, the 35th edition of the competition, a knock-out tournament for the 48 teams in League One and Lea ...

and the League One play-off final, suffering defeat in both. Power was named Sunderland's team captain at the beginning of the 2020–21 season. He subsequently lifted the trophy following Sunderland's 1–0 win over Tranmere in the 2021 EFL Trophy Final. On 25 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Sunderland at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract.

Return to Wigan Athletic

On 16 June 2021, Power agreed to reunite with manager

Leam Richardson Leam Nathan Richardson (born 19 November 1979) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Rotherham United. As a player, Richardson played for Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Not ...

ahead of the 2021–22 campaign on a two-year deal. In April 2022 Power picked up his third League One title with Wigan Athletic following a 3–0 victory over Shrewsbury Town.

Al-Qadsiah

On 12 July 2023, Power joined

Saudi First Division League The Saudi First Division League (), currently known as the Yelo League for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia. It ranks below the Saudi Pro League and above the Saudi Second Division League in the ...

club Al-Qadsiah.

AGF

On 2 September 2024, following a successful trial period, Power joined

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

club AGF on a contract until the end of the season. On 30 April 2025, the club announced that Power had departed by mutual consent, enabling him to explore new opportunities prior to the contract's scheduled expiration in May.

Bradford City

In May 2025, Power signed for Bradford City.

Personal life

Power attended

Wirral Grammar School for Boys Wirral Grammar School for Boys is an 11–18 boys State school, maintained Selective school, selective grammar school founded in 1931. It is situated on a site to the west of Port Sunlight at Cross Lane, Bebington, on the Wirral Peninsula in En ...

, and is named after his parents' pet

labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

. He once feared that he was named after

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is the main protagonist of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Homer made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, ...

's brief name change in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' episode "

Homer to the Max "Homer to the Max" is the thirteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 7, 1999. In the episode, Homer discovers that a new televi ...

", before discovering that the episode aired when he was six years old. He has also posed for a motoring magazine which shares his name.

Career statistics

Honours

Wigan Athletic * League One: 2015–16, 2017–18, 2021–22 Sunderland *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

; runner-up: 2018–19 Al-Qadsiah *

: 2023–24

References

External links

*
Profile
at the Tranmere Rovers official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Max 1993 births Living people Footballers from Birkenhead English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Al Qadsiah FC players Aarhus Gymnastikforening players Bradford City A.F.C. players English Football League players Saudi First Division League players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia English expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark English expatriate sportspeople in Denmark People educated at Wirral Grammar School for Boys 21st-century English sportsmen