Steven Davis (born 1 January 1985) is a Northern Irish former 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 played 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 ...

. He made his full international debut in 2005 and made 140 appearances at senior level, scoring 13 goals, to become the most capped

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

player, also a record for any man from the British home nations. He captained his country at

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 association football, football ch ...

where they reached the last 16. Davis began his club career with English

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

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 ...

in 2004. He was named "Young Player of the Year", "The Fans Player of the Year" and "Player of the Year" for the 2005–06 season after making 42 appearances during the season. He was sold to

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 ...

for £4 million in the summer of 2007, but moved on loan to Scottish club Rangers in January 2008 for an initial six months. He was part of the team that reached the 2008 UEFA Cup final and won the 2007–08 Scottish League Cup and 2007–08 Scottish Cup. At the end of the season, he moved to Rangers permanently for £3 million. He won three consecutive

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

titles with the Glasgow club in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, as well as one further

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and two more League Cups (

and

). Following Rangers' liquidation in 2012, Davis exercised his rights under TUPE regulations to rescind his contract and become a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, returning to the Premier League with

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, ...

where he made over 200 appearances across six full seasons and captained the side for much of that time, which included twice qualifying for the Europa League from league position and reaching the 2017 EFL Cup final. Davis returned to Rangers under manager

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,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 another Scottish Cup in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, as well as reaching the 2022 UEFA Europa League final. He announced his retirement from playing in January 2024, having been absent through injury for over a year (during which he was briefly the interim manager of Rangers, taking charge of two matches). He made 371 appearances, with 28 goals, across his two spells at Ibrox.

Club career

Aston Villa

Davis, who was born in

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

, County Antrim, started his career at St Andrews Boys Club in the DAWFL, before transferring to

in 2002. He was a member of the 2002 FA Youth Cup winning team that beat Everton 4–2 in the final. His first professional appearance was on 18 September 2004, he was a 57th-minute replacement for Nolberto Solano in a goalless

match against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

Carrow Road Carrow Road is a association football, football stadium in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship club Norwich City F.C., Norwich City. The stadium is east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

. Davis made 28 league appearances across 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 ...

, scoring the winner in a 3–2 comeback victory at

on 16 April 2005. On 13 August 2005, in Villa's first game of the new campaign, Davis volleyed past Jussi Jääskeläinen to secure a 2–2 home draw against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, albeit after nine minutes. He scored twice on 20 September in the third round of the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

, as Villa won 8–3 at Wycombe Wanderers. By October 2005, he was a regular for the club and missed only one game for Villa in the 2005–06 season. Davis was named Villa's "Young Player of the Year", "The Fans Player of the Year" ''and'' "Player of the Year" for the 2005–06 season. His form prompted the Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez, to state that Davis could be "another

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...

". Davis made 102 appearances for Villa and scored nine times. On 2 January 2006, he headed the first goal of a 2–1 win at rivals

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

Fulham

In the summer of 2007, Davis followed teammate Aaron Hughes to

on 5 July 2007 to team up with international manager Sanchez, for a fee of around £4 million. He made his Fulham debut against

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 ...

on 12 August 2007 and made 22 appearances for Fulham before moving to Rangers.

Rangers

On 31 January 2008, Davis was signed on a six-month loan by Rangers, the club he supported as a boy. He made his Rangers debut against Panathinaikos in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

on 13 February. He scored his first goal, again in European competition, against German team

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

. Davis scored in the penalty shootout against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

that won Rangers the League Cup. He also helped the team reach the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, and won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, Davis made his move from Fulham permanent on 21 August 2008 in a transfer worth £3 million, signing a four-year contract. He made his first appearance of the season a day later against

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, a 1–1 draw. He scored his first goal since his move became permanent against

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

. He scored the only goal in the final

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

derby of the season on 9 May 2009 to take Rangers to the top of the SPL by two points. Davis won the SPL title and

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, Davis scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season against St. Mirren on 27 January. He continued his goalscoring form against Falkirk in the next game, curling a free kick into Bobby Olejnik's top right hand corner. Davis's performances in January 2010 earned him the SPL Player of the Month award. He was also named PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year on 2 May 2010, and won the SPL and Scottish League Cup for the second time each. Davis scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season against Motherwell at Ibrox in October 2010, when he collected the ball 30 yards from goal before striking it into the top corner; the goal drew comparisons to former Rangers favourite Ian Durrant. Davis followed this up by scoring the winner in the match against Inverness at Ibrox in January 2011. In the 2011 Scottish League Cup Final against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, Davis opened the scoring in a match which Rangers won 2–1 after extra time. This was the third time he had won the Scottish League Cup. Davis scored in back-to-back games in the 2011 title run-in against Motherwell and Hearts, before playing his 54th and final game of the season in a 5–1 win over Kilmarnock, as Rangers won their 3rd consecutive SPL championship. On 19 July 2011, Davis signed a new five-year contract with Rangers. He was made temporary captain, with the absence of formal club captain David Weir for the first part of the 2011–12 season. Davis scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season in a 2–0 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox in August. In the first Old Firm match of the 2011–12 season, he provided two assists as Rangers beat Celtic 4–2. After Rangers beat Dunfermline 4–0 at East End Park, Rangers manager

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who has since worked as a Manager (association football), manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Jo ...

praised Davis's performance by saying "It was a captain's performance from the best player on the park." For his performances during September 2011, he received the SPL Player of the Month award. Following the insolvency of Rangers in 2012, Davis exercised his rights under TUPE regulations to rescind his contract and become a free agent. PFA Scotland had previously commented that players were entitled to become

s if they objected to the transfer to the new company formed by Charles Green.

Southampton

Davis rejected the chance to stay with Rangers and instead signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Southampton on 6 July 2012. The deal was subsequently extended to 2016 as part of the agreement with Rangers to complete the transfer without the need for the international transfer clearance to be agreed by FIFA, with the two clubs agreeing a fee. After joining Southampton, Davis pleaded the Rangers fans to agree with his decision to leave but accepted that a minority of fans would take a different view and made his explanation he left Rangers in order to revive his football career. He made his debut on 19 August 2012, and scored to put the team ahead at holders

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

only three minutes after coming on as a substitute, but Southampton eventually lost 3–2. His only other goal of the season came against the same opposition, in a 3–1 home win on 13 February 2013. His first two goals of the 2013–14 season came in a 5–1 victory at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

in the League Cup second round on 27 August, the latter being a penalty. On 17 October 2014, Davis signed a new contract to keep him at Southampton until 2018. On 8 May 2016, Davis scored his first ever league brace for Southampton in a 2–1 win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

. He followed this up with a goal in a 4–1 victory over Crystal Palace on the final day of the season. On 18 June 2016, he signed a new three-year contract, extending his stay with the club until 2019. He made his 200th Southampton appearance on 16 September 2017 against Crystal Palace, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory.

Return to Rangers

On 6 January 2019, Davis returned to Rangers on a six-month loan. On 2 May, Davis agreed to join Rangers permanently once the loan deal had finished, signing a 12-month contract. Davis helped Rangers win the

2020–21 Scottish Premiership The 2020–21 Scottish Premiership was the eighth season of the Scottish Premiership, the 124th edition of the highest division of Scottish football. The fixtures were published on 6 July 2020, with the season beginning on 1 August, following ...

, their first Scottish league championship since

, and he won the

SFWA Footballer of the Year The Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the SFWA Footballer of the Year, or simply the Scottish Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the se ...

award. Davis tore his anterior cruciate ligament in December 2022, an injury which required surgery and a long rehabilitation process. On 25 January 2024, Davis (aged 39) announced his retirement from football as a result of the injury.

International career

Davis made his full international debut on 9 February 2005 in a 1–0 loss to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and made the assist for David Healy in

's famous 1–0 victory over

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in a 2006 World Cup qualification match on 7 September. Davis' first goal came against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in a 3–2 home defeat in another qualifier on 8 October. He was also part of the team who beat

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

3–2 at

Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...

in September 2006. On 21 May 2006, he became Northern Ireland's youngest modern day

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in the United States, a 1–0 loss. On 8 October 2015, Davis scored twice in a 3–1 victory over

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

to help Northern Ireland qualify for the final tournament of Euro 2016, their first European Championship. In November 2019, he won his 116th cap against the Netherlands and became the most capped British midfielder, passing

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

. On 7 September 2020, he equalled Pat Jennings's Northern Ireland record of 119 caps. On 8 October 2020, he played his 120th match for Northern Ireland against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs to become the most-capped player in their history. As of February 2023 he had 140 caps, making him the most capped British or Irish men's player of all time.

Coaching career

Following the sacking of Michael Beale on 1 October 2023, Davis was announced as the manager of Rangers on an interim basis. He reported that this "came out of the blue" and that it "was too good an opportunity to turn down". He took charge of two games, a Europa League defeat by

Aris Limassol Aris Limassol (Greek: ''Άρης Λεμεσού'') is a professional Cypriot football club based in Limassol and one of the founder members of Cyprus Football Association. The club's colours are green, black and white, and their home is the A ...

and a league win against St Mirren, before Philippe Clement was appointed manager on 15 October.

Personal life

Davis was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours were awarded a ...

for services to football.

Career statistics

Club

International

Northern Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Davis goal.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Aston Villa U18 *

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

: 2001–02 Rangers *

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2020–21 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2007–08, 2008–09, 2021–22 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

runner-up: 2007–08, 2021–22 Southampton *

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up: 2016–17 Individual * PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year: 2009–10 * PFA Scotland Team of the Year: 2008–09 SPL, 2009–10 SPL, 2011–12 SPL,

: 2020–21 * Scottish Premier League Player of the Month: January 2010, September 2011 *

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team (1882–1950), Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became t ...

International Player of the Year: 2015, 2016 *NIFWA International Personality of the Year: 2006, 2010, 2014 *

Supporters' Player of the Year: 2005–06 *Aston Villa Players' Player of the Year: 2005–06 *Aston Villa Young Player of the Year: 2005–06 * Rangers Hall of Fame: 2023 *

Milestone Award (300 appearances)

References

External links

Steven Davis Career Profile
*
Steven Davis profile
at the Irish Football Association website {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Steven 1985 births Living people Association footballers from Ballymena Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's youth international footballers Northern Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Northern Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Aston Villa F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Premier League players Scottish Premier League players UEFA Euro 2016 players FIFA Men's Century Club People educated at Ballymena Academy Members of the Order of the British Empire Scottish Professional Football League players Rangers F.C. managers 21st-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's under-23 international footballers