Bradley Wright-Phillips

At 39 years old, Bradley Wright-Phillips has this physical status:

Club career

In the 2003–04 season, Wright-Phillips was the top scorer for the Manchester City reserve team. On December 6, 2004, he scored his first Premier League goal, four minutes after making his league debut as a backup for Jon Macken against Middlesbrough. In a 4–1 victory over Birmingham City on December 17, 2005, his only goal of the following season was his last.

Wright-Phillips was sold to Southampton, France, for £500,000 after many frustrating performances for Manchester City, with few goals. A fan of Coca-Cola won half of the transfer fee. In a 2–0 win over St. Mary's, he had an immediate impact on Southampton, scoring on his debut against Derby County at Pride Park, as well as scoring a spectacular goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers. In the 2006–07 season, he scored a total of 11 goals. He started the season with goals against Burnley and Queens Park Rangers. He made 120 appearances for the club, scoring 24 goals.

Following Southampton's promotion to League One, Wright-Phillips was released from his club's contract at the end of the 2008-09 season. He signed a two-year contract with Plymouth Argyle of the Championship on July 15, 2009. Wright-Phillips made his club debut against Watford on September 15, 2009, as he recovered from a knee injury. He was hospitalized for another long time after the knee injury, and was sidelined for another long time. Wright-Phillips made his long-awaited return for Argyle in the FA Cup against Newcastle United in January 2010. He made his first appearance for the club against Coventry City in March 2010, and scored his first goal against Plymouth against Bristol City on March 16, 2010. Wright-Phillips scored both goals against Exeter City in the Devon derby on November 11, 2010, his second game of the season.

Wright-Phillips had been transferred to Charlton Athletic, a fellow League One club, for an undisclosed fee on January 24. On his debut against Colchester United on February 1, 2011, he scored the only goal on his debut. In a 4–0 win over Chesterfield on February 28, he scored a hat-trick. Charlton Athletic defeated Charlton Athletic in the 2011-12 Football League One championship after Wright-Phillips scored 22 goals in 42 games. Charlton released him at the end of the 2012–13 season.

He joined Brentford on loan until the end of the season on February 19, 2013. He played in 15 league games scoring 5 goals in his first season with the club.

Wright-Phillips joined the New York Red Bulls on July 24, 2013. Despite joining the club in the latter part of the season, Wright-Phillips was instrumental in the success of New York's first major title, the MLS Supporters' Shield, playing seven regular season games and scoring once, the deciding goal in a 2–0 victory over the Houston Dynamo at the BBVA Compass Stadium. He netted against the same opposition in the Eastern Conference semifinals on November 6th, but his team was booted out of the playoffs after extra time.

Wright-Phillips won by 4–0 over the Dynamo on April 23, 2014, owing to a hat-trick. During a 5–4 home loss to the Chicago Fire, he claimed his second hat-trick for New York on May 10th. Of note, he was the winner in a friendly against his father's former Arsenal, as well as the equalizer against Bayern Munich in the 2014 MLS All-Star Game. Wright-Phillips' scoring exploits, according to Red Bulls Sporting Director Andy Roxburgh, are generating international transfer curiosity in the player two days after the All-Star game. In a 4–2 victory over Montreal Impact on September 23, he scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season, beating Juan Pablo ngel's record for goals scored in a single season, and the 2014 MLS season opened with a win over Seattle Sounders FC. As New York defeated Sporting Kansas City 2–0 in the league's regular-season finale on October 26, 2014 Wright-Phillips scored twice to equal the Major League Soccer season goal record of 27 goals.

In their first match of the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs, Wright-Phillips scored twice for the Red Bulls, defeating Kansas City 2–1 in a 2–1 victory. In the first leg of the 2014 MLS Eastern Conference semi-finals, he scored his third play-off goal against Washington, D.C. United, assisting New York in a 2–0 victory. The Red Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals against the New England Revolution. In the first leg, Wright-Phillips recklessly encroached upon Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth on a throw, earning his second yellow of the playoffs. He had to miss Foxborough's second, do-or-die leg, where the Red Bulls' season came to an end with a 2–2 draw on aggregate, thus missing the MLS Cup Final.

Following his 2014 success, New York has drafted Wright-Phillips to a designated player deal for 2015. Wright-Phillips scored his first goal of the season on March 22, 2015, and aided Lloyd Sam on another victory over rival D.C. United, earning him MLS Player of the Week honors. Wright-Phillips was named MLS Team of the Week for his role in a 2–1 victory over Columbus Crew in which he scored his second goal of the season and assisted on Mike Grella's game-winning goal. Both goals were scored as the Red Bulls defeated New York City FC 2–1 at home on May 10 in the first Hudson River derby between the two franchises, and equalized in a 3–1 win at the rivals' Yankee Stadium. On July 11, he helped New York defeat the New England Revolution by scoring twice during the game.

Wright-Phillips scored the first goal in a 3–1 away victory over Philadelphia Union on August 1, 2015. He was aided in the mission by his brother Shaun, who was making his New York debut. He scored in his third New York derby of the season on Sunday, winning by 2:10 at home. Wright-Phillips scored two goals in New York's 3–0 win over D.C. United on August 30th. In a 2–1 victory over Chicago on October 25, Wright-Phillips scored the first goal for New York, assisting the Red Bulls in securing the 2015 MLS Supporters Shield. Wright-Phillips scored his only goal of the game in added time against Washington, D.C. United in the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, and his team advanced 2–0 on aggregate.

Wright-Phillips scored his first two goals of the season on April 24th in assisting New York in defeating Orlando City SC 32-1. In a 7–0 win over New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on May 21th, Wright-Phillips scored two goals and assisted on another.

Wright-Phillips scored a hat-trick in the first 27 minutes of the game on his 100th appearance with the club on May 28th, beating Toronto FC 3–0. He was named Player of the Month for May one week after, with six goals and two assists in May. Wright-Phillips tied Juan Pablo ngel for the club's most goals all time with 62 goals against New York City FC in 8 games. Wright-Phillips scored two goals against the Chicago Fire on July 31st, breaking another team record of 59 league goals. Wright-Phillips scored the most league goals in a two-year drought, defeating D.C. United in their second goal in a 2–2 draw. Chris Wondolowski's record from 2010–2012 is a record set by him. Wright-Phillips became the first player in league history to record two 20-plus goal seasons in 2016. Wright-Phillips captured his second MLS Golden Boot title in three years on October 23rd, defeating crosstown rival David Villa by a single goal.

In a 1–1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the quarterfinals on February 22, 2017, Wright-Phillips scored his first CONCACAF Champions League goal for the club. Wright-Phillips announced on March 29 that they had signed a new multi-year contract. New York defeated Philadelphia Union 2–0 on June 18, with Wright-Phillips scoring two late goals late in the game. Wright-Phillips scored his first 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup goal on July 13th; a late winner led New York to a 1–0 triumph over the New England Revolution, progressing to the semifinals of the competition. Wright-Phillips scored a brace against FC Cincinnati on August 15, adding a goal in the 101st minute to propel New York to their first Open Cup final since 2003. Wright-Phillips joined Robbie Keane as the only two players in MLS history to score 15 or more goals in four seasons on September 9th. In a 1–0 win over Toronto FC on November 5th, Wright-Phillips scored his 100th goal for the New York Red Bulls over his career.

In the CONCACAF Champions League, Wright-Phillips opened the scoring for New York in a 2–0 victory over Olimpia on March 1st. For the second time in club history, New York defeated the Thunderbirds in the Champions League quarterfinals. He scored two goals on March 6th to lead New York to a 2–0 victory over Club Tijuana in the CONCACAF Champions League. In a 4–0 victory over the Portland Timbers on March 10, 2018, he scored his first league goal. In a 3–1 victory over Club Tijuana in the CONCACAF Champions League on March 13, Wright-Phillips supported all of New York's objectives, helping the team advance to the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time. Wright-Phillips added to his tally against New York City FC on May 5th, scoring his club's second goal in a 4–0 victory. In a 1–0 win over Washington, D.C. United, Wright-Phillips scored his 100th MLS goal in a 1–0 victory, defeating Taylor Twellman as the quickest player in MLS history to score 100 goals in a single day. After he retired, the New York Red Bulls retired his No 99 jersey on August 5 and announced that they would not give it to another player until he retires.

During the 2019 season, Wright-Phillips made 29 appearances in all sports, four in Major League Soccer, four in the CONCACAF Champions League, and one in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

After six years with the Red Bulls, he left the team in November 2019 after the end of his deal. In 240 appearances for the Red Bulls, Wright-Phillips, a two-time Golden Boot champion, scored 126 goals. Denis Hamlett, the club's athletic director, rated Wright-Phillips as "one of the best forwards in MLS history."

Los Angeles FC announced the signing of Wright-Phillips ahead of the 2020 season on February 14th.

Wright-Phillips will join the Columbus Crew ahead of their 2021 season, according to the team's website on December 23, 2020. In the CONCACAF Champions League match against Real Estel, Wright-Phillips made his Columbus debut. In a 1–0 victory over Columbus, he scored his first goal for the team in the second leg of the tie. In a 0–0 draw against the Philadelphia Union, he made his league debut for Columbus, arriving as a replacement for Gyasi Zardes. Columbus opted not to exercise their contract option on Wright-Phillips after the 2021 season.

Wright-Phillips retired from football on March 8, 2022. Following his appointment as the Sporting Assistant, Wright-Phillips announced on March 9th, 2022, he agreed to a one-day contract to leave as a New York Red Bull.

International career

At the U20 level, Wright-Phillips represented England. In a 2–0 friendly win over Russia, he was first called up in February 2005 and made his debut as a halftime substitute. He was called up again this summer for the 2005 Toulon Tournament, where he competed in Tunisia, South Korea, and Mexico's third-place playoff shootout victory over Mexico.

Wright-Phillips, a member of England, was eligible to represent Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Tobago through his ethnicity. Grenada and Jamaica both approached Wright-Phillips in 2015 about a family split, but the player decided to focus on his club football.

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