Steven Davis, who has announced his playing days are over, had a first class career as a professional footballer.
In two spells with Rangers in Scotland’s top flight he made 389 appearances, scoring 28 goals and winning four Scottish Premier League titles and three Scottish Cups.
And in England’s Premier League he played 102 times for his first professional club, Aston Villa. He also played 25 games for Fulham - and he scored 14 goals as he made 226 appearances for Southampton.
He also played for Northern Ireland on 140 occasions and is the most capped British player in the history of the game. He captained his country 82 times.
The legendary Northern Ireland player’s final appearance for his country came in September 2022 in a UEFA Nations League match away to Greece. He provided an assist for Shayne Lavery as he scored Northern Ireland’s only goal in a 3-1 defeat.
Here are some pertinent statistics from the 39-year-old midfielder’s illustrious career:
STEVEN DAVIS
Date of Birth: 1 January 1985
Birthplace: Ballymena, Co Antrim
Position: Central Midfielder
Height: 5’8/1.73m
Weight: 11.05/72kg
CLUB CAREER
(up to and including 25.01.2024)
St Andrew’s Boys, Belfast
Aston Villa (15 January 2002, from trainee) 102 appearances, nine goals
Fulham (17 July 2007, £4 million transfer) 25 apps, 0 goals
Rangers (31 January 2008, loan) 26 apps, one goal
Rangers (21 August 2008, £3 million transfer) 186 apps, 21 goals
Southampton (6 July 2012, free) 226 apps, 14 goals
Rangers (6 Jan 2019, loan) 18 apps, 0 goals
Rangers (2 May 2019, free) 159 apps, six goals
Total career appearances: 742
Total career goals: 51
Totals at a glance:
Aston Villa 102 apps nine goals
Fulham 25 apps 0 goals
Southampton 226 apps 14 goals
Rangers 389 apps 28 goals
Overall - 742 apps 51 goals
CLUB HONOURS
(with Southampton)
League Cup runner-up 2016-17 (lost 3-2 in final to Manchester United)
(with Rangers)
Scottish Premier League 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2021-22
Scottish Cup 2007-08, 2008-09, 2021-22
Scottish League Cup 2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11
UEFA Cup runner-up 2007-08 (lost 2-0 to Zenit St Petersburg), 2021-22 (lost to Eintracht Frankfurt on pens)
Scottish PFA Player of the Year 2009-10
Scottish Football Writers’ Player of the Year 2021
February 2023 - inducted into Rangers Hall of Fame
INTERNATIONAL CAREER
Debut v Canada 9 Feb 2005 at Windsor Park, aged 20
First cap as captain 21 May 2006 v Uruguay
100th cap v Switzerland 9 November 2017
He captained Northern Ireland on 82 occasions
In June 2017 he was recognised for his services to football and awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Most capped international player in the UK
He scored 13 goals at full international level, putting him joint third in the all-time list of Northern Ireland scorers.
Ten of his goals were scored at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, six of them in the month of October and four of them on the 8th of that month.
Full list of the goals Steven Davis scored for Northern Ireland:
8 Oct 2005 v Wales (home) lost 2-3 (50 mins)
15 Oct 2008 v San Marino (h) won 4-0 (75 mins)
10 Aug 2011 v Faroe Islands (h) won 4-0 (66 mins)
7 Oct 2011 v Estonia (h) lost 1-2 (22 mins)
15 Oct 2013 v Israel (away) drew 1-1 (72 mins)
8 Oct 2015 v Greece (h) won 3-1 (35 and 58 mins)
13 Nov 2015 v Latvia (h) won 1-0 (55 mins)
8 Oct 2016 v San Marino (h) won 4-0 (26 mins, pen)
1 Sep 2017 v San Marino (a) won 3-0 (78 mins, pen)
11 Sep 2018 v Israel (h) won 3-0 (13 mins)
21 Mar 2019 v Estonia (h) won 2-0 (75 mins, pen)
25 Mar 2022 v Luxembourg (a) won 3-1 (83 mins)
Steven Davis - Through the years
