Chris Smalling Biography, Career, Age, Net Worth, Market Value, Family, Personal Life and Many More

English footballer Chris Smalling currently plays as a centre-back for the Premier League club Manchester United besides his regular participation for the England national team. He started his journey with Millwall youth academy during his childhood days. He later joined the non-League club Maidstone United and made it to their first team. Chris then transferred to Middlesbrough in May 2008. That contract lasted for just one month followed by his move to Premier League club Fulham in June 2008. He helped the team to reach the final of 2010 UEFA Europa.

Chris Smalling Biography

Smalling joined one of the Premier League winners Manchester United in July 2010. He made his debut during 2010 FA Community Shield. Smalling then achieved the EPL title twice, a League Cup, an FA Cup, a UEFA Europa League and the Community Shield twice with the Red Devils till now. He has made more than 200 appearances for the club and earns his permanent position in the first-team. Besides his club career, Smalling also played for the national side at several age levels. He made his senior international debut in 2011, after playing for the England U-20 and U-21 squads. He is one of the key players of English side that participated in the FIFA World Cup 2014 and UEFA Euro 2016.

Chris Smalling Biography

Chris Smalling Early career

Smalling played for his local club Walderslade Boys and Lordswood during his early childhood days. He then joined the youth academy system of Millwall in 2002 where he took the training till 2004. Smalling moved to the Academy of Maidstone United in 2006 at the age of just 16. He then progressed through several age groups. During his time at the academy, he took training from some of the best youth coaches such as Peter Nott and Tony Cornwell.

Chris Smalling Maidstone United Career

Smalling made his debut for Maidstone United in the Kent Senior Cup against Tonbridge Angels on 11^th April 2007. He then made his appearance for the club in the FA Trophy and Isthmian League Cup. Smalling made his league debut for ‘The Stones’ against Harlow Town in December 2007. He scored the winning goal against East Thurrock United on 24^th March 2008. He also made his final appearance for the club on that match. Due to his marvellous performance for Maidstone, Smalling attracted interests from several reputed clubs such as Fulham, Charlton Athletic, Reading and Gillingham.

Chris Smalling Fulham Career

Smalling first signed a two-year contract with Middlesbrough on 30^th April 2008. He cancelled the contract with the club within a month of joining due to his homesickness issues. He then signed for the English Premier League club Fulham in June 2008. Upon arriving at the club, Smalling earned the captaincy of the club’s Development Squad under the guidance of manager Billy McKinlay.  He then made his debut for Fulham in an EPL match against Everton on 24^th May 2009 as a substitute.  Smalling made his first start for the club in an UEFA Europa League match against CSKA Sofia on 17^th September 2009. He then made his first Premier League start for Fulham against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 28^th December 2009.

Chris Smalling Manchester United Career

Smalling transferred to Manchester United for an undisclosed fee on 27^th January 2010, but the procedure officially went through on 1^st July 2010. He made his debut for the club in the FA Community Shield 2010 match against Chelsea on 8^th August 2010 as a substitute. He then made his Premier League debut again as a substitute against West Ham United on 28^th August 2010. Smalling went on to make his UEFA Champions League debut against Rangers on 15^th September 2010. He scored his first goal for United in a League Cup match against Scunthorpe United on 22^nd September 2010. He then made his first EPL start against Stoke City on 4^th January 2011. Smalling signed a new five-year contract with Manchester United on 8^th July 2011.

Chris Smalling Club Career

Right after the contract extension, he scored in the 2011 FA Community Shield against Manchester City. He then scored his first ever EPL goal against Chelsea on 18^th September 2011 at Old Trafford. He suffered a horrific broken metatarsal injury in May 2012 and had to go for a surgery followed by 10 weeks of recovery. And for that, he restrained himself from participating in the UEFA Euro 2012 campaign of England. Smalling made his return in a UEFA Champions League match against Portuguese team Braga on 7^th November 2012. He then made his Premier League return against Aston Villa on 10^th November. The following season, he scored his first Champions League goal against Bayer Leverkusen on 27^th November 2013.

Chris Smalling EPL Career

Smalling scored his first ever home-goal at one of the best football stadiums, Old Trafford, against Hull City on 29^th November 2014. He came on the ground as a 5th-minute substitute and scored twice in the first half against Burnley on 11^th February 2015. He became the first player ever in Premier League history to achieve such feat. On 21^st April 2015, he signed a new contract extension with United which could keep him at the club until June 2019. Smalling then captained the Red Devils squad for the first time against Arsenal on 17^th May 2015. Following his awesome performance, he earned the Manchester United Players’ Player of the Year award on 2^nd May 2016.

Chris Smalling England Career

Smalling made his international debut for the U-20 England squad against Italy at Loftus Road on 31^st March 2009. He then made his U-21 debut in a friendly match against Netherlands on 11^th August 2009. He made his first international start for U-21 side in a 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Portugal on 14^th November at Wembley Stadium. Smalling scored his first international goal on the same campaign against U-21 Romanian team on 8^th October 2010.

Chris Smalling International Career

He then earned his first call-up for the senior English team to play a friendly match against France on 17^th November 2010, but remained as an unused substitute. Smalling made his senior international debut in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier match against Bulgaria on 2^nd September 2011. He then earned his place in the English 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on 12^th May 2014. He made his FIFA World Cup debut against Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte on 24^th June 2014. Smalling also earned his place in the 23-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2016. He scored his first senior international goal for England in the Euro 2016 warm-up game against Portugal on 2^nd June 2016.

Chris Smalling Personal Life

Born in Greenwich, London, to his parents Theresa and Lloyd Smalling, Chris is of Jamaican descent through his father’s side. He grew up with his brother Jason Smalling and attended the Chatham Grammar School for Boys. While studying for his A Levels at the age of 17, Smalling was selected to represent his county, Kent. The Kent Schools’ Football Association then sent him for the England Schoolboy international squad trial. After his selection in the trial, Smalling represented England Schools against Australia in January 2008. After a brief period of romantic affair, he married the English Glamour and Page 3 model Sam Cooke in 2017.

Chris Smalling Net Worth

Smalling’s current net worth as of 2018 is estimated to be around €5.5 Million. His current market value stands at €18 Million whereas his all-time highest value reached €20 Million on 1^st June 2016. His transfer fee from Fulham to Manchester United is reported to be around €8 Million. Smalling currently earns €3 Million from his club as the yearly salary. He is currently getting €96,000 weekly wage from Manchester United as of April 2018.

Chris Smalling Individual Awards

Smalling earns compliments from the football pundits for his excellent performance in the Premier League and Champions League. He was also behind several successful campaigns of the club that he played for. Some of most notable awards that he received with Manchester United as of now are as follows:

• Premier League: 2010–11 and 2012–13
• FA Cup: 2015–16
• EFL Cup: 2016–17
• FA Community Shield: 2010, 2011 and 2013
• UEFA Europa League: 2016–17

Besides his club success, Smalling also received several individual awards for his awesome defensive skills. Some of his most notable individual awards are as follows:

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2011
• Manchester United Players’ Player of the Year: 2015–16