Product Code Database
Leon Patrick Bailey (born 9 August 1997) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a right winger for club AS Roma, on loan from club Aston Villa. He also plays for the Jamaica national team.
Bailey arrived in Europe at the age of 13 and played for a number of clubs at youth level before being signed by Belgian side Genk in 2015, where he was named Belgian Young Footballer of the Year. His success in Belgium earned him a move to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in 2017. After four years at the club, he was signed by Aston Villa in 2021 for a fee of around £30 million.
In the beginning of 2013, Bailey signed a professional contract with Slovakian side Trenčín. In October 2013, Bailey reached a verbal agreement with AFC Ajax, but a transfer did not materialise due to FIFA rules.
He scored his first goal for the club on 11 August 2017, in the first game of the 2017–18 season in a 3–0 victory in the German Cup against Karlsruher SC. His first league goal for the club came on 29 September against Schalke 04. He finished the season scoring 12 goals in 34 games in all competitions, helping guide Bayer Leverkusen to a fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga. On 30 November 2019, he scored twice in a 2–1 win over champions Bayern Munich, one goal with each foot.
On 6 November 2022, Bailey scored the first goal under Unai Emery in a 3–1 home victory over Manchester United and was later named player of that month. On 6 December 2023, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Manchester City, which was his club's first win against the latter since 2013.
Bailey scored against Hibernian in both home (3–0) & away legs (0–5) to help qualify Villa for the UEFA Conference League group stage as well as against Ajax (4–0) in the Round of 16 eventually bowing out to Olympiakos (6–2 on aggregate) in the semi-finals. In that season, Bailey scored 10 goals in the Premier League to help Villa finish fourth & qualify for the UEFA Champions League. In the 24/25 season, Bailey scored his first goal of the season against Leicester at home on the 20th match day.
Bailey became the second Jamaican player to score in the UEFA Champions League, following Wes Morgan, after scoring for Aston Villa against Club Brugge in a 1–3 win on 4 March 2025. He also became the first Jamaican player to assist a goal in the UEFA Champions League, after assisting Marco Asensio during the second leg of the round of 16 tie against Club Brugge on 12 March 2025.
In May 2019, Bailey was named to the Jamaican provisional squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with Bailey officially announcing that he would accept the call-up and represent the Reggae Boyz. The 21-year-old would earn his first Jamaica international cap on 17 June 2019 against Honduras. Bailey scored his first goal for Jamaica on 6 September 2019 against Antigua and Barbuda, netting the fifth goal in a 6–0 victory in CONCACAF Nations League play.
Bailey was thought to have been eligible to represent England as he has two grandparents who have British citizenship. However, it was discovered he was not eligible to play for England as none of his grandparents were born in England.
On 20 March 2024, Bailey announced via a podcast on YouTube that he will be taking a break from the Jamaican National Team. In his interview Bailey highlighted key issues he faces whenever he comes to represent the Reggae Boyz, such as the unprofessionalism of the Jamaica Football Federation towards the team and himself.
On 12 June 2024, Bailey was listed in Jamaica's Copa America 2024 squad. His agent and step-father subsequently stated on social media that Bailey's position regarding his participation with Jamaica was unchanged and he would not be joining up with the squad for the tournament. In response, the Jamaica Football Federation announced that Bailey had been temporarily suspended from selection for the Jamaican national team.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition !rowspan="2" | Club !rowspan="2" | Season !colspan="3" | League !colspan="2" | National cup !colspan="2" | League cup !colspan="2" | Europe !colspan="2" | Total |
| Genk | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 7 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 9 | ||||||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 12 | ||||||
| 2018–19 | 5 | ||||||
| 2019–20 | 7 | ||||||
| 2020–21 | 15 | ||||||
| Aston Villa | 2021–22 | Premier League | 1 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 5 | ||||||
| 2023–24 | 14 | ||||||
| 2024–25 | 2 | ||||||
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals | |
| Jamaica | 1 |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 2 | |
| 2 | |
| 0 | |
| 2 | |
| + List of international goals scored by Leon Bailey !scope="col" | No. !scope="col" | Date !scope="col" | Venue !scope="col" | Opponent !scope="col" | Score !scope="col" | Result !scope="col" | Competition |
| 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League B | |||||||
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | |||||||
| 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A | |||||||
| 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup | |||||||
| 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League A | |||||||
| 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification | |||||||
| 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
|
|
