Conor McLaughlin

Conor Gerard McLaughlin (born 26 July 1991) is a Northern Irish former footballer who played as a right back.

Conor McLaughlin

McLaughlin playing for Northern Ireland in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Conor Gerard McLaughlin[1]
Date of birth	(1991-07-26) 26 July 1991 (age 33)[2]
Place of birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s)	Right back
Youth career
0000–2007	Linfield
2007–2009	Preston North End
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2012	Preston North End	24	(0)
2012	→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)	4	(0)
2012–2017	Fleetwood Town	172	(7)
2017–2019	Millwall	32	(1)
2019–2021	Sunderland	40	(0)
2021–2022	Fleetwood Town	9	(0)
Total		281	(8)
International career
	Northern Ireland U16	9	(0)
	Northern Ireland U17	9	(0)
	Northern Ireland U19	14	(1)
2010–2012	Northern Ireland U21	7	(0)
2011–2021	Northern Ireland	43	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Preston North End

Born in Belfast, McLaughlin turned professional with Preston North End in January 2010.^[3] He made his début for Preston on 12 November 2010, in a 0–2 loss against Hull City.^[4] In December 2010, McLaughlin signed a contract extension, keeping him with Preston until 2013.^[5] He signed a two-month loan deal with Shrewsbury Town in March 2011.^[6]

He was transfer-listed by the club in May 2012.^[7]

Fleetwood Town

McLaughlin joined Fleetwood Town on 20 July 2012.^[8][9] He signed a new three-year contract with the club in June 2014.^[10] He scored his first goal – for any club – in the Football League in February 2015.^[11]

Millwall

McLaughlin signed for Millwall in July 2017.^[12] He scored his first goal for Millwall in a 2–2 draw with Queens Park Rangers on 12 September 2017.^[13]

Sunderland

After leaving Millwall he moved to Sunderland on a free transfer on 1 July 2019.^[14] On 25 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Sunderland at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract.^[15]

Return to Fleetwood Town and retirement

He re-signed for Fleetwood Town on a short-term deal in October 2021.^[16] On 14 January 2022, McLaughlin left Fleetwood for a second time following the expiration of his short-term deal, leaving the club as their all-time third highest EFL appearance maker.^[17]

On 14 April 2022, McLaughlin announced his retirement "due to injury".^[18]

International career

McLaughlin has represented Northern Ireland at youth international level.^[19][20][21]

He received his first call-up for the senior national team in October 2011,^[22] making his senior début later that month, in a 0–3 defeat against Italy on 11 October 2011.^[23][24]

McLaughlin started Northern Ireland's first game of Euro 2016 against Poland.^[25]

Personal life

Conor McLaughlin is the elder brother of Ryan McLaughlin; both have been capped by Northern Ireland.^[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 December 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Preston North End	2009–10[27]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2010–11[28]	Championship	7	0	1	0	0	0	—		8	0
	2011–12[28]	League One	17	0	2	0	0	0	1[a]	0	20	0
	Total		24	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	28	0
Shrewsbury Town (loan)	2011–12[28]	League Two	4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Fleetwood Town	2012–13[29]	League Two	19	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	21	0
	2013–14[30]	League Two	35	0	3	0	0	0	9[b]	1	47	1
	2014–15[31]	League One	39	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	41	1
	2015–16[32]	League One	37	2	1	0	1	0	3[a]	0	42	2
	2016–17[33]	League One	42	4	4	0	1	0	2[c]	0	49	4
	Total		172	7	10	0	4	0	14	1	200	8
Millwall	2017–18[13]	Championship	24	1	2	0	0	0	—		26	1
	2018–19[34]	Championship	8	0	0	0	3	0	—		11	0
	Total		32	1	2	0	3	0	0	0	37	1
Sunderland	2019–20[35]	League One	15	0	1	0	4	0	1	0	21	0
	2020–21[36]	League One	25	0	1	0	0	0	3[a]	0	29	0
	Total		40	0	2	0	4	0	4	0	50	0
Fleetwood Town	2021–22[37]	League One	9	0	1	0	0	0	2[a]	0	12	0
Career total			281	8	18	0	11	0	21	1	331	9

1. Appearances in the Football League Trophy
2. Six appearances in the Football League Trophy and three in the League Two play-offs
3. Appearances in the League One play-offs

International

As of 5 October 2021^[38]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Northern Ireland	2011	1	0
	2014	6	0
	2015	7	0
	2016	9	1
	2017	8	0
	2018	3	0
	2019	4	0
	2020	4	0
	2021	1	0
Total		43	1

As of match played 9 November 2017. Northern Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each McLaughlin goal.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 November 2016	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	22	Azerbaijan	3–0	4–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Fleetwood Town

• Football League Two play-offs: 2014^[39]

Sunderland

• EFL Trophy: 2020–21^[40]

Individual

• EFL Team of the Season: 2016–17^[41]