Billy O'Brien (born 21 November 1995) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Internationally, he played at youth level for Wales. He retired from football to become a Royal Marine commando in 2017.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Billy Thomas O'Brien [1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-11-21) 21 November 1995 (age 26) | ||
| Place of birth | Bury, England | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2014 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Hyde (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2017 | → St Mirren (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 2017 | Macclesfield Town | 3 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2013–2014 | Wales U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2015–20?? | Wales U21 | 8 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 May 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 April 2017 | |||
O'Brien, a fan of Manchester City, joined the team in 2006 after having taken part in trials with both them and Manchester United.[3][4] At the club, he played for their youth teams and took part in competitions such as the UEFA Youth League before signing a professional contract with Manchester City in July 2014.[5]
He spent the first half of the 2014/2015 season on loan at Hyde United, debuting for the club in a defeat to Hednesford Town.[6] In the latter half of 2016, O'Brien played in the Premier League 2 as part of Manchester City's squad and was also selected by manager Pep Guardiola to travel with the first team on a number of occasions including as a backup keeper against Celtic in the Champions League.[5][7] O'Brien went on loan until the end of the season to St Mirren in January 2017.[8] He became a regular starter for the club, keeping a clean sheet on his debut against Dundee and playing in the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup.[9][10]
O'Brien revealed he would leave City after his contract expired in June 2017.[11] He joined Macclesfield Town that summer,[12] and made his debut as a substitute in a 0-0 draw against Bromley.[13]
O'Brien played in two matches of the Wales U19 team's attempt to qualify for the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2013 and 2014.[1] By 2015, O'Brien had moved up to the Wales U21 squad, playing for them in eight games of their campaign to qualify for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. O'Brien made 15 saves while conceding 10 goals throughout all eight games.[14]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hyde United | |||||||||||
| 2014–15 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| St Mirren | 2016–17 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Total | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Macclesfield Town | 2017–18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Career total | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 0 | |