Jamie Richard Vardy (born 11 January 1987) is a professional football player from England who plays in the Premier League for Leicester City. In the English domestic league, Vardy is a force to reckon with. His performance has made his team Leicester City rise from obscurity to become one of the major contenders in the league. In the 2015/16 season, Vardy’s football ingenuity came to the fore as the star led Leicester City, a team previously ruled out as one of the low-level teams in the English league to the top place in the league, claiming the EPL title in one of the most surprising manners. Jamie Vardy biography facts, childhood, net worth and personal life present an in-depth analysis of his profile, career and life from his childhood to date.
Table of Contents
Jamie Vardy Biography Facts, Age, Info
- Full Name: Jamie Richard Vardy
- Nicknames: Radio W*****
- Date of Birth: 11 January 1987
- Age: 37 years old
- Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
- Place of Birth: Sheffield, England
- Nationality: English
- Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.79 m)
- Weight: 74 kg
- Occupation: Footballer
- Playing Position: Forward
- Strong Foot: Right
- Current Club: Leicester City
- Jersey/Kit Number: 9
- Net Worth: $12 million
- Parents:
- Father: Richard Gill
- Mother: Lisa Vardy
- Wife: Rebekah Vardy (married 2016)
- Children: Sofia Vardy, Ella Vardy
Jamie Vardy Childhood/Early Life & Family Background
Jamie Richard Vardy was born on 11th January 1987 to a low-income family in Sheffield. Vardy’s father Richard Gill worked as a crane driver while his mother Lisa Vardy was a secretary. As a young kid, Vardy’s family had to deal with poverty. To compound his woes, Vardy was not talented in academics and thus did not look forward to going to the University and escaping poverty by means of education. He soon found something that interested him, football.
He began spending time doing what he loved, playing football. At the age of 16, Vardy soon began his youth career playing for Sheffield Wednesday. However, Vardy was dropped by the club for not being good enough. This discouraged Vardy to the extent that he decided to give up on his dream of becoming a professional footballer. Vardy also had to move out of the parent’s house due to constant quarrels with his parents. He soon joined a football team, Stockbridge Park from 2003–2007, and worked off jobs in order to sustain himself.
Jamie Vardy Senior Club Career, Accomplishments & Awards
Stockbridge Park Steels (2007–2010)
While at Stockbridge Park, Vardy earned a place in the first team and debuted in 2007 where he earned £30 weekly. His impressive performance made several English Football League teams calling such as Crewe Alexandra, where he went on to spend a week trial in a bid to make a move to the team, a move which did not occur.
F.C. Halifax Town (2010–2011)
After turning down an offer from Rotherham United, Vardy signed with F.C. Halifax Town for £15,000 on June 2010. His performance during the 2010/11 season helped the side win the Northern Premier League Premier Division title. He started out the 2011/12 season with Halifax but soon moved away from the club.
Fleetwood Town (2011–2012)
After spending a year at Halifax, he moved on to National League team, Fleetwood Town where he made his debut on the day his move was made. In his first and only season with Fleetwood Town, he had a very impressive performance which saw teams like Blackpool attempt to loan him. Vardy’s top striking skills helped Fleetwood Town claim the National League which earned them promotion to the Football League for the first time. He also was the league top scorer.
Leicester City (2012–present)
In May 2012, Vardy moved to Leicester City for about £1.7 million with add-ons. He debuted for Leicester in the first round of the League Cup where he scored his first goal for the club. In his debut game in the Football league, he also scored. But the 2012/13 season, he lost form which brought harsh criticism from fans. As a result, Vardy contemplated quitting football, but was convinced by the team manager, and assistant manager to stay with the club. In his second season with Leicester, Vardy’s performance improved significantly as he found the back of the net more often which shot Leicester City to the top spot in the Championship League. At end of the season, he led the team in goals and helped Leicester win the Championship league, thereby promoting them to the EPL.
For his performance, he was awarded the Leicester’s Players’ Player of the 2013/14 season. In August he signed a contract extension with Leicester City. In September 2014, he scored his first EPL goal against Manchester United as he led his side to victory. He surprisingly led his side to rebound from 3-1 to 5-3 win the match. He was thus awarded the Man of the Match award. He finished his debut season in the EPL with Leicester finishing at the 14th position.
In the 2015/16 season, Vardy’s performance was astounding. He went on a scoring spree, scoring in 11 successive games. He also led his side to win the EPL to the surprise of pundits. Aside this Vardy emerged second in the goal-scoring charts, one goal below top scorer Sergio Aguero. He became the fifth EPL player to win the Player of the Month honours for two successive seasons, which earned him a Guinness World Records certificate. His transfer value went up from £2 million to about £18 million. At the end of the season, he won the FWA Footballer of the Year, Barclays Premier League Player of the Season and was named in the PFA Team of the Year.
In June 2016, Arsenal made a bid for Vardy but after Leicester improved his contract, he signed another contract extension. In the 2016/17 season, he debuted in the Champions League and scored his first goal in the tournament. In the 2017/18 season, Vardy was once again prolific at the goal. The star recorded his 50th EPL goal and also surpassed 20 goals in a season for the second successive time. At the end of the season, he was awarded the BBC Goal of the Season award.
In August 2018 as the 2018/19 season was about to begin, Vardy signed a contract extension with Leicester, which will see him at the club till the 2022 season. In March 2019, he scored his 100th goal for Leicester City. In the 2019/20 season precisely October 2019, he scored a hat-trick against Southampton as Leicester went on to win 9-0.
Jamie Vardy International Career
In May 2015, Vardy was called up to feature for English senior football team. He was then called up to join the English squad for the Euros 2016 qualifiers. In March 2016, he opened his international goal account in a game against Germany. He debuted in a tournament for the English team at the UEFA 2016 Euros, where it was alleged that he was involved in a feud with teammate Wayne Rooney. He also was named to the squad that played in the 2018 World Cup but was used sparingly. In August 2018, he told English National football team manager Gareth Southgate that he wishes to step down from the team and should only be called up during an injury crisis.
Jamie Vardy Net Worth & Salary
Vardy’s net worth is valued at $12 million. Annually he receives as much as £1.6 million in salary.
Jamie Vardy Personal Life, Wife & Trivia
Vardy is married to Rebekah Nicholson, who worked as a night club promoter. The couple who got married in 2015 has six kids, four of whom are Vardy’s biological children, one from a former relationship, and two are his stepchildren.
His parents and grandparents did not attend his wedding ceremony due to a fall out with his wife.
Vardy is a controversial figure. He was once captured in a video calling an Asian man ‘Jap’, an action which resulted in Leicester City fining him. He is an ambassador of special needs school, Dorothy Goodman School.
Vardy is a fan of his hometown club, Sheffield Wednesday.
Prior to his successful football career, while he played non-professional football, he worked as a technician skilled in making medical splints.
SEE MORE: Biography facts and profiles of famous footballers
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