Christopher Lloyd Smalling, English Professional Footballer
Christopher Lloyd Smalling was born 22 November 1989. He is an English professional footballer who plays Roma club. He also represented the National team of England from 2011 to 2017.
During his youth, Smalling played many Leagues, with the help of smalling Premier League club reached in UEFA Europa League final in May 2009. He won his first career medal during the competition of 2010 FA community shield vs Chelsea. He played his first international game in 2014 and has appeared at the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro held in 2016.
School Life
Smalling was born in Greenwich, London. He is of Jamaican descent. His father Lloyd died when Chris was aged five. Smalling has one brother. After his father’s death the family moved to Kent, where he then attended Chatham Grammar School for Boys.
On 27 January 2010, Manchester United announced that they had signed Smalling, for an undisclosed fee, with the player staying at Fulham for the remainder of the 2009–10 season before joining United for the beginning 2010–11 campaign. The transfer officially went through on 1 July 2010. Smalling made his debut for United on 8 August 2010 in the 2010 FA Community Shield, appearing as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 win over Chelsea. His Premier League debut for United came in their 3–0 home win over West Ham United on 28 August 2010, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for Jonny Evans. On 15 September 2010, he made his UEFA Champions League debut, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw at home against Rangers. Eight days later, Smalling scored his first goal for Manchester United, also his first senior career goal, in a 5–2 away win over Scunthorpe United in the League Cup. Smalling then made his full Premier League debut for United on 4 January 2011, partnering Nemanja Vidic for the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 home win against Stoke City.
On 8 July 2011, Smalling signed a new five-year contract with United. Smalling scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season in the 2011 FA Community Shield against United’s local rivals Manchester City.
On 21 July 2012, it was announced that Smalling would miss the start of the season after being ruled out for 10 weeks after undergoing surgery on a broken metatarsal. The injury had ruled him out of the entire pre-season tour. He made his return on 7 November 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 win away to Portuguese team Braga in the Champions League. He made his Premier League return three days later, helping his team to a 3–2 win against Aston Villa.
Roma
On 30 August 2019, Smalling joined Serie A club Roma on loan for the 2019–20 season, with the club paying €3 million to sign him. On 24 November 2019, he became the first English player to score at least two goals in the same Serie A campaign since David Beckham during the 2008–09 season, and third overall since 2000 after Jay Bothroyd in the 2003–04 season.
On 5 October 2020, Smalling signed for Roma permanently on a three-year contract for an initial €15 million fee, potentially rising to €20 million with add-ons. On 25 May 2022, Smalling was named man of the match in the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final, which Roma won 1–0 against Feyenoord in Tirana, Albania, to become the inaugural winners of the competition.
On 16 June 2023, Smalling signed a new contract with Roma until 2025.
Personal life
In June 2017, Smalling married model Sam Cooke near Lake Como, Italy. They have a son, Leo, born in May 2019. Inspired by his wife, he became vegan, which he credits for improving his health and reducing his recovery time. He had cut out red meat prior to becoming vegan. Smalling has promoted the vegan diet and kindness to animals through advertisements for PETA. In February 2019, he became a patron of education charity Football Beyond Borders. On 16 April 2021, Smalling and his family were robbed by armed men in their home in southern Rome. The thieves took luxury watches and jewellery in an early morning raid.
