During his youth, Smalling played for theMillwall academy before joining non-League clubMaidstone United. Soon after, in June 2008, he signed for Premier League clubFulham; he made his professional debut with the club in May 2009, and helped them reach theUEFA Europa League final in the following season.
Smalling represented theEngland Schools under-18 team in early 2008, before making his debut for the nationalunder-20 andunder-21 teams in 2009. He made his senior international debut in September 2011 and has appeared at the2014 FIFA World Cup and [[UEFA Euro}
Smalling was born inGreenwich, London.[4][5] He is of Jamaican descent.[6] His father Lloyd died when Chris was aged five.[7] Smalling has one brother.[7] After his father's death the family moved to Kent, where he then attendedChatham Grammar School for Boys,[8] now known asHolcombe Grammar School. Smalling was a schoolboy nationalJudo champion, and also finished second in an international competition. He was a boyhoodArsenal fan.[8]
As a youngster he played for Walderslade Boys and Lordswood. During his teenage years he sometimes missed training as he could not afford to pay for the bus.[7] After a short spell atMillwall'sacademy, a 16-year-old Smalling joinedMaidstone United's youth set-up.[9]
After rising through Maidstone United's youth and reserve team set-up under the tutelage of coaches Peter Nott and Tony Cornwell,[9] Smalling made his first-team debut for 'The Stones' on 11 April 2007,[10] in a 4–1 loss againstTonbridge Angels in theKent Senior Cup.[11] After making further appearances in theFA Trophy andIsthmian League Cup, Smalling made his league debut for the club in December 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw againstHarlow Town.[12] Smalling impressed and quickly established himself as a vital part of Maidstone United's back line; however, injury and international duty restricted his appearances.[13] Smalling scored one goal for Maidstone United, in a 4–2 win atEast Thurrock United on 24 March 2008, a match which was also his last game for the club.[14]
After attracting strong interest fromFulham,Gillingham,Charlton Athletic andReading,[15] Smalling signed forMiddlesbrough on a two-year contract on 30 April 2008.[15] However, within a month of signing, his contract with Middlesbrough was cancelled,[16] with Smalling concerned about homesickness,[17] and in June 2008, he signed forPremier League club Fulham.[18] Smalling was not on a contract at Maidstone United, for it would have prohibited him from playing for England Schoolboys, and as such theIsthmian League club were not entitled to a fee for the player; however, Fulham struck a deal which saw Maidstone United given £10,000 upon the transfer and £10,000 for every 10 league matches he played.[19] He was made captain of the club's Development Squad by managerBilly McKinlay.[20]
On 24 May 2009, Smalling made his Premier League debut for Fulham, replacingAaron Hughes in the 77th minute in the final match of the2008–09 season, a 2–0 home loss toEverton.[21] Smalling made his first start for Fulham on 17 September 2009, in an away tie withCSKA Sofia in theUEFA Europa League, with the match ending 1–1.[22] On 28 December 2009, Smalling made his first league start for Fulham, in a 2–1 loss against Chelsea atStamford Bridge in Fulham's final match of 2009 and scored a decisiveown goal in the 75th minute of the match.[23] He was not included in the matchday squad for the2010 UEFA Europa League Final, in which Fulham were beaten 2–1 afterextra time byAtlético Madrid at theVolksparkstadion.[24]
On 27 January 2010,Manchester United announced that they had signed Smalling, for an undisclosed fee,[25][26] with the player staying at Fulham for the remainder of the2009–10 season before joining United for the beginning of the 2010–11 campaign.[27] The transfer officially went through on 1 July 2010.[28]
Smalling made his debut for United on 8 August 2010 in the2010 FA Community Shield, appearing as a second-halfsubstitute in a 3–1 win over Chelsea.[29] His Premier League debut for United came in their 3–0 home win overWest Ham United on 28 August 2010, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute forJonny Evans.[30] On 15 September 2010, he made hisUEFA Champions League debut, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw at home againstRangers.[31] Eight days later, Smalling scored his first goal for Manchester United, also his first senior career goal, in a 5–2 away win overScunthorpe United in theLeague Cup.[32] Smalling then made his full Premier League debut for United on 4 January 2011, partneringNemanja Vidić for the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 home win againstStoke City.[33]
On 8 July 2011, Smalling signed a new five-year contract with United.[34][35] Smalling scored his first goal of the2011–12 season in the2011 FA Community Shield against United's local rivalsManchester City, volleying in anAshley Young free kick from close range to reduce the deficit to 2–1.[36] Manchester United went on to win the match 3–2 and take the Shield.[36] The new season also saw Smalling adapt to a new role, as early injuries to Nemanja Vidić andRio Ferdinand allowed Smalling, Jonny Evans and new signingPhil Jones to replace them.[37] Evans and Jones played as central defenders, whereas Smalling was deployed as aright-back.[37] Smalling scored his first ever Premier League goal, against Chelsea atOld Trafford, on 18 September 2011, rising unmarked to place aheader into the far corner to open the scoring in a match United went on to win 3–1.[38] Smalling was ruled out of the last Premier League fixture of the season and also for England'sUEFA Euro 2012 campaign due to a groin injury he sustained during Manchester United's 2–0 win overSwansea City in the penultimate week of the league season.[39]
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.[40] The injury had ruled him out of the entire pre-season tour.[41] He made his return on 7 November 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 win away to Portuguese teamBraga in the Champions League.[42] He made his Premier League return three days later, helping his team to a 3–2 win againstAston Villa.[43]
On 27 November 2013, Smalling scored his first Champions League goal in a 5–0 win away toBayer Leverkusen.[44][45] On 26 December 2013, he scored in a 3–2 win againstHull City.[46]
Smalling wassent off in the first half of United's 1–0 defeat in theManchester derby on 2 November 2014.[47] ManagerLouis van Gaal deemed Smalling "stupid" for his second yellow card in the match, awarded for a foul onJames Milner.[48] On 29 November 2014, he scored his first Premier League goal of the season in a 3–0 victory over Hull City at Old Trafford, it was also his first Old Trafford goal in three years.[49]
On 11 February 2015, Smalling became the first player in the history of the Premier League to score two first-half goals as a substitute, after appearing as a 5th-minute substitute in a 3–1 victory againstBurnley. This entered Smalling into theGuinness Book of Records for "the fastest goal in the Premier League by a substitute from kick-off" and "the most goals in the Premier League scored by a substitute in the first half".[50][51] On 12 April 2015, he scored his fourth league goal of the season in a 4–2 win over Manchester City.[52] Nine days later, Smalling signed a new contract with Manchester United, keeping him at the club until June 2019.[53] Having been praised by manager Louis van Gaal for his command of the defensive unit, Smalling captained United for the first time on 17 May 2015 during a 1–1 draw against Arsenal.[54][55] On 2 May 2016, Smalling won the Manchester United Players' Player of the Year award.[56] Later that month, on 21 May, he was sent off againstCrystal Palace in the2016 FA Cup Final, which Manchester United won 2–1 after extra time.[57]
He scored his first goal of the2016–17 season on 24 September with a 22nd-minute header which opened the scoring in a 4–1 victory over reigning Premier League champions,Leicester City.[58] Smalling's first goal of the2017–18 season came in a 4–1 win overNewcastle United on 18 November 2017.[59] Smalling's next goal didn't come until 5 March 2018 in a 3–2 comeback win over Crystal Palace.[60] He scored again a month later, scoring thederby winner in a 3–2 comeback victory over Manchester City.[61] Smalling scored his final goal of the season in a 2–0 away victory overAFC Bournemouth.[62]
Smalling's only goal and what ending up being his final United goal of the2018–19 season came in a 2–1 victory overWatford on 15 September 2018,[63][64] which was regarded as "one of the best goals of his career" by theManchester Evening News.[65] On 15 December, Smalling signed a new contract with Manchester United, keeping him at the club until June 2022.[66][67] This came a week after sustaining a foot injury in United's 4–1 home win over Fulham keeping the defender out until he returned to training prior to the reverse fixture in February.[68] Following his return, Smalling received criticism for his overly physical playing style with former Irish footballerTony Cascarino saying "[he] will be in trouble whenvideo assistant referees are introduced to the Premier League" next season.[69]
On 30 August 2019, Smalling joinedSerie A clubRoma onloan for the2019–20 season, with the club paying €3 million to sign him.[70] On 24 November 2019, he became the first English player to score at least two goals in the same Serie A campaign sinceDavid Beckham during the2008–09 season,[71][72] and third overall since 2000 afterJay Bothroyd in the2003–04 season.[73] On 5 October 2020, Smalling signed for Roma permanently on a three-year contract for an initial €15 million fee,[74][75] potentially rising to €20 million with add-ons.[76] On 25 May 2022, Smalling was named man of the match in the2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final, which Roma won 1–0 againstFeyenoord inTirana, Albania, to become the inaugural winners of the competition.[77]
On 16 June 2023, Smalling signed a new contract with Roma until 2025.[78][79]
On 2 September 2024, Smalling joined Saudi sideAl-Fayha by signing a two-year contract.[80][81] On 14 September, he made his debut in a 5–0 home defeat againstAl Raed, where he scored an own goal and was shown a straight red card.[82]
At the age of 17 and studying for hisA Levels, Smalling was selected to represent his county (Kent), and the Kent Schools' Football Association then nominated him for trials for theEngland Schoolboy international squad.[83] His trial was successful, and Smalling was selected to represent England Schools against Australia in January 2008.[84] England won 2–0,[85] and Smalling went on to play for England in the Centenary Shield, playing all four matches which including 1–0 victory against Wales Schools in which he scored the only goal.[86]
On 13 November 2010, Smalling was called up to theEngland senior squad for the first time for theirfriendly againstFrance on 17 November;[91] however, he was an unused substitute in the 2–1 loss.[92] He made his senior debut in theUEFA Euro 2012 qualifier againstBulgaria on 2 September 2011, which England won 3–0, in which he played at right-back.[93]
On 12 May 2014, Smalling was named in England's 23-man squad for the2014 FIFA World Cup.[94][95] With England's elimination from thegroup stages already confirmed, Smalling was given a tournament debut as a starter in the final group match, helping the team to a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw withCosta Rica inBelo Horizonte.[96]
On 31 May 2016, Smalling was named in England's 23-man squad forUEFA Euro 2016.[97] On 2 June 2016, in England's final warm-up match for Euro 2016, he scored his first goal for England in a 1–0 victory overPortugal.[98]
Smalling was dropped by England managerGareth Southgate in November 2017, as Southgate felt players such asJohn Stones,Harry Maguire andEric Dier were better at initiating the play. Smalling registered his surprise and responded, "I'm as good a defender as anyone."[99] He was not included in the squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup.[100]
Inspired by his wife, he becamevegan, which he credits for improving his health and reducing his recovery time. He had cut outred meat prior to becoming vegan.[104][105] Smalling has promoted the vegan diet and kindness to animals through advertisements forPETA.[106][107]
In February 2019, he became a patron of education charity Football Beyond Borders.[7] 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.[108]
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