 Bridge withChelsea in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wayne Michael Bridge[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-08-05)5 August 1980 (age 45)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Southampton, England | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Left back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Olivers Battery | |||
| 1996–1998 | Southampton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2003 | Southampton | 151 | (2) |
| 2003–2009 | Chelsea | 87 | (1) |
| 2006 | →Fulham (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2009–2013 | Manchester City | 42 | (0) |
| 2011 | →West Ham United (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2012 | →Sunderland (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | →Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 37 | (3) |
| 2013–2014 | Reading | 12 | (0) |
| Total | 364 | (6) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–1999 | England U18[3] | 3 | (0) |
| 1999–2001 | England U21 | 8 | (0) |
| 2002–2009 | England | 36 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Wayne Michael Bridge (born 5 August 1980) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as aleft back.
A graduate of theSouthampton academy, he made his debut in 1998 and would go on to make over 150 league appearances inPremier League before going on to have an extensive career withChelsea where he won all three domestic competitions over the course of his six-year stay atStamford Bridge. He also spent time on loan withFulham before later in 2009 joiningManchester City, where he remained for four seasons, although his final two were spent on loan withWest Ham andSunderland as well as a spell in theEFL Championship withBrighton & Hove Albion. He retired in 2014 following a season withReading.
Bridge made 36 appearances for theEngland national team between 2002 and 2009, being selected for twoFIFA World Cup squads andUEFA Euro 2004.
Bridge was born inSouthampton,[4] but moved toStanmore, Winchester at an early age.[5][6] He attended Oliver's Battery Primary andKings' School, Winchester.[4] When playing for Olivers Battery F.C. he was spotted byMicky Adams, who recommended him toSouthampton, who signed him as a trainee in July 1996.[7] He made his reserve team debut as acentre-forward againstPortsmouth on 13 August 1997[8] and turned professional in January 1998.[4]
Bridge made his first-team debut on 16 August 1998 (the opening day of the1998–99 season) coming on as a replacement forJohn Beresford, who had badly damaged his knee.[9] Bridge made his first senior start in the next match on 22 August in a 5–0 defeat away toCharlton Athletic. As Southampton struggled to pick up points (with only two points after the first nine games), Bridge played (on the left wing) in most of Saints' league games until early December before losing his place toHassan Kachloul. For the remainder of the1998–99 Premier League season, Bridge was only used occasionally as Saints narrowly avoided relegation. He completed his first season as a first-team player with 15 starts and eight substitute appearances.[10]
Thefollowing season carried on in a similar vein with Bridge making occasional appearances on the left wing until injuries toFrancis Benali and the poor form of his intended replacementPatrick Colleter gave Bridge the opportunity to play at left-back, where he soon became a fixture in the Saints starting line-up. In the1999–2000 season, he made 15 starts (plus four substitute appearances)[11] scoring his first senior goal, with a powerful free-kick over the wall, in the final match of the season on 14 May 2000 againstWimbledon, as a result of which Wimbledon were relegated to Division 1 after 14 years in the top flight.[12]
In the2000–01 season, Bridge was an ever-present at left-back as Saints finished their final season atThe Dell in tenth place in thePremier League table. Bridge was rewarded by being voted the Southampton Player of the Year for the 2000–01 season.[13]
Bridge was "fast, determined, skilful and full of youthful promise" and "his forward runs became an exciting sight at The Dell and then at St Mary's."[4] He was an ever-present yet again in the following season as Saints again finished theirfirst season at their newstadium comfortably in mid-table.[14]
Bridge's temperament and consistency, together with a high level of fitness, enabled him to continue to play every match until 18 January 2003 when he limped off with an injury in a 1–0 defeat toLiverpool.[15] This brought to an end a run of 113 consecutive appearances, a Premier League record for an outfield player (since surpassed byFrank Lampard).[16] His run started on 4 March 2000, from when Bridge played 10,160 consecutive minutes of Premier League football, not missing any play through injury or suspension.[15]
By now, bigger clubs were trailing Bridge, and he was finally tempted away to joinChelsea for£7 million in the 2003 close season.[4] His last appearance for the club came in the2003 FA Cup Final defeat toArsenal. During his five years as a Saints first-team player, he made 173 appearances, with two league goals against Wimbledon[17] andBolton Wanderers.[18]
After five years with the Saints, Bridge moved to Chelsea in July 2003 for a fee of £7 million plusGraeme Le Saux,[19] and was initially a regular starter. His finest moment came in the Champions League quarter-final againstArsenal in 2003–04. Bridge scored the winning goal in the 88th minute to send Chelsea into the semi-finals and end an 18-game winless run against Arsenal.[20] The goal was later voted goal of the season. Bridge also scored againstBeşiktaş[21] andPortsmouth[22] in the 2003–04 season.
Bridge started the2004–05 season playing regularly under new managerJosé Mourinho, but he picked up a serious ankle injury in anFA Cup tie againstNewcastle United on 20 February 2005.[23] This ended his season and also meant he missed the following weekend'sLeague Cup Final. Chelsea went on to win thePremier League in his absence but Bridge had already made enough appearances (15) to receive a winners' medal.[24]
For the2005–06 season, Chelsea signed Spanish left-backAsier del Horno[25] and Bridge faced a challenge to get back into the side when he recovered from the injury that kept him out of the team in the latter stages of the 2004–05 campaign. He only made two appearances for Chelsea that season, both in domestic cup games.[26] These limited first team opportunities saw him joinFulham on loan on 19 January 2006.[27] He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat toWest Ham United atUpton Park. The move seemed to benefit him as he managed to secure his place in the2006 World Cup English squad for the tournament in Germany. Chelsea won the Premier League again, but Bridge was not eligible for a medal this time as he had not made a single league appearance for them all season.
Bridge's main competition for the Chelsea left back position then came from fellow England international left backAshley Cole. Bridge played the full match in Chelsea's 3–0 victory overManchester City on the opening day of the2006–07 Premier League season, providing a telling cross for the third goal, scored by a header fromDidier Drogba.[28] His strong early season form, however, was not enough to hold down the left-back position, with Mourinho preferring Ashley Cole in most games. Following Cole's injury in the 3–0 Premier League win againstBlackburn Rovers early in 2007, Bridge became Chelsea's natural choice for left-back.[29]
Bridge featured in attack for an injury struck Chelsea side againstLeague Two sideWycombe Wanderers in the 2007 semi-final 1st leg League Cup match, scoring one goal in the process.[30]
Bridge finished the 2006–07 season with two cup final winner's medals after playing in both theLeague Cup Final againstArsenal in a 2–1[31] win and in theFA Cup Final againstManchester United in a 1–0 victory.[32]
Bridge played his third cup final for Chelsea in just over two years in the 2–1 loss in the2008 League Cup Final againstTottenham Hotspur. Bridge was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area and Tottenham were awarded a penalty from which they scored, going on to win 2–1 after extra-time.
In the League Cup fourth round tie againstBurnley in the2008–09 season, Bridge wore the captain's armband in the absence ofJohn Terry andFrank Lampard, but the Blues lost on penalties.
On 2 January 2009, it was confirmed byMark Hughes thatManchester City had agreed an undisclosed fee with Chelsea for Bridge, thought to be around £10 million[33] and, on the following day, Manchester City agreed personal terms with the player, who later passed his medical, thus enabling the transfer to be completed and he signed a four-and-a-half-year deal.[34] Bridge was unveiled to the home fans that day at an FA Cup home tie againstNottingham Forest, and two weeks later made his debut for the club in a 1–0 win againstWigan Athletic in the league. He was given the squad number 25. For the2009–10 season, Bridge switched to the number 3, which was previously worn byMichael Ball.
On 27 February 2010, City inflicted Chelsea's first home Premier League defeat of theseason with a 4–2 victory. Prior to the match, Bridge was involved in a highly publicised incident in which he refused to shake hands with Chelsea captain and former club and international teammateJohn Terry, who was at the time the subject of claims[35] that he had had an affair with Bridge's ex-girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel.[36]
His position as left-back for Manchester City gradually faded with the arrival of two new left-backs. In the summer of 2010, Manchester City managerRoberto Mancini signedAleksandar Kolarov fromLazio, and in 2011 signedGaël Clichy from Arsenal, thus indicating Bridge was surplus to requirements at City.[37] On 12 January 2011, Bridge joinedWest Ham United on loan until the end of the season.[38] He made his West Ham debut on 15 January 2011 in a 3–0 loss toArsenal.[39] Bridge made 18 appearances in all competitions for West Ham before his loan ended.[40]
On 31 January 2012, it was announced that Bridge had joinedSunderland on a loan deal until the end of the2011–12 season.[41] He made his debut appearance as an 82nd minutesubstitute forKieran Richardson in Sunderland's 3–0 victory overNorwich City the following day.[42] He made his first start for Sunderland in their 1–0 win over Liverpool on 10 March 2012, and also featured in the FA Cup quarter-final draw withEverton the following week.
On 6 July 2012, it was confirmed that Bridge would joinBrighton & Hove Albion on a season-long loan.[43] He made his debut for Brighton on 14 August 2012 in a 3–0 away defeat toSwindon Town in theLeague Cup.[44] His first Brighton goal came on 25 August 2012 in a 5–1 home victory overBarnsley, his first league goal since scoring for Chelsea in December 2003.[45] Bridge played 37 league games for Brighton, scoring three goals and helping them reach fourth place inthe league to qualify for theplay-offs. He played in both semi-final games againstCrystal Palace where Brighton were beaten 2–0 on aggregate.[46][47] At the end of the season, Bridge thanked Brighton managerGus Poyet for revitalising his footballing career. He toldThe Independent, "Brighton have been great to me. I just want to say a big thank you to the chairman and the fans. Gus has revitalised my love for football after I was in the wilderness at Manchester City."[48]
In June 2013, Bridge signed a one-year contract withReading, who had just been relegated to theFootball League Championship. Bridge chose Reading ahead of offers fromQueens Park Rangers and Brighton, who wished to make his loan permanent.[49][50]
On 6 May 2014, Bridge was released by Reading after 12 games in his only season for the club, subsequently retiring from professional football.[51][52]
During his time with Southampton, all Bridge's managers (Jones,Hoddle andGray) predicted full international honours.[4] He was soon making regular appearances for theEngland under-21 team, and the managers' prophecy was realised whenSven-Göran Eriksson gave him his first full cap against theNetherlands on 13 February 2002.[53][54] He quickly proved himself and appeared twice as a substitute in the2002 World Cup, although he did not appear at all inEuro 2004, withAshley Cole being preferred.
During qualification for the2006 World Cup, Bridge occupied England's problematic left midfield position, but lost this to his Chelsea teammateJoe Cole when he received an injury. He returned to the England team for a friendly againstArgentina in November 2005, covering for the injured Cole at left back and winning his 21st cap.
Bridge played in theEuro 2008 qualifier match againstEstonia on 6 June 2007, which England won 3–0, with Bridge assisting Joe Cole's goal with a long throw into the box.[55]
Bridge's final appearance for England was againstBrazil on 14 November 2009.[56]On 25 February 2010, Bridge announced his permanent withdrawal from international duty following allegations regarding England captainJohn Terry and Bridge's former girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel.[57]
On 23 March 2018, Bridge took part in anexhibition boxing match against Englishtelevision personalitySpencer Matthews as part ofBBC'sSport Relief programme.[58] Bridge defeated Matthews viaunanimous decision after three rounds.
On 18 January 2025, it was reported that Bridge was being lined up to face Englishinternet personalityKSI on 29 March in aprofessional boxing match.[citation needed] Later that night during the broadcast ofMF & DAZN: X Series 20, KSI came into the ring and revealed his original opponent scheduled for March withdrew, thus leading into a face-off with Bridge.[59] The pair got into a brawl after KSI pushed Bridge and brought upJohn Terry and Bridge's former girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel.[60] Two days later Bridge withdrew from the bout due to the comments made by KSI.[61]
Bridge was in a relationship with French model Vanessa Perroncel from 2005 to 2009. They had a son together, Jaydon Jean Claude Bridge, who was born on 21 November 2006. The next day, Bridge signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea.[62]
In January 2010, asuper injunction was imposed by aHigh Court judge preventing the media reporting that Bridge's former teammateJohn Terry had allegedly had an affair with Perroncel shortly after she split from Bridge. The injunction was lifted a week later.[63][64] On 25 March, Perroncel succeeded in a claim against Bridge for maintenance for their son with the High Court awarding her a payment of £6,000 per month until Jaydon's 18th birthday.[65] TheNews of the World printed an apology for the story on 3 October 2010 to Perroncel for invading her private life, and indicating that she has refuted the claims against herself and Terry.[66]
On 8 April 2013,the Saturdays singerFrankie Sandford announced on Twitter that she was engaged to Bridge. She gave birth to their son, Parker Bridge, on 18 October 2013.[67] The couple married on 19 July 2014 in a private ceremony.[68] In January 2015, Sandford announced that they were expecting their second child. On 15 August 2015, Carter Bridge was born.[69]
Bridge was a contestant in the2016 series of television seriesI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, but was voted out on 2 December.[70][71] In 2019, he won the first celebrity series ofChannel 4'sSAS: Who Dares Wins, after trekking theEl Morado glacier in Chile.[72]
Bridge has spoken about his love for playing poker, which began when his friends started a local monthly home game.[73] He plays in one day live events, and has described his style of play as 'kamikaze'.[74]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Southampton | 1998–99 | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 45 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 42 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 34 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 40 | 1 | ||
| Total | 151 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | — | 173 | 2 | |||
| Chelsea | 2003–04 | Premier League | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13[a] | 2 | 48 | 3 |
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4[b] | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Total | 87 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 28 | 2 | 142 | 4 | ||
| Fulham (loan) | 2005–06 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Manchester City | 2008–09 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | — | — | 6[c] | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 58 | 0 | ||
| West Ham United (loan) | 2010–11 | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |
| Sunderland (loan) | 2011–12 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 2012–13 | Championship | 37 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 42 | 3 |
| Reading | 2013–14 | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| Career total | 364 | 6 | 30 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 40 | 2 | 467 | 9 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2002 | 9 | 0 |
| 2003 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 June 2004 | City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England | 17 |  Iceland | 5–1 | 6–1 | 2004 FA Summer Tournament |
Southampton
Chelsea[2]
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