Manchester United and England centre-back, sturdy Christopher Lloyd Smalling has an approximate net worth of £4 million.
Chris Smalling was born in Greenwich, London on November 22, 1989. Beginning football at Millwall’s academy, Smalling soon shifted to Maidstone United youth team and in 2005 was named in Kent Schools’ Under-17 squad, following which he made his first team debut in the Kent Senior Cup in April 2007.
How did Smalling make his way up to Manchester United?
Good performances catapulted him into the Under-18 England Schools team (2008) and England’s Under-20 and Under-21 teams (2009).
Cementing his position in Maidstone’s defence brought him a deal from Middlesbrough in April, albeit a short-lived one. Thereafter, Smalling joined Premier League side Fulham in June 2008. Although Maidstone did not have a contract with Smalling, Fulham still paid Maidstone £10,000 as transfer fees and a further £10,000 for every 10 league games played by Smalling.
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Smalling’s Premier League debut was against Everton in May 2009 and his first start for Fulham came against CSKA Sofia that September in the UEFA Europa League. Helping Fulham reach the final of the 2010 UEFA Europa League, Smalling could take no further part and Fulham lost to Atlético Madrid.
Meanwhile, Manchester United had already recruited Smalling for £10 million. Fulfilling Fulham duties until the end of 2009-2010 season, the official transfer happened in July 2010. Debuting for United in a 3–1 win over Chelsea in the 2010 FA Community Shield in August brought Smalling his first medal. His first Premier League game for ManU was against West Ham in August 2010, and UEFA Champions League debut was against Rangers in September. The same month saw Smalling score his first ManU goal in the League Cup, winning 5–2 over Scunthorpe United, which was also incidentally the first goal of his senior career. July 2011 saw him and ManU shake on a new five-year deal.
Selected to play for England’s senior team in November 2010, Smalling’s debut came in September 2011 in a 3–0 win against Bulgaria in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier. With a groin injury preventing further participation in UEFA Euro 2012, Smalling bounced back in November 2013, scoring his first UEFA Champions League goal in the win against Bayer Leverkusen.
He also played the final group match in May against Costa Rica in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Smalling’s first career brace came against Burnley, a 3–1 win, in February 2015, making him the first Premier League substitute to score twice in the first half. Manchester signed another contract with Smalling in April 2015, retaining him at Old Trafford until June 2019 for an estimated £80,000 a week. In May 2015, Smalling debuted as ManU’s captain against Arsenal in a 1–1 draw.
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Smalling’s awards with ManU include Premier League titles in 2010-11 and 2012-13 and the FA Community Shield in 2010, 2011 and 2013, from 147 appearances.
