Kieran Tierney

Kieran Tierney (born 5 June 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Scotland national team.

Tierney came through the Celtic youth system and made his first-team debut in April 2015. After playing 170 games for the club, he joined Premier League side Arsenal in August 2019 for a fee reported at £25 million. After six years with Arsenal, including one on loan with La Liga club Real Sociedad, Tierney returned to Celtic in June 2025.

Tierney made his Scotland international debut in March 2016, and has since made 50 appearances for the senior side.

Kieran Tierney was born on 5 June 1997 in Douglas on the Isle of Man, and moved to Wishaw in Scotland aged 10 months. He supported Celtic as a child and signed for the club when he was seven years old. He was educated at Motherwell schools St Brendan's RC Primary and Our Lady's High (one year group behind fellow footballers, twins Nicky and Chris Cadden) then attended St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch, which has a development partnership with Celtic. He has spoken of his hope of emulating the late Tommy Gemmell, a member of the Lisbon Lions team who also grew up in Wishaw (specifically, Craigneuk) and played in the same position.

Tierney progressed through the various youth ranks and earned a reputation as a dependable wide player in the club's development squad, both in defence and attack. He travelled with the first-team squad on a pre-season trip to Finland in August 2014, and made his debut in a friendly against Tottenham Hotspur there. Although Celtic lost, Tierney described his first appearance for the first team as a "dream come true". He continued to play in the development squad throughout 2014–15, and in October 2014 during a Development League match against Heart of Midlothian he scored a goal from the edge of his own penalty box.

Tierney made his competitive senior debut for Celtic on 22 April 2015, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute in a Scottish Premiership match against Dundee. He made one further first-team appearance that season, playing over an hour in a league match away at St Johnstone.

Tierney enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2015–16, appearing in over 30 matches and displacing the more experienced Emilio Izaguirre as first-choice left back. For his performances he was awarded with both the Players' and Writers' Young Player annual awards, while Celtic also won the league title. Despite interest from Premier League clubs, Tierney signed a new five-year contract on 24 June 2016, keeping him at Parkhead until 2021. After making his first appearances in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, Tierney suffered ankle ligament damage during training on 27 October 2016 and was initially ruled out of action for two months. During the layoff, which caused him to miss the League Cup Final, he received treatment on a recurring shoulder injury and attended several Celtic matches as a typical supporter in the company of his childhood friends.

On 22 January 2017, after missing three months, he made his long-awaited return to the Celtic team in a Scottish Cup tie against Albion Rovers. Tierney was crowned PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year for the second consecutive season on 7 May, making him the first to achieve this since Craig Levein in 1986. He suffered a jaw injury early in the 2017 Scottish Cup Final and had to be substituted for treatment. Celtic won the match 2–1 to complete a domestic treble and undefeated season. In spite of his lengthy injury absence, he featured in 40 matches during the campaign.