Liam Alan Millar (born September 27, 1999) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for EFL Championship club Hull City[5] and the Canada national team.
Millar featured in the youth ranks of Brampton Youth SC and North Mississauga SC before moving to England to join Fulham Academy aged 13. After three years with Fulham, he joined the Liverpool Academy in 2016.
Millar was born in Toronto and raised in Brampton and Oakville.[3] He moved to England at the age of 13 for footballing purposes.[6] He began playing soccer at age four with Brampton YSC.[7] Afterwards he played with North Mississauga SC and Burlington YSC.[8]
His father played for Charlton Athletic and is an electrician who works on television series, including Game of Thrones.[9][10]
Millar began his career with Brampton Youth SC at the age of four.[3] After two years he joined North Mississauga SC and remained at the club until his move to England. He joined Fulham at the age of 13 but felt he struggled to adapt to English football.[11] On moving to England, Millar said "It took me a while to adjust to how English football is, it probably took me a good two-and-a-half years."[11]
In July 2016, he joined Premier League club Liverpool on a free transfer with striking options limited in the Academy.[12]
Millar scored four minutes into his Liverpool U18s career and marked his debut in the U18 Premier League with a hat-trick in a 4–0 victory against Blackburn Rovers U18s in August 2016.[13] A month later, he signed a professional contract on his 17th birthday.[14] Injury ruled Millar out for three months of his inaugural season but a return in January saw him finish the season with six goals in 17 appearances in the U18 Premier League.[11]
He featured in every game of Liverpool's 2017–18 UEFA Youth League campaign and scored twice in eight games.[15] After 18 months under the guidance of Steven Gerrard in the Under-18s, Millar received his first call-up to the Under-23 squad in January 2018.[16]
He made his senior Liverpool debut on February 4, 2020, starting in the FA Cup fourth-round replay against Shrewsbury Town.[17] He was replaced by Joe Hardy in the 82nd minute. In mid-2020 Liverpool turned down multiple transfer offers for Millar, who received loan interest from clubs in the Championship and Bundesliga.[18]
On January 31, 2019, Millar signed a long-term first-team contract with Liverpool[19] and joined Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[20] He made his debut on February 1 in a 2–1 loss to Heart of Midlothian.[21] He scored his first goal on March 11 against St Mirren.[22]
He returned on loan to Kilmarnock in August 2019.[23] This loan period was cut short in January 2020 when he returned to his parent club.[24]
On January 5, 2021, Millar completed his move to Charlton Athletic on loan until the end of the season.[25] He scored his first goal for Charlton on January 26 in a 1–0 league win over MK Dons.[26] Over the season he played 27 games for the club scoring two goals.
On 8 July 2021, Swiss Super League club Basel announced that they had signed Millar on a four-year deal until June 2025.[27] Liverpool confirmed the transfer the same day.[28] The transfer fee was reported to be £1.3 million, with a negotiated a 20 per cent sell-on clause. Having completed medical checks on Tuesday, he signed his contract and joined the team on Thursday 8 July for their 2021–22 season under head coach Patrick Rahmen.[29]
After playing in two test games, Millar played his domestic league debut for his new club in the away game in the Letzigrund, coming on as substitute for Valentin Stocker in the 72nd minute, as Basel won 2–0 against Grasshopper Club on the opening day of the season on 25 July.[30][31] He scored his first goal for his new team in the Swiss Cup away game on 19 September. It was the first goal of the match in the 35th minute as Basel went on to win 3–0 against amateur club FC Rorschach-Goldach.[32][33] He scored his first league goal the team two weeks later, on 26 September, in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park as Basel won 3–1 against Zürich.[34] He scored his first goal in the UEFA Europa Conference League in the away game on 4 November. It was the equaliser, in the 57th minute, as Basel played a 1–1 draw against Cyrian team Omonia.[35]
That season Millar played 31 league games, scoring seven goal, three Cup games, scoring one goal and 12 Conference League games with two goals.[36] The team advanced as far as the round of 16 in this competition, but here were eliminated 4–2 on aggregate by Marseille.[37]
In the following league season he played 26 matches, four in the Cup and 16 in the Conference League scoring his sole goal of the entire season against Irish team Crusaders.[38] The team advanced as far as the semi-finals in this competition, but here were eliminated 4–3 on aggregate by Fiorentina.[39]
In September 2023 Millar signed with EFL Championship side Preston North End on a loan deal until the end of the season.[40] He made his debut on 16 September against Plymouth Argyle, scoring the second goal in a 2–1 victory at Deepdale.[41] On Boxing Day, he registered a goal and an assist in a 2–1 home win against Leeds United.[42]
On August 9, 2024, Millar returned to the EFL Championship with Hull City. Signing a permanent three-year deal, he arrived for an undisclosed fee.[5] Millar made his debut the next day for the opening game of the 2024–25 season, coming off the bench in a 1–1 home draw with Bristol City.[43]
Millar was first involved in the international set-up at the age of 14 in the squad for the Tournoi Montaigu.[3] After being invited to an U20 camp in Costa Rica in 2016, he made his debut in the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship in February 2017.[44] He made three appearances as Canada finished third in Group A and failed to progress to the classification stage.[45] In May 2018, Millar was named to Canada's under-21 squad for the 2018 Toulon Tournament.[46] Millar was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020.[47]
In March 2018, Millar was named in John Herdman's first squad as national team manager.[48] In that same camp, Millar made his senior debut and first start for Canada during a 1–0 win over New Zealand, impressing while doing so.[49][50] In May 2019, Millar was named to the 23-man squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[51]
In November 2022, Millar was called-up to Canada's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[52] He made one appearance at the tournament, in Canada's opening match against Belgium.[53]
In June 2023, Millar was named to the 23-man squad ahead of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[54] He scored his first goal for Canada during the tournament on July 4 against Cuba, netting the final tally in an eventual 4–2 victory.[55]
In June 2024, Millar was named to Canada's squad for the 2024 Copa América.[56]
Millar's preferred position is as a number nine, but was utilised in various roles with Liverpool due to his flexibility. He has been noted for his ability on the left flank.[57] In August 2016, manager Neil Critchley said: "He's a goalscorer. He can run down the side of defenders, he runs in behind, he gives them real problems with his movement and he's a good finisher off both feet. He's got a good brain, good awareness, very calm and can finish. He's a good player, a good all-round player."[12]
Millar is married to Daniela Paniccia,[58] who played for the Penn State Nittany Lions and Oakville Hornets in the Provincial Women's Hockey League.[59] They have a daughter together.[60]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 2018–19[61] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019–20[62] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[63] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Kilmarnock (loan) | 2018–19[61] | Scottish Premiership | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20[62] | Scottish Premiership | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| Total | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 | ||
| Liverpool U21 | 2020–21[63] | — | — | — | — | 3[c] | 2 | 3 | 2 | |||||
| Charlton Athletic (loan) | 2020–21[63] | League One | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 | |
| Basel | 2021–22[64] | Swiss Super League | 31 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | 12[d] | 2 | — | 46 | 10 | ||
| 2022–23[65] | Swiss Super League | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 16[d] | 1 | — | 46 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24[66] | Swiss Super League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | 1[d] | 0 | — | 4 | 2 | |||
| Total | 59 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 13 | ||
| Preston North End (loan) | 2023–24[66] | Championship | 35 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 5 | |||
| Hull City | 2024–25[67] | Championship | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 164 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 210 | 26 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2018 | 4 | 0 |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 1 | |
Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Millar goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 4, 2023 | Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, United States | 20 |  Cuba |
4–1 | 4–2 | 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
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Canada squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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