Bailey Rice (Scottish footballer)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bailey Joe Rice[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 4 October 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Scotland | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rangers | ||
| Number | 49 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2020–2022 | Motherwell | ||
| 2022– | Rangers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023– | Rangers | 10 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021 | Scotland U16 | 5 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Scotland U17 | 14 | (1) |
| 2023– | Scotland U19 | 11 | (0) |
| 2025– | Scotland U21 | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:58, 17 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 March 2025 | |||
Bailey Joe Rice (born 4 October 2006) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Rangers.
A product of the Motherwell youth academy and part of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) Performance School Programme via Braidhurst High School,[2] Rice signed for Rangers on 30 June 2022 after rejecting a professional contract with the Steelmen.[3][4] He made his senior debut for Rangers in February 2023 in a Scottish Premiership match away to Livingston as an 88th-minute substitute for Ryan Kent,[5][6] becoming the youngest post-war league player for the club, aged 16 years and 137 days, and the second youngest post-war player in all competitions, after Derek Ferguson.[7] In September of that year he signed a contract extension running to 2026.[8]
Rice made his UEFA Europa League debut on 28 November 2024, replacing Nedim Bajrami in the 80th minute of a 4–1 away win over OGC Nice. On 10 April 2025, he was selected to start in the competition's quarter-final first leg against Athletic Bilbao, but had to be carried off on a stretcher with an hour played after suffering a head injury.[9] He made only 12 appearances overall during the campaign, with his progress compared unfavourably with that of former Motherwell youth teammate Lennon Miller,[10] while Rice indicated his hope for more first-team opportunities in the season ahead.[11]
International career
Rice has represented Scotland at youth levels, playing 14 matches for the under-17 team.[12] His debut for Rangers came less than 24 hours after playing for Scotland under-17s in Spain against Switzerland.[6] He received a first call-up for the under-21 squad in March 2025.[10]