LEIGH GRIFFITHS

Forward
Date of Birth: 20 Aug 1990
Debut: v Aberdeen 8 Feb 2014
Nationality: Scotland
Signed: 31 January 2014

On August 30, 2018, striker Leigh Griffiths scored his 100th goal for Celtic, making him the first player to do so since John Hartson 13 years prior, and only the 29th player in the club’s history to reach a century of goals. Alongside the Welshman, Griffiths’ strike against FK Suduva saw him join an elusive club that also includes Henrik Larsson, Stevie Chalmers, Kenny Dalglish and Jimmy Johnstone among many others.

After moving from Hutchison Vale Boys’ Club to Livingston Under-20s in 2006, the forward graduated to the Livi first-team at just 16-years-old, where he plied his trade for two years. In the summer of 2009, he moved to Dundee, where he helped the Dark Blues win the Scottish Challenge Cup, and, two years again after that moved south to Wolves. After two consecutive loan spells at Hibernian, Griffiths then signed on at Paradise in January, 2014.

He’s since made over 250 appearances in the green and white Hoops, during which time he’s helped the Scottish champions win three Scottish Cups, four League Cups and seven league championships.

Only the 29th player in the club’s history to reach a century of goals.

In Ronny Deila’s last season in charge of the Hoops, Griffiths scored 40 goals in all competitions – 31 of which were scored in the league, four in Europe, four in the Scottish Cup, and one in the League Cup – which earned him the Scottish Premiership Top Scorer award.

On the personal awards front, Griffiths has also won the PFA Scotland Players’ Player of the Year in 2015/16, the SFWA Footballer of the Year award in 2012/13 and 2015/16, the SPL Player of the Year in 2012/13, the Scottish Premiership Player of the Year for 2015/16, and the SLF Young Player of the Year for 2008/09 and 2009/10.

During the 2020/21 campaign, Griffiths surpassed Bobby Collins’ – who played for the Hoops in the 1940s and ’50s – goal record of 117, a feat which saw him enter the club’s top 20 goalscorers of all time.

COUNTRY BHOY
Leigh Griffiths represented Scotland at under-19 and under-21 levels, before making his senior debut in a 2-1 friendly win over Luxembourg in November 2012. He then made his first start eight months later in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Croatia in Zagreb. On June 10, 2017, the striker netted two long-range free-kicks against England in a World Cup qualifier at Hampden, scoring in the 87th and 90th minutes of the 2-2 draw. That season, Griffiths won the SFWA International Player of the Year for 2017/18. Those two goals are among the four scored by Griffiths in 22 internationals going into the 2021/22 season.

Read All Griffiths Articles 

Latest From Celts Are Here Blog