Niall Mason

Niall Aadya Mason (born 10 January 1997)[2] is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bradford City.

Niall Mason
Personal information
Full name Niall Aadya Mason[1]
Date of birth (1997-01-10) 10 January 1997
Place of birth Brighton, England
Position(s) Defender[2]
Club information
Current team
 Bradford City
Number 24
Youth career
2004–2007 Real Madrid
2010 Al Sadd
2010–2012 Blackburn Rovers
2012–2015 Southampton
2015–2016 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Aston Villa 0 (0)
2016–2017 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 38 (0)
2017–2019 Doncaster Rovers 60 (3)
2019– Peterborough United 43 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 January 2021 (UTC)

He was born in Brighton, and played youth football for Real Madrid, Al Sadd, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton before he signed his first professional deal at Villa.[3] He went on to play for Doncaster Rovers.

Early life

Niall Mason was born in Brighton in 1997 to an American father and an Indian mother. The family spent time living in Spain and Qatar.[3] Mason is eligible to play for India, the United States or England. He has said that he would like to play for England if the opportunity arose.[3]

As a 7-year-old, Mason was signed by the Real Madrid academy. When David Beckham visited the academy the two would often converse, as they were the only English players at the club. He also played alongside Zinedine Zidane's sons, Enzo and Luca.[4] He went on to play for the Al Sadd academy in Qatar when his parents moved there for work and then signed for Blackburn Rovers at the age of 13.[5]

In his early days Mason played in advanced positions, but he has gradually moved further down the pitch and now plays mostly as a defender or defensive midfielder.[6]

Career

Aston Villa

Mason signed his first contract with Aston Villa in 2015, after turning down a professional contract in order to join Aston Villa. Following a successful trial, he became a regular for Villa's under 21s.[7]

He joined the first team for a summer 2015 training camp in Faro, Portugal under manager Tim Sherwood.[3]

Doncaster Rovers

On 6 August 2016, Mason joined Doncaster Rovers on loan until January alongside Chelsea's Jordan Houghton.[6] Both players made their debut on the same day, in a 3–2 loss to Accrington Stanley.[8] On 1 January 2017, Mason had his loan extended until the end of the season.[9]

On 8 May 2017 Doncaster Rovers signed Mason permanently from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee.[10] He scored his first goal on 23 December that year, a penalty that was the only goal of a victory away to Bristol Rovers.[11] Three days later, he scored in the same way in a 3–0 win over Northampton Town at the Keepmoat Stadium.[12]

Mason was a regular under Darren Ferguson and then Grant McCann, but was suspended in January 2019 following his conviction.[13] In March 2019, Mason was sacked from Doncaster Rovers as a result of his conviction for sexual assault.[14]

Peterborough United

In June 2019 he signed for Peterborough United.[15] He scored his first goal for the club in an EFL Trophy tie against Burton Albion on 8 September 2020.[16]

Career statistics
As of match played 26 January 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Doncaster Rovers (loan) 2016–17[17] League Two 38000103[lower-alpha 1]0420
Doncaster Rovers 2017–18[18] League One 40330304[lower-alpha 1]0503
2018–19[19] League One 20040202[lower-alpha 1]0280
Career total 9837060901203
  1. Appearances in the EFL Trophy

Personal life

Niall Mason was convicted of a sexual offence in January 2019, after pleading guilty to a charge relating to 18 February 2018. Prior to his appearance in court, Mason had maintained his innocence and continued his playing career. He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years and was placed on to the sex offenders register for seven years.[20] Following the sentencing Mason claimed to have been advised to plead guilty by his legal team but continued to assert his innocence.[21]

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Bradford City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 52. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  2. "Niall Mason". www.avfc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  3. Evans, Gregg (11 July 2015). "Aston Villa in Portugal: The lowdown on 18-year-old Niall Mason who could make his debut tonight". Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  4. "Remember Britain's youngest ever galactico?". 6 November 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  5. Amin-ul Islam, Mohammad. "Niall eyes donning England colours". Doha Stadium Plus Qatar. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  6. "Doncaster Rovers sign former Real Madrid junior Niall Mason on loan from Aston Villa". www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  7. "Who Is Niall Mason?". Read Aston Villa. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  8. "Accrington Stanley 3–2 Doncaster Rovers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  9. "Doncaster extension for Mason". Vital Football. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  10. "Niall Mason: Doncaster Rovers sign on-loan Aston Villa defender".
  11. "Bristol Rovers 0–1 Doncaster: Niall Mason scores winner". Sky Sports. Press Association. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  12. "Doncaster 3–0 Northampton: Comfortable win for Rovers". Sky Sports. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  13. "Club statement". Doncaster Rovers F.C. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  14. "Niall Mason: Doncaster Rovers sack defender after sexual assault". BBC Sport. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  15. "Niall Mason: Peterborough sign defender sacked by Doncaster after sexual assault". BBC. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  16. "Penalty Success For Posh After Entertaining Encounter". theposh.com. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  17. "Games played by Niall Mason in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  18. "Games played by Niall Mason in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  19. "Games played by Niall Mason in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  20. "Rovers star admits sexually assaulting woman in Doncaster bar". Doncaster Free Press. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  21. "Peterborough United sign a full-back with a controversial past". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
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