Nico O’Reilly
Active- Current or last club
- Manchester City
- Country (nationality)
- England
- League or competition
- Premier League
- Position
- Left-back * midfielder
- How is the religion known?
- Reported by reputable media
- Last checked
- 9 October 2026
We list a player’s religion only where they have spoken about it publicly or it has been reliably reported, and we link our sources. If something is wrong, or a player’s views have changed, please tell us and we will review it.
Table of Contents
What religion is Nico O’Reilly?
Nico O’Reilly is an English professional footballer whose religious belief is Roman Catholic, and he attended St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Manchester growing up.
Nico O’Reilly plays as a left-back and midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City. His club honors include an Under-18 Premier League title and the 2026 EFL Cup, where his two goals in the final secured the trophy. After a brilliant 2025–26 breakout campaign, he won the Premier League Young Player of the Season award.
On the international stage, O’Reilly has played for the England national football team and was featured at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Early career and academy
Nico O’Reilly was born on 21 March 2005 in Manchester, England. He was raised by his mother, Holli, on an estate on the border of Ancoats and Collyhurst. He is of mixed Irish-Jamaican descent, and his Jamaican roots come through his father’s side of the family.
O’Reilly began playing for local youth teams Moston Tigers and Failsworth Dynamos before he was approached by United’s and City’s youth scouts, as well as being targeted by Liverpool and Everton. He ultimately opted to sign for City over United at the age of eight, and not just because he supported them. O’Reilly went on to win back-to-back national championships at the youth level and later captained their Under-18 side to a third successive national title and also ended the season by winning the Players’ Player of the Year award.
In July 2022, O’Reilly signed his first professional contract with Manchester City and traveled with the first team for a warm-weather training camp in Abu Dhabi later that December. He earned his first inclusion in a senior matchday squad as an unused substitute during a Premier League away match against Brighton & Hove Albion on 24 May 2023.
Manchester City
In July 2024, O’Reilly made his first senior appearance for Manchester City as a starter during a 4–3 pre-season friendly defeat against Celtic. His competitive first-team debut followed shortly after in the 2024 FA Community Shield against Manchester United at Wembley, a match City won on penalties following a 1–1 draw.
O’Reilly primarily played as an attacking midfielder before manager Pep Guardiola converted him to left-back out of necessity due to a series of defensive injuries. On 19 January 2025, he made his Premier League debut as a substitute in a 6–0 away victory over Ipswich Town. Three months later, on 2 April 2025, O’Reilly made his first Premier League start for City in a 2–0 home win against Leicester City, playing the full 90 minutes.
He went on to play a key role in City’s run to the 2024–25 FA Cup final, scoring in a quarter-final comeback win over Bournemouth and netting the opener during a 2–0 away victory at Everton to become a regular fixture in Guardiola’s side by the back end of the season. He subsequently finished that breakout campaign with 21 first-team appearances and five goals across all competitions, which earned him a new long-term contract running until the summer of 2030.
In the 2025–26 season, O’Reilly secured his first major trophy with the club by scoring twice in the 2026 EFL Cup final to defeat Arsenal 2–0 at Wembley. At the end of the season, he replicated his Manchester City teammates Phil Foden and Erling Haaland by being named Young Player of the Season.
International career
O’Reilly began playing for the England national football team on the youth level from 2019 until late 2025. On the back of a strong start to his 2025–26 season with Manchester City, he received his first senior England call-up during the October 2025 international window for the games with Wales and Latvia. He was then named in the starting lineup for the Three Lions’ game with Serbia at Wembley the following month to make his debut in a 2-0 win during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. It was from his half-cleared shot that Bukayo Saka gave the already World Cup-bound Three Lions the lead on 28 minutes, and this marked him as the latest Manchester City academy graduate to earn a full senior cap.
O’Reilly continued his strong form across the 2025–26 campaign for both club and country and earned a selection in England’s final 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. On 17 June, he made his World Cup debut, starting at left back in England’s opening match against Croatia. He started five matches on their run to the semifinals, where England lost 2-1 to Argentina, before finishing in third place following a win over France.
Personal life
O’Reilly is of Irish-Jamaican descent. His surname, O’Reilly, is of Gaelic Irish origin, historically linked to a noble family from County Cavan in Ireland. In addition, he has one sister.
