Before the meteoric rise of Alphonso Davies, not many people talked about Canada as a football-playing nation. Canadians are mostly known for their expertise in winter sports, they did not make much of a global presence in football. Perhaps, you would be surprised to find out that Scott Arfield, the Rangers star who played for Burnley in the Premier League, is a proud Canadian. In this piece, we will explore Scott Arfield’s net worth and career.
Scott Arfield’s Net Worth
| Scott Arfierld’s Net Worth 2023 | £6 million |
Arfield rose through the ranks of the Falkirk Youth Academy to achieve a place in the main team. The midfielder moved to Huddersfield Town in 2010 when Falkirk got relegated from the Scottish Premier League. He became a key player for Falkirk over the years and inherited the number 10 shirt from Steven Pressley. He also featured in the club’s first-ever European game when Falkirk took on FC Vaduz in the UEFA Europa League. Before moving to England, Arfield had played 108 games for Falkirk.
Arfield joined Huddersfield Town for a fee reported to be somewhere in the region of £400,000. Upon fulfilling specific criteria, the price would have risen to £600,000. When Arfield joined the Terriers, they played in the English third division.
Arfield won promotion to the Championship with Huddersfield Town, but the club chose not to renew his contract when it expired at the end of the 2012/13 Championship season.
Burnley was the next club to recruit the player. Arfield trialled at the club as a free agent and scored in Burnley’s 3-0 win over Cork City. Afterwards, the Clarets rewarded him with a two-year contract.
Championship Debut
In his debut season at the Championship for Burnley, Arfield scored nine goals in 49 appearances. He chose to wear shirt number 37 to honour the memory of Craig Gowans, a Falkirk youth player who suffered a lethal training ground accident in 2005. Gowans used to wear the same number.
Arfield played an essential part in Burnley’s Premier League promotion in the 2014/15 season. He received a new three-year contract at the club that ran till 2018. After the Burnley contract expired, he returned to Scotland to sign for Rangers.
In the Championship, Arfield made only £1600 per week playing for Burnley. After the Premier League promotion, he got a pay rise that took his weekly income to £10,000. Subsequent contract renewals increased his salary to £13,000 and then £21,000 per week. At Rangers, Arfield receives £16,000 a week. His current contract will run out at the end of this season.
Scott Arfield’s Wife & Family
Scott Arfield is happily married to Ashley Arfield. The couple has a daughter named Bonnie Mitchell. Arfield revealed that he named his daughter after his former Falkirk teammate Chris Mitchell, who tragically died in a train accident only at 27.
Gambling
Scott Arfield says he enjoys gambling responsibly. He follows updates on the Canadian market and places his bets accordingly. However, he did realise the perils of gambling addiction and supported his former Falkirk mentor Brian Rice who came clean about his gambling addictions.
Is Scott Arfield From Canada?
Many people fail to realise that Arfield is a Canadian player because he was born and grew up in Scotland. Moreover, he played youth football for Scotland.
Arfield played U-19, U-21, and B level football wearing the Scottish colours. He earned his Scotland under-19 cap in a 3–1 friendly win over Austria. Four days later, he made his second and last appearance for the under-19s, coming on as a substitute for Alex Pearce in the 65th minute of a 2–1 home triumph over Norway.
Afterwards, Scott Arfield was called up as a Scotland U-21 international in October 2007. He does not have many fond memories of his U-21 debut, however, as the Scots suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to the Netherlands U-21 in that match. During the 2009 and 2011 European qualification seasons, he was one of the familiar names in the squad. On February 6, 2008, Arfield rejoiced his first goal for Scotland under-21s in a 2–2 draw with Ukraine.
A year later Arfield made his Scotland B debut in a 3-0 victory against Northern Ireland.
But, a call to the main Scottish team never came, which prompted Arfield to explore other options.
Canada World Cup
Arfield’s father was born in Toronto, which made him a Canadian citizen and made Scott Arfield qualified for a Canadian passport and a place in the Canucks squad. Seven years after his Scotland B debut, Arfield filed the paperwork to represent Canada in international football.
Arfield was named to Canada’s 23-man team for their World Cup Qualification match against Mexico in March 2016. He came on as a sub to make his senior international debut, but Canada lost the game 3-0 to their CONCACAF rivals. The following year, Arfield made it to the CONCACAF Squad and scored Canada’s first goal in the competition. The midfielder had the honour to captain Canada for the first time in 2018 against the US Virgin Islands.
Steven Gerrard, the coach of the Rangers at that time, said in October 2020 that Arfield had hung up his Canada shirt for good. Arfield denied the claim and said that his inclusion in the Canada national team depends on Canada head coach John Herdman’s decision.
Final Say
Scott Arfield is a Canadian hero made in Scotland. The player has a stellar reputation in both nations as a footballer. That said, we do not expect Scott Arfield’s net worth to rise dramatically in the future. He is approaching the mature stage of his career and is unlikely to receive a lucrative pay hike at his current club or a new one.
