Ben Brereton

Early career

From the ages of seven to 14, Brereton Díaz was in the youth set-up at Manchester United. In 2013, he moved to his hometown club, Stoke City.

Nottingham Forest

Brereton Díaz signed for Championship club Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2015 after his release from Stoke City. Following his impressive form in the club's academy teams, with 15 goals in 20 appearances, he signed a new contract with the club on 31 December 2016. Brereton Díaz made his first-team debut for Forest on 25 January 2017 as a 76th-minute substitute during a 2–0 loss to Leeds United. He scored his first goal on 4 February, netting in injury-time against Aston Villa to give Forest a 2–1 victory. On 27 March 2017, having made ten appearances and scoring against Fulham and Brentford, Brereton Díaz was nominated for the Championship Apprentice of the Year award. He was one of three players nominated, the others named as Lloyd Kelly of Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday's George Hirst. Brereton Díaz was announced as the winner at the EFL Awards at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, on 9 April. He signed a long-term contract with Forest on 22 June 2017, keeping him under contract at the club until June 2021.

Blackburn Rovers

On 28 August 2018, Brereton Díaz signed for Blackburn Rovers on loan, with a view to making the transfer permanent in the January 2019 transfer window. On 4 January 2019, the move was made permanent for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £7m. Brereton…

Born in England to a Chilean mother, Brereton Díaz was eligible to play for both nations. He played age-group games for England but switched allegiances to Chile, making his senior debut in 2021.

England

In March 2017, Brereton Díaz received his first call-up to an England side after being named in the under-19s squad for games against their Spanish, Norwegian and Belarusian counterparts. Having started his side's 3–0 defeat of Spain and coming off the bench for the 5–1 beating of Belarus, manager Keith Downing praised his performances and ease at settling into the squad. Brereton Díaz was subsequently called up to represent England at the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. In the group stage, he scored the winner against the Netherlands and twice against Germany. Brereton Díaz was a second-half substitute during the victory against Portugal in the final. His total of three goals meant Brereton Díaz was joint top goalscorer at the tournament. Brereton Díaz also played at the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, scoring his only goal of the tournament in the opening group stage match against Turkey.

Chile

After noticing he was half Chilean whilst playing Football Manager, a group of fans began a social media campaign to get Brereton Díaz picked for Chile. This was subsequently picked up by the national media and on 24 May 2021, Brereton Díaz was called up to the Chile squad for the first time by manager Martín Lasarte for the 2022 FIFA World…

Brereton Díaz was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and attended Blythe Bridge High School. He was born to Martin Brereton, an English policeman and former amateur football player in Stoke-on-Trent area and District Sunday League, and Andrea Brereton (née Díaz), born in Concepción, Chile, who worked at Churchill China.

Brereton Díaz first started using the name Ben Brereton Díaz when he debuted for Chile, as Spanish names use both the father's surname and mother's surname. He then announced in July 2021 he would use the name at club level as well. Since playing for the national side, Brereton Díaz said he has been taking Spanish lessons three times a week and learning the national anthem.