Charlie Adam

Rangers

Adam was part of the Dundee and Rangers youth set-ups. He won the Scottish Youth Cup with Rangers in 2001–02. He made his senior debut for Rangers on 14 April 2004 against Livingston. He played sporadically for Rangers thereafter, but did not become a first-team regular until the management of Paul Le Guen. Adam made an appearance at the start of the 2004–05 season, and then joined First Division club Ross County on loan for the rest of that campaign. While in Dingwall, Adam made fifteen appearances, scoring twice, against Raith Rovers and St Mirren. He also played in the 2004 Scottish Challenge Cup Final against Falkirk. County were ahead courtesy of David Winters 56th-minute goal. Adam was substituted in the 60th minute as was teammate Sean Higgins six minutes later. Neil Scally and Darryl Duffy then scored in 70 and 75 minutes respectively for Falkirk to come back to lift the trophy. Adam then joined First Division side St Mirren on loan for the 2005–06 season. During his spell in Paisley, he again appeared in the 2005 Scottish Challenge Cup Final, however this time he was on the winning side as St Mirren defeated Hamilton Academical 2–1. He was also part of the team that won the First Division title in May 2006. In total he made 37 appearances and scored nine goals for the "Buddies" during a very successful stint in Paisley. After playing for Rangers during a July 2006 pre-season trip to South Africa, including scoring a hat-trick against a Jomo Select…

Adam was called up by national manager Alex McLeish to the Scotland squad for the first time on 11 May 2007 for a friendly against Austria and a Euro 2008 qualifying Group B match against the Faroe Islands. He made his debut at the Gerhard Hanappi Stadium in Vienna on 30 May as a 67th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 victory. He then made his competitive debut as a 77th-minute substitute in a 2–0 win over the Faroe Islands at the Svangaskarð stadium in Toftir on 6 June. Adam was recalled to the Scotland squad by manager George Burley for a friendly against Japan on 10 October 2009 at the Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Japan. On 10 November 2009, Adam was drafted into the Scotland squad for the friendly against Wales four days later. He replaced his former Rangers teammate Kevin Thomson, who pulled out due to illness. George Burley said of Adam: "He scored a cracking goal for Blackpool last weekend. He is a very good replacement. He has been playing consistently, is a quality player, and is getting a real benefit from playing regularly."

Following his retirement from playing, Adam began working as loans manager at Burnley. On 31 December 2023, Adam was appointed head coach of EFL League One club Fleetwood Town. Fleetwood were on a nine game winless run at the time of his appointment. Adam was unable to keep Fleetwood in the division and they were relegated with one game remaining. On 22 December 2024, after one win in 11 league games, he was sacked with the club sitting 18th in League Two. On 23 January 2025, Adam was confirmed as the set-piece coach at Everton as part of David Moyes's new backroom team.

Adam is the son of former professional player Charlie Adam, a midfielder who played for various Scottish clubs in the 1980s and 1990s. His father died on 17 December 2012, aged 50; the cause of death was publicly revealed as suicide in 2015. Adam's mother, Eleanor, fell ill with cancer, and was a big factor in his move back to Scotland. She died in December 2020. Adam's brother, Grant, is a goalkeeper who is who plays for fellow Dundee-based side Lochee United. He has four other siblings: brothers Gary, Connor and Grant, and sister Nicola. Adam grew up supporting Dundee. He attended Dundee's Braeview Academy, alongside fellow future footballers Garry Kenneth and Scott Robertson (the latter of which he would be reunited with at Dundee). Adam is married to Sophie Anderson, whom he met in September 2009 in her hometown of Poulton-le-Fylde during a night out with some of his Blackpool teammates. They have two sons, Jack and Louis, and a daughter, Anabella. He moved with his family to Glasgow after signing for Dundee, having lived in Poulton-le-Fylde since his days at Blackpool. Adam was arrested and charged with a drink-driving offence in December 2021. In January 2022 he pleaded guilty; he was fined £2,000 and disqualified from driving for one year.