Gylfi Sigurðsson

Reading

Born in Reykjavík, Gylfi played for hometown side FH before joining Breiðablik and was an Icelandic under-17 international. He had spent time on trial with Preston North End before signing for Reading on an academy scholarship on 1 October 2005. He spent three years playing for the youth and reserve teams. Prior to the 2007–08 season, he and five other youngsters were given professional contracts.

2008–09

Ahead of the 2008–09 season, Gylfi was assigned the number 34 shirt for Reading. He was an unused substitute in the club's 2–1 away win at Dagenham & Redbridge in the first round of the League Cup on 12 August. Two weeks later, he made his debut in the next round against Luton Town, entering the match as a 59th-minute substitute for James Harper in a 5–1 win at the Madejski Stadium. He scored in Reading's penalty shoot-out loss away to Stoke City in the third round after entering as a substitute. To gain first-team experience, Gylfi signed for Shrewsbury Town on a one-month loan spell on 16 October. Two days later, he scored on his league debut against AFC Bournemouth in a 4–1 win at the New Meadow. He made a total of six appearances during his time at Shrewsbury, scoring one goal. He returned to his parent club and featured in Reading's 2–0 loss to Cardiff City in the FA Cup third round on 3 January 2009. On 27 February, he joined Crewe Alexandra on an emergency loan move. Two days later, he made his debut against Brighton away, scoring in the…

Youth

Gylfi took part in the 2008 U19 European Championship qualifying, scoring twice in qualification and twice in the elite round, but Iceland lost out to group winners Bulgaria by three points and missed out on the finals. In November 2007, Gylfi made his under-21 debut for Iceland, playing 30 minutes against Germany in a 3–0 loss. He made his first appearance in the 2009 European Under-21 Championship qualifying four days later, coming as an extra-time substitute, and played in the remaining matches. In Iceland's last match, he scored the opener against Slovakia, but Slovakia's Miroslav Stoch equalised to make it 1–1. Iceland failed to qualify for the play-offs but made a bright start to the 2011 campaign. He made his campaign debut in October against San Marino, scoring two goals within 16 minutes in a 6–0 thrashing.

Senior

In May 2010, Gylfi made his full Iceland debut in a convincing 4–0 win over Andorra and provided the assist for the second goal from a free-kick. Gylfi also helped Iceland's U21 side reach the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, playing in both play-off legs against Scotland as Iceland won 4–2 on aggregate. In the second leg, Gylfi scored two second-half goals to ensure Iceland won the match 2–1. On 13 October 2014, Gylfi scored both goals (one of which was a penalty) as Iceland defeated the Netherlands in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match. In the reverse fixture the following 3 September at the Amsterdam Arena, he converted…

Club

As of match played 31 May 2026

International

As of match played 9 June 2026

As of match played 31 March 2026 Scores and results list Iceland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gylfi goal.

In June 2019, Gylfi married Alexandra Ívarsdóttir, who had been Miss Iceland in 2008. They had been dating from 2010. Together they have two children. Through his sister, he is the uncle of Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir of the Iceland women's national football team. On 16 July 2021, he was arrested "on suspicion of child sex offences" and was released on bail while investigations continued, stated Greater Manchester Police (GMP) without naming the player. Everton stated that they "suspended a first-team player pending a police investigation", but did not confirm if it was the same player arrested by GMP. Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið reported that the player arrested for alleged child sex offences was Gylfi. Danish beverage State Energy, which had signed Gylfi only a month earlier, removed all advertising with his image on it. In October 2022, with Gylfi not charged but still under a travel ban, politician Njáll Trausti Friðbertsson said that he would discuss the player's case with the Foreign Affairs Committee. On 14 April 2023, Greater Manchester Police confirmed that no further action would be taken against Gylfi. Gylfi's lawyer said that the player would not sue British authorities over the investigation.