Jimmy Bullard

Early career

Bullard was born in East Ham, London. He played schools' representative football for Bexley Primary Schools FA and Kent Schools FA whilst at primary school, and then represented North Kent Schools FA whilst a pupil at Erith School. He started his career in non-League football with amateur club Corinthian before moving to Dartford, where he made 26 appearances in the 1997–98 season. He then moved to Gravesend & Northfleet before being signed by the club he supported as a boy, West Ham United, for a fee of £30,000 in 1999. He did not manage to break into the team, however, and was given a free transfer at the end of the 2000–01 season. In May 2001, Bullard signed for Second Division club Peterborough United on a three-year contract. Initially he was on trial but he was offered a permanent deal after impressing manager Barry Fry with his pace, energy and eye for goal. After impressing with Peterborough, Bullard earned a move to Wigan Athletic for £275,000 in January 2003.

Wigan Athletic

Bullard quickly established himself in the Wigan first team and was named in the PFA Division Two Team of the Year for 2002–03. He helped Wigan secure promotion to the FA Premier League in the 2004–05 season and an appearance in the 2006 Football League Cup Final, which they lost 4–0 to Manchester United.

Fulham

On 28 April 2006, it was announced that Bullard would sign for Fulham at the end of the 2005–06 season after a £2.5 million offer from the…

Although English by birth, Bullard has a German grandmother and was therefore eligible for the German national team. In the run-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, it was reported that Bullard was contemplating an international call-up from the Nationalmannschaft, having made his interest known to the national coach Jürgen Klinsmann. He was called into the England squad in August 2008 for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia in September, but did not feature in either match. He was called up on three occasions.

On 17 September 2016, Bullard was named manager of Isthmian League Premier Division side Leatherhead. He left the club at the end of the season.

As of 2014, Bullard was engaged to his long-term girlfriend and had two children. His son, Archie, currently races single-seaters and is competing in the 2026 GB4 Championship with Fox Motorsport.