Joe Bryan

Bristol City

Bryan was born and raised in the area of Bristol. He came through his local team Bristol City's youth levels; signing his first professional contract in 2011, agreeing terms to be a Bristol City player for at least two years. On 24 November 2011, Bryan joined Conference National side Bath City on a two-month loan deal, effectively lasting until January. He scored in a 3–1 win over AFC Telford United. He made his professional debut for Bristol City on 6 March 2012, in a 3–2 win over Leicester City at Ashton Gate. In March 2013, he joined Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of the season. Bryan made his debut for Plymouth the same day against Bradford City and scored his first Football League goal at Chesterfield in April. He returned to Bristol City at the end of the season having played on the left side of midfield in ten consecutive games for Argyle. Bryan scored his first goal for City in the Bristol derby with Rovers in September, and his first league goal for the club came in November against Crawley Town. In June 2015 he signed a contract extension keeping him at Bristol City until 2019. The 2016–17 campaign saw Joe Bryan become statistically the best left back in the division. Bryan starred in City's 2017–18 EFL Cup run to the semi-finals, scoring the third goal in a 4–1 win against Premier League side Crystal Palace and then going on to score the first goal in the club's 2–1 win against Manchester United in the 2017–18 EFL Cup quarter-final at…

Bryan was selected by the Scotland national under-21 football team in October 2012, but could not play due to a concussion he received playing for Bristol City against Leeds United. He remains eligible for Scotland through his parents but has not been selected for any squads subsequently.

As of end of 2025–26 season

Bryan's father, Alan, is a cardiac surgeon, specialising in aortic surgery. In 2017, Alan performed successful surgery on football manager Lee Johnson's father Gary. Coincidentally, Lee was managing Bristol City at that time, and Joe was one of his players. This sparked theories among fans that Joe was only picked into the team because his father saved his manager's father's life. However, he later denied these claims, saying "Hopefully, people will begin to see I'm quite good at football, perhaps." His sister, Lucy, is a pole vaulter.