John McGinn

St Mirren

McGinn started his career as a youth player at St Mirren, playing for the club's Ralston Academy. He broke into the first team in pre-season of the 2012–13 season, representing the club against English opposition Carlisle United and Accrington Stanley. In the same summer he also helped the under-20 side to victory in Kilbirnie Ladeside pre-season tournament, picking up joint player of the tournament with Jack Smith. McGinn made his competitive début against SPL champions Celtic in a 5–0 defeat, coming off the bench as a 78th-minute substitute. On 29 November 2012, McGinn signed a new three-year contract, keeping him at St Mirren Park until summer 2015. McGinn played the first 81 minutes of the 2013 Scottish League Cup final, as St Mirren won the League Cup by winning 3–2 against Hearts. In April 2015, McGinn was "speared" in the thigh with a training pole thrown by St Mirren club captain Steven Thompson during a training session prank gone wrong. The resulting injury meant that McGinn missed the remainder of the season, and in turn he took legal action against the club. St Mirren were relegated from the Scottish Premiership at the end of the 2014–15 season. McGinn later admitted that he had played "poorly" during that season, and that he had been distracted by speculation linking him with transfers to English clubs.

Hibernian

Having suffered the training ground injury and relegation during the spring of 2015, McGinn's transfer options were…

McGinn received an international call-up when he was selected as part of a Scotland under-19 squad for a training camp in Turkey in January 2013. He later went on to make his international debut for the under-19 side against Netherlands in a 2–1 defeat. McGinn then captained the under-19s against Serbia in Stara Pazova. On 5 March 2014, he made his debut for the Scotland under-21 side in a 2–2 draw against Hungary at Tannadice. McGinn later captained the under-21 team. The 21-year-old McGinn received his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad in March 2016, for a friendly against Denmark. McGinn played for the whole of the 1–0 win and was awarded man of the match. McGinn scored his first goal for Scotland in September 2019, during a Euro 2020 qualification match with Russia. McGinn scored the first hat-trick in his career in a Euro 2020 qualifier against San Marino on 13 October 2019, with all his goals coming in the first half. Two goals against Kazakhstan meant that McGinn finished with a total of 7 goals in the Euro 2020 qualifying group. With regular captain Andy Robertson suspended, McGinn captained Scotland during a 1–0 win against the Czech Republic on 14 October 2020. McGinn scored three goals for Scotland in March 2021 during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches: a bicycle kick in a 2–2 draw against Austria and two in a 4–0 win against the Faroe Islands. In September of that year he played the whole match in Vienna as Scotland defeated Austria 1–0; his…

McGinn has a low centre of balance, allowing him to deploy an unusual running style, where his body remains low to the ground; his former Hibs teammate Niklas Gunnarsson has described his running style as "like he's falling down, with his head facing the floor". He has unusually large buttocks which he uses to shield the ball and turn opponents, as well as draw fouls from defenders; in interviews, McGinn has poked fun at his own build, commenting that "no one" has a backside as large as his. This style of movement has led to comparisons between McGinn and fellow Scottish footballer Kenny Dalglish, who deployed a similar style of play during his career. McGinn is also known to frequently shoot from a distance and start attacks from midfield. Writing for ESPN in their 2026 FC 100 list of the best attacking midfielders in world football, Sam Tighe described McGinn as "one of the most highly effective footballers around," opining that "opponents still have no idea how to handle him".

Raised in Clydebank where he attended St Columba's High School and St Peter the Apostle High School, John is the third of four children to parents Stephen and Mary. He has a twin sister, Katie, and his older brothers Stephen and Paul are also professional footballers. All three brothers have been with both St Mirren and Hibernian at some stage in their careers. Their grandfather Jack McGinn was Celtic chairman and Scottish Football Association president. McGinn is often known by the nickname "Meatball", a nickname stemming from a haircut he got as a child. McGinn often uses a 'goggles' goal celebration, a gesture of support for his nephew who is visually impaired and wears special eyewear to play football.