MJ Williams

Liverpool

Williams joined Liverpool academy at U14 level, having previously been playing for Wrexham. On 23 September 2014, he made his first-team debut in a League Cup clash against Middlesbrough, coming on as a substitute in 79th minute for Jordan Rossiter. Williams scored in the penalty shootout. He was an unused substitute in the game against AFC Wimbledon in the third round of the FA Cup, and against Blackburn Rovers in a quarter-final of the same tournament, as well as Premier League games against Burnley and Manchester City and a UEFA Europa League clash against Turkish side Beşiktaş J.K. On 22 January 2015, he signed his first professional contract, signing a 2+1⁄2-year deal with Liverpool. In 2015 Williams picked up an injury so bad he was nearly forced to retire, however after being the first Welsh footballer to undergo a cartilage transplant he was able to recover and continue his career. In the 2016–17 season, Williams returned from his injury and was featured for the Liverpool U23 side. He did appear as an unused substitute in a FA Cup fourth round replay against Plymouth Argyle, which saw Liverpool win 1–0. In January transfer window of 2017, Williams was expected to leave the club on a permanent basis, with Charlton Athletic and MK Dons were among interested. Although the move never happened, Williams stayed at the club for the rest of the season; eventually, signing a contract extension. He was released by Liverpool at the end of the 2017–18…

Having previously featured for the Wales U17 side, Williams made his Wales under-21 debut in a 1–1 draw against Lithuania on 9 September 2014. In August 2015, Williams was called up to the Wales senior squad for the first time. He was an unused substitute in the 1–0 win over Cyprus on 3 September 2015.

As of 23 January 2025

Notes

Williams was born in Bangor, North Wales. He is a fluent Welsh speaker, and attended Welsh-medium school Ysgol y Garnedd. In March 2016, during a Europa League match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford, a tweet was sent from Williams' Twitter account which was construed by many as mocking the Munich air disaster. Williams at the time claimed that his Twitter account had been hacked, he apologised and deleted his account. He was later interviewed about the incident and revealed the anguish the incident had caused him and that he had thought "that Tweet could have finished me in football". He explained that he had not intended to reference the Munich air disaster but that it was a reference he and his friends had regularly made about "flying" when doing well. He admitted that his claim that his account had been hacked was borne from a naive panic and was not true.