Bradley Wright-Phillips came up in the Manchester City academy, where he played 32 matches for the first team. The English striker moved on to play for Southampton, among a handful of other teams in his home country. At the age of 28, he made the move to the United States. The New York Red Bulls signed him in the summer of 2013. He appeared in seven matches, scoring his first of many MLS goals against the Houston Dynamo. The Red Bulls won the Supporters' Shield in 2013 as BWP began to settle in with the club. The process of settling was clearly done prior to the 2014 season.
In 2014, Wright-Phillips solidified himself as one of the very best the league had to offer. In the opening match of the season, he came off the bench to score a consolation header in Vancouver. At this point, the Red Bulls probably did not even know exactly what they had in their new forward. He went without a goal in the next six games, but that changed quickly. In April, he bagged a hat trick against Houston. He proceeded to score a goal in each of the next two games as well. In the following match, he scored yet another hat trick, this time during a 5-4 loss to the Chicago Fire. He sent the first one in with a one-timer, volleyed the second and snuck the last one in from the spot. No one knew quite how good he was yet besides the Houston Dynamo, who he dropped another brace on, for his sixth goal career against the Texas club. He looped a header into the top corner while running backwards, celebrating with his signature heel clicks.
He made the 2014 MLS All-Star Team, where he scored a goal in the 2-1 win over Bayern Munich with an absolute rocket of a left footed strike. After the ASG, he scored another two against Montreal. Thierry Henry and BWP became a serious force. His third hat trick of 2014 beat the Seattle Sounders. He capped it with a bolting run and smashing finish. On Decision Day, his brace against Sporting Kansas City previewed the first round of the playoffs. In that first postseason game, he did the same exact thing to beat SKC, winning the game at 90'. In the second round, his goal against DC United advanced RBNY to the ECF. Ultimately, New England ended their season, but BWP refused to go without a fight, scoring one last rebound goal in the first leg. When the dust had settled, Wright-Phillips had scored 27 goals, and another 4 in the playoffs. He won the 2014 Golden Boot and made the Best XI. In the MLS MVP voting, he finished fourth behind Robbie Keane, Obafemi Martins and Lee Nguyen. It was a magical first full season for the Red Bulls' #9.
BWP scored another 17 goals, while assisting 7 more in 2015. In the Hudson River Derby, he lit up NYCFC with a brace and a victory. He put a double past New England in a 4-1 win at Red Bull Arena, finishing cleanly to the bottom corner. A 3-0 win over DC United yielded another two goals for him. On Decision Day, his tally versus Chicago aided New York to a 2-1 W. The Red Bulls finished atop the league and won the Supporters' Shield. The Red Bulls knocked out DC United in the playoffs with a pair of 1-0 victories, where Wright-Phillips scored in the second leg by letting it roll past Bill Hamid. The journey ended at the hands of the Columbus Crew. It was another great year for their main goal scorer regardless.
In 2016, Wright-Phillips nearly reached the 27-goal mark he set back in 2014. He put 24 balls in the net. It took him a while to get on his scoring feet, but he opened his account with a brace against Orlando City in April. In the game known as the Red Wedding, in which RBNY defeated NYCFC 7-0, BWP contributed two of those historical goals. He scored a near post header. In the very next match, he scored all three goals in a 3-0 win over Toronto FC, finishing it with a drilled low finish. In the rematch against NYCFC in the summer, Wright-Phillips avoided any revenge opportunities with a duo of goals. He scored another brace against the Columbus Crew heading into the playoffs, cutting back on the left and scoring from a tough angle. Wright-Phillips won his second Golden Boot, and made the Best XI. They won the Eastern Conference regular season for the second consecutive year. Despite a goal from No. 99 in the second leg against Montreal, it was a first round exit for the Red Bulls.
In 2017, Wright-Phillips matched his scoring number from 2015 with 17 more tallies. He put two past the Philadelphia Union in a massive 2-0 road win, scoring a sliding tap-in. BWP embarked on a nice scoring run in the summer, putting 7 goals away in 5 matches, including the US Open Cup. He scored twice more against NYCFC during the stretch, but they lost 3-2. In the USOC game with FC Cincinnati, he scored a brace to send them to the finals, with an extra time header. Bradley Wright-Phillips scored late in the USOC Final, but it was not enough as they lost 2-1 to SKC. He finished the season out with a goal against Vancouver. This time, his team barely stuck into the playoffs. A 4-0 knockout round win over Chicago saw another BWP goal. They went out to Toronto FC on away goals.
For the third season in five, Wright-Phillips hit the 20-goal mark. Across the five incredible seasons he played in Harrison, NJ between 2014-2018, he scored 105 regular season goals. The fresh year began with a goal against the Portland Timbers. He posted a brace versus Atlanta United. On July 25th, his goal in a 1-0 win over DC United was his 100th, and he became the fastest player in MLS history to reach that mark. Josef Martinez has since broken that record. BWP made it back to the All-Star Game, playing 28 minutes against Juventus. In September, he lit up DC United's defense for a hat trick, including a mini bicycle kick. His 20th of the season was one against the San Jose Earthquakes. The Red Bulls surged back atop the East, winning another Supporters' Shield by a good margin, their third. The Crew were an easy task in the postseason, though the unstoppable 2018 Atlanta side was far more difficult.
In the opening game of 2019, BWP scored on the San Jose Earthquakes, opening up what looked to be another high-scoring season. The world had other plans for him. He was forced to miss 10 games with a groin injury. Upon his return, he just did not look like the same player and became a substitute. He scored his last New York Red Bulls goal against Atlanta United in a 13 minute cameo. After Philadelphia knocked them out of the playoffs, BWP departed the team that he scored so many goals for.
On February 14, 2020, LAFC announced the signing of Bradley Wright-Phillips. Despite playing less minutes than he did the previous season, he quadrupled his scoring. Additionally, he added 6 more assists. He made his debut for LAFC after the resumption of play in the summer, and he scored against the Houston Dynamo in his first match. He scored in his second match, his first El Trafico. He proceeded to also score in his third LAFC match, a draw with Portland. He was not an easy player to hold down for long. In September, he dropped his final MLS brace on the Vancouver Whitecaps, scoring a creative volley. LAFC lost to Seattle in the playoffs, ending his one-year deal in Los Angeles, a successful one.
On December 23, 2020, right after winning MLS Cup, the Columbus Crew announced the signing of Bradley Wright-Philips. He scored in a CCL matchup against Real Esteli. His lone Crew goal, and his final ever professional goal, came against the Seattle Sounders in August. He played his final game in November, a three minute appearance versus Chicago. About four months later, the legendary striker announced his retirement. The very next day, he signed a one-day contract with the New York Red Bulls in order to retire there. His No. 99 jersey is retired, never to be worn again. The only other player to have their jersey retired for their MLS contributions is Pablo Mastroeni. Bradley Wright-Phillips is still a face that MLS fans see quite often, as he works for Apple TV on MLS Season Pass. The 38-year-old still looks like he could go out there and bang goals in. His goal scoring ability speaks for itself, and it ranks him at #3.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2021 | CLB | 650 | 1 | 0 |
2020 | LAFC | 1,081 | 8 | 6 |
2019 | RBNY | 1,098 | 2 | 4 |
2018 | RBNY | 2,536 | 20 | 8 |
2017 | RBNY | 2,560 | 17 | 1 |
2016 | RBNY | 2,761 | 24 | 5 |
2015 | RBNY | 2,865 | 17 | 7 |
2014 | RBNY | 2,573 | 27 | 2 |
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