*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:26, 27 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:07, 4 December 2022 (UTC)
Dier grew up in Portugal, where he came through the youth ranks at
Sporting CP, making his
reserve and senior debuts in 2012. In 2014, he moved to English club
Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £4 million, going on to score 13 goals and total 365 appearances for the club, including in the
2015 Football League Cup final and the
2019 UEFA Champions League final. After ten years with Tottenham, he moved to Bayern Munich in January 2024, initially on loan, before a clause was activated in March 2024 to make the move permanent at the end of June that year.[4]
Despite interest from Portugal, Dier opted to represent England in international football. He made his debut for the senior team in November 2015, and was chosen for
UEFA Euro 2016, the
2018 FIFA World Cup and the
2022 FIFA World Cup.
Dier moved to Portugal from England in 2001 with his parents and five siblings (two sisters and three brothers) when he was seven years old.[9] They spent a year living in
Lagos,
Algarve region, where he briefly played in the youth football team of
Esperança de Lagos,[10] before moving to
Lisbon.[11][12] After the move, his mother was offered a job running the hospitality programme at
UEFA Euro 2004.[13][14][12] Dier was accepted by
Sporting CP's youth academy, and in 2010, his parents returned to England while Dier remained in Portugal living at Sporting CP's
Academia Sporting in
Alcochete.[15][16]
Club career
Early career
While playing football at the International Preparatory School in Lisbon, Dier's footballing ability was spotted by his
P.E. teacher Miguel Silva, who referred him to
Sporting CP for a trial at the age of eight.[17] Dier signed professional terms with Sporting CP in April 2010. The Portuguese club beat
Arsenal,
Manchester United and
Tottenham Hotspur to his signature.[18] Sporting CP also sold 50% economic rights of the player to a
third-party owner,
Quality Football Ireland Limited.[19]
In January 2011, Dier agreed to join
Everton on
loan until 30 June. Sporting CP's official website stated that the loan was "an opportunity for the athlete to grow in a more competitive and demanding environment".[20][21] Dier represented
Everton U18s ten times during his loan spell and won the 2010–11
U18 Premier League with the team.[22] Dier encountered difficulties resettling into English life, but in the summer of 2011, he extended his loan stay in the Everton academy for an additional 12 months.[13]
On 11 November 2012, Dier was called to play for the first team in a
Primeira Liga 1–0 home win against
Braga, assisting
Ricky van Wolfswinkel for the match's only goal.[25][26] Fifteen days later, he scored his first goal for Sporting CP's first squad in a 2–2 league away draw against
Moreirense.[27]
Dier signed a new contract on 9 September 2015, lasting until 2020.[33] During the
2015–16 season, he was utilised as a defensive midfielder by Tottenham head coach
Mauricio Pochettino,[34] establishing himself as the regular partner to
Mousa Dembélé as Tottenham challenged eventual champions
Leicester City for the
Premier League title.[35] On 15 August, he scored Tottenham's first goal of the
Premier League season in a 2–2 draw at home to
Stoke City, and on 26 September, Dier scored the team's equalising goal in a 4–1 home victory over
Manchester City.[36]
On 13 September 2016, Dier signed a new five-year contract to last until 2021.[37] During the
2016–17 season, Dier returned to the centre-back position due to Tottenham's acquisition of defensive midfielder
Victor Wanyama and injuries to defenders
Toby Alderweireld and
Jan Vertonghen.[35] He made his
UEFA Champions League debut in a 2–1 loss to
Monaco in Tottenham's opening
group match at Wembley Stadium.[38] On 25 October 2016, Dier
captained Tottenham for the first time in a 2–1 loss to
Liverpool at
Anfield in the fourth round of the
EFL Cup.[39] He was also given the captain's armband for the 3rd and 4th round
FA Cup ties against
Aston Villa and
Wycombe Wanderers respectively.[40][41] On 1 April 2017, Dier scored his first goal of 2016–17 in a 2–0 win over
Burnley in the
Premier League.[42]
In the
2018–19 season, Dier scored his first goal of the season, which is his first in 18 months, in the 1–0 win against
Cardiff City, helping Tottenham to their joint best start of a season in the Premier League after eight games.[43] He underwent surgery mid-December 2018 due to
appendicitis,[44] and returned to the team on 20 January 2019, coming on as a
substitute in the game against
Fulham.[45] However, he continued to suffer the after-effects of the appendicitis operation, repeatedly falling ill and missing games.[46] On 1 June, in Tottenham's first appearance in the
Champions League final, Dier replaced the injured
Moussa Sissoko for the final 16 minutes of a 2–0 loss to Liverpool in Madrid.[47]
On 4 March 2020, Dier was involved in a confrontation with a spectator in the stands following Tottenham's
FA Cup defeat by
Norwich City. Dier climbed into the lower tier at the
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the person "insulted" Dier and became involved in a dispute with Dier's brother Patrick who was also in the stand. The following day, the
Metropolitan Police said they wished to interview Dier, his brother and the supporter alleged to be involved in the incident.[51][52][53] On 23 April, Dier was charged by the
FA with misconduct for a breach of FA Rule E3 due to his "improper and/or threatening" action.[54] In July 2020, Dier was fined £40,000 and banned for four games.[55]
On 21 July 2020, Dier signed an improved contract until June 2024.[56]
Bayern Munich
On 11 January 2024, after a reduction in playing time under new Tottenham manager
Ange Postecoglou, Dier was loaned to
Bundesliga club
Bayern Munich, penning a six-month loan contract with the option for a one-year extension.[4] He made his debut for Bayern Munich on 24 January 2024 in a 1–0 win against
Union Berlin.[57] On 1 March 2024, having made the requisite number of appearances, Dier activated a clause which would make his Bayern move permanent upon the expiry of his Tottenham contract in June 2024.[58]
International career
Youth
Dier had been approached by the
Portuguese Football Federation to play for Portugal in the future, but could only do so once he turned 18.[59] He had been involved in a high-profile
England national team kit promotion for sportswear manufacturers
Umbro.[60] Upon his signing for Everton, an FA spokesman said, "Our intention will be to select him for the
youth squad in the coming weeks," referring to the 2011 edition of the under-17 international Algarve Tournament.[61]
Dier earned his first England call-up in November 2011 when
under-18 head coach
Noel Blake picked him for a match against
Slovakia.[62] He played the full 90 minutes in the 1–1 draw on 16 November 2011.[63]
Dier made his debut for the
England under-21s on 13 August 2013 in a 6–0 win against
Scotland.[66] In 2014, he pulled out of the squad, informing manager
Gareth Southgate that he did not want to be deployed as a right-back anymore and would rather work on the centre-back position at his club, Tottenham.[67]
Senior
On 5 November 2015, Dier was selected for the first time to the England senior team by
managerRoy Hodgson ahead of friendlies against
Spain and
France.[34] He made his debut eight days later against the former at
Alicante's
Estadio José Rico Pérez as a 63rd-minute substitute alongside his Tottenham teammate Dele Alli in a 2–0 loss.[68] Dier made his first start on 17 November against France, a 2–0 win at Wembley.[69] On 26 March 2016, he scored his first international goal, heading
Jordan Henderson's corner for the winner in a 3–2 victory against
Germany in Berlin.[70]
On 10 November 2017, Dier
captained the England team for the first time in a friendly match against Germany at Wembley that ended in a goalless draw.[72]
In September 2022, Dier received his first England call-up in 18 months for the
UEFA Nations League matches against
Italy and
Germany.[75] He started in the 1–0 defeat to Italy at the
San Siro.[76] A month later, he was included in the 26-man squad for the
2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[77]
Style of play
Dier can play as a midfielder, centre-back and right-back.[78] It has been noted that his versatility enabled Tottenham's effective adoption of a flexible approach, allowing them to switch systems efficiently within a single match.[79] Dier has said that he has mixed Portuguese and English footballing styles on his own.[78] In 2018,
ESPN's Mark Ogden described Dier as "more of a destroyer than a creator".[80]
^"Atlético 1–3 Sporting B" (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 26 August 2012. Archived from
the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
^"Sporting 1–0 Braga" (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 11 November 2012. Archived from
the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
^"Sporting 1–0 SC Braga". Zerozero (in Portuguese). 11 November 2012.
Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
^"Moreirense 2–2 Sporting" (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 26 November 2012. Archived from
the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.