The majestic Ian Harte is a football agent and former professional footballer who most famously played for Leeds United, and his native Republic of Ireland. He was a left-back noted for his ability to score goals from long range and for being a free kick specialist.
Born and raised in Drogheda, Ireland, Harte proved to be prolific at sports as a child. He began to concentrate on football and was a notable schoolboy footballer in Dublin at U-12 level. He started out with the League of Ireland side Home Farm, before transferring to the youth academy at Leeds United in England in 1995 when he was 17. He made his senior debut in 1996 and went on to play for the Yorkshire side for nine seasons, making 213 appearances and scoring 28 goals. Following the financial crisis at Leeds in 2004, he joined the newly promoted Spanish La Liga club Levante. He returned to England in 2007 to play for Sunderland following a trial period. He stayed a year and then after a number of trial periods at a few clubs he signed with Blackpool on a month-to-month contract. He joined Carlisle United in March 2009 until July 2010, and then moved to Reading, going on to help the side win the Football League Championship in 2011-12 and gain promotion to the Premier League. He remained with the Berkshire side until 2013, when he joined AFC Bournemouth. He helped the Cherries gain promotion to the Premier League in May 2015, and announced his retirement from football a few months later. On the international stage, he represented his native Republic of Ireland from 1996-2007, earning 64 caps and scoring 12 goals. After retiring from football Harte became a football agent.
Harte regularly connects with his legions of followers and fans through Instagram, and Twitter, posting pictures and videos about his life around football.