Irish legend of the game and honorary MBE – Niall Quinn, is a Football League Cup winner with Arsenal and Football League First Division winner with Sunderland. The super striker has also won a ton of individual accolades, such as Manchester City Player of the Year, Irish Young Player of the Year, Sunderland Player of the Year, and was even in the PFA First Division Team of the Year. Quinn was also the Republic of Ireland’s all time leading goal scorer at one point, cementing himself as a national hero.
Quinn is mainly known for his successful stint in the English Premier League, with major clubs such Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland. The iconic striker is well known for donning the Sunderland shirt. He joined the club in 1996 for a then club record fee of £1.3 million. His partnership with striker Kevin Phillips was one of the most feared in the Football League. This deadly duo helped the club to regain promotion to the Premiership for the 1999–2000 campaign.
After his unbelievable playing career, Quinn released an acclaimed autobiography. It won the Best Autobiography category in the inaugural British Sports Book Awards and was also nominated for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. Quinn also became chairman of his beloved Sunderland, finally stepping down in 2011. More recently, Quinn was appointed as interim deputy chief executive officer of the Football Association of Ireland in 2020. Quinn’s love for the game has paved the way for a highly unique career after his playing days, showing that he is just as ambitious as he was when playing.