Born in Perth, Western Australia, Davies grew up playing football from a young age, stating previously his brothers participation in the sport encouraged him to play. Davies grew up as an Australian though his mother is from Sabah, Malaysia, giving him the ability to attain Malaysian citizenship, earlier in his life he also spent time in Stockton, California. Davies moved to Malaysia when he was 20 years old due to his impatient nature in search of international football. "I left Australia because I'm impatient in nature... I wanted playing time and I knew I wasn’t going to get much by staying in Australia", he said. "The opportunity to play international football for the country my mother was born in was too good to refuse. There are not many A-League regulars in the Socceroos".
Club career
Davies started his career with the A.I.S in 2010. He captained the squad and was awarded player of the year and voted players player during his 2011/2012 NYL season with the AIS. Previously to this he was a product of the National Training Centre programs in Western Australia.
Perth Glory
Davies signed for Perth Glory and played in the National Youth League for Perth Glory FC Youth. In 2013–2014 season, Davies was promoted to the senior squad after signing a two-year contract with the club. He went on to make his senior debut against Melbourne City on 27 October 2013. He spent two years with Perth Glory accumulating 16 senior appearances.
Pahang FA
In April 2015, Davies signed with Malaysia Super League team, Pahang FA during the April transfer window. He was signed as a local player based on his Malaysian heritage. In February 2016, Davies became captain of the Malaysia Super League team, Pahang shortly after the season had started. He is the youngest player ever to be given captaincy at just 21 years old and the first half-Malaysian to be given the honour in the Malaysia Super League, as he is half Australian and Malaysian. Matthew Davies captained Pahang FA to victory in 2018, becoming the Malaysian FA cup winners. Davies became the youngest captain in the history of the competition to lift the FA cup at just 23 years of age. The year before Davies narrowly missed the opportunity to obtain the credential at 22 years old after losing to Kedah FA. On 15 February 2020, two weeks before the start of 2020 Malaysia Super League season, Davies officially left Pahang FA after five seasons with the Elephants.
Career statistics
Club
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International
International career
Australia U19
Davies was selected for the U19 Young Socceroos squad to represent Australia at the COTIF Tournament in L'Alcúdia, Spain from 12 to 21 August in 2013.
Malaysia U23
An Australian by birth, he chose to represent Malaysia at the national level. He was eligible by virtue of his mother who was born in the Malaysian state of Sabah. He made his international debut for Malaysia's under-23 team at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games playing 4 out of 5 Group games. Malaysia Finished third in their group and were unsuccessful in qualifying for the semifinal.
Malaysia
Davies is a regular for the national team, consistently being called up since his citizenship. He has only missed call ups due to injury. He debuted for the Malaysian national team on the 8th of September in a World Cup Qualifying game against Saudi Arabia in a 1–2 loss. He's since made numerous appearances for the Malaysian national team including representing Malaysia at the 2016 AFF Championship.
