Ryan Jack is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Rangers and the Scotland national team. He began his career at Aberdeen, spending 17 years connected with the club across youth and senior categories and serving as club captain for two years. Jack left Aberdeen in 2017, signing for Rangers as a free agent.
Club career
Aberdeen
Jack signed professional terms with Aberdeen in the summer of 2008, having been part of his hometown club's youth academy since the age of eight. He made his first team league debut for the club against Rangers in September 2010 and soon became a regular in the first team. In January 2011 he scored his first goal for Aberdeen against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, which was voted as the club's Goal of the Season for 2010–11. A week later, he came on as a substitute in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, a 4–1 defeat to Celtic. Jack signed a new contract with Aberdeen in October 2011. On 13 December 2011 in a SPL fixture against St Johnstone, he scored a goal from the halfway line to put his team 2–0 up after opposing goalkeeper Peter Enckelman miskicked a clearance. The match ended 2–1 to Aberdeen, with Jack's winner helping the Dons move up to ninth in the table. In June 2013, Jack signed a three-year deal at Aberdeen, keeping him at the club until 2016. He subsequently played a pivotal role in Aberdeen's season, helping them into the League Cup semi-final, but was injured in January in a league match at Motherwell. and was ruled out for around six weeks, missing the semi-final with St Johnstone. He had returned by the time of the final of the competition, playing all 120 minutes as his club overcame Inverness CT in a penalty shoot-out. Jack did participate in a semi-final during the campaign in the Scottish Cup, again facing St Johnstone, but was on the losing side on that occasion. On 11 January 2015, Jack was named as SPFL Player of the Month for December 2014. Two weeks later, he missed out on another League Cup final appearance as his team were beaten in the semis by Dundee United. On 20 May 2015, he signed a one-year extension to his contract, keeping him at Aberdeen until the end of the 2016–17 season. On 24 June 2015, Jack was named captain for the 2015–16 season. After much speculation that he would move on, Jack left Aberdeen in May 2017 when his contract expired, having played almost 250 times for the Dons. His last game was the 2017 Scottish Cup Final; earlier in the season he had also led out the team in the League Cup final, with both showpiece matches lost to Celtic.
Rangers
Jack signed a three-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Rangers on 1 June 2017. Upon signing, the former Aberdeen captain said that he was a huge Rangers fan growing up and that it was an "honour and a privilege" to join the club he supported. He made his debut for Rangers against Luxembourgish side Progrès Niederkorn in the 1st qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League on 29 June 2017, a tie which Rangers lost 2–1 on aggregate after losing 2–0away from home. On Rangers' first visit to Aberdeen since his move, Jack started the game but was sent off in the second half for a bad tackle, although his team won the match 2–1. It was the fourth red card in the 2017–18 season. In January 2018, Rangers confirmed that Jack required surgery on a knee injury sustained in a match the previous month, ruling him out of action for some time. Jack signed a new contract with Rangers in December 2018, due to run until the end of the 2020–21 season. On 29 December, he scored his first Rangers goal in the Old Firm derby against Celtic, a match which Rangers won 1–0. In October 2019 he signed a new four-year contract with the club.
International career
Jack has represented Scotland at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. He captained the Under-21 side and is on the top ten list for appearances at this level. In May 2013, he received a call-up to the full Scotland squad for the game against Croatia. Jack eventually made his full Scotland debut in a friendly against the Netherlands in November 2017, by which time he had moved from formative club Aberdeen to Rangers. The match happened to take place in Aberdeen, and in the opening stages he was booed whenever he touched the ball by some of the crowd, due to the rivalry between those clubs and the ill-feeling his transfer had stirred; other fans responded to this by cheering and applauding him. Jack made his first competitive start for Scotland in November 2019, forming a midfield partnership with Callum McGregor.
