Stewart Downing (born 22 July 1984) is an English former professional footballer. He played most of his career as a winger or left-back. He is currently the assistant coach for Leeds United's U21 squad.
Downing started his career at Middlesbrough, where after a loan at Sunderland, he became a key part of the team, winning the League Cup in 2004 and helping them to the UEFA Cup final two years later. In 2009, after Boro's relegation, he joined Aston Villa for an initial £10 million, then moved on to Liverpool for twice that amount two years later, again winning the League Cup in 2012. He played for two seasons at West Ham United before returning to Middlesbrough, where he won promotion to the Premier League. In 2019, he was released by Middlesbrough after 404 total appearances, and signed for Blackburn Rovers, remaining there for two seasons before retiring in 2021.
A full international from 2005 to 2014, Downing earned 35 caps for England. He was included in the nation's squads that reached the quarter-finals at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012.
Downing was born in Middlesbrough, Teesside, and was a graduate of the Middlesbrough Academy.
Downing signed his first professional contract on 6 September 2001. His debut came on 24 April 2002 in a Premier League match away to Ipswich Town, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 loss at Portman Road. He was limited to just three appearances during the 2001–02 season, plus a further three in the following 2002–03 season. His first senior goal came on 1 October 2002 in a 4–1 League Cup second round away victory over Brentford, coming on as a substitute to conclude the scoring at Griffin Park.
On 30 October 2003, Downing went on a one-month loan to Sunderland, of the First Division. He scored three goals in seven matches for Mick McCarthy's Black Cats team, starting on 4 November when he equalised in a 3–1 win at Gillingham, also assisting John Oster.
Having scored as many goals on his loan as Middlesbrough's top scorer Szilárd Németh had recorded all season, Downing was recalled from his loan on 11 December due to injury to Juninho. He was a regular for the remainder of the season, but was an unused substitute on 29 February 2004, when they won the 2004 League Cup Final against Bolton Wanderers.
The 2004–05 season saw Downing make 49 appearances, scoring six goals, as well as providing numerous assists. In a UEFA Cup match against Lazio in November 2004, both Downing and Zenden were in the starting line-up. Though Zenden scored both goals in the 2–0 victory, Downing drew praise for his performance down the left. Such performances that season saw him called up to Sven-Göran Eriksson's England squad in February 2005 for a friendly against the Netherlands.
A knee injury saw Downing sidelined for five months at the end of 2005, though he returned to play his part in the run to the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, including three assists in the 4–2 (4–3 agg) victory over Steaua București in the semi-final second leg. He started in the final as Middlesbrough were beaten 4–0 by Sevilla at the Philips Stadion.
On 26 February 2008, Downing signed a new five-year contract, keeping him signed on at Middlesbrough until summer 2013. With the departure of Mark Schwarzer in May 2008, Downing became Middlesbrough's second longest serving player after Brad Jones.
The 2008–09 season was a mixed one for Downing. Middlesbrough had their best start to the season in six years which saw them climb to 8th in the table, however, a terrible winless run which started in November 2008 saw them fall into the relegation zone. On 5 January 2009, he handed in a written transfer request expressing his desire to leave the club but the request was turned down on the same day. In the penultimate match of the season, he sustained a foot injury after a challenge from Stiliyan Petrov in a home match against Aston Villa in May 2009, which needed an operation, ruling him out for at least four months. After spending the whole of the second half of the season in the relegation zone, Middlesbrough were relegated on the final day after they lost 2–1 away at West Ham United. Downing, having started every league match, except the last match, ended the season with no league goals, having only scored two against West Ham United in the FA Cup.
Following Middlesbrough's relegation, Downing signed a four-year contract with Aston Villa, becoming Martin O'Neill's first signing of the 2009 Summer transfer window for a fee of £10 million with an extra £2 million to be paid depending on appearances. On 7 November 2009, O'Neill announced that Downing had returned to full training following his injury against Villa while playing for Middlesbrough during 2008–09. Downing made his Aston Villa debut on as a 69th-minute substitute for Steve Sidwell in the away match against Burnley. He scored his first goal for Villa in the League Cup fourth round tie against Portsmouth at Fratton Park on 1 December 2009.
Downing's return to action saw him returning to his preferred left wing role, with James Milner moving to central midfield for Villa. Downing played in Villa's first win at Old Trafford against Manchester United since 1983 on 12 December 2009 in their 1–0 victory over the Red Devils. Downing then went on to score his first and second league goal for Villa in their 5–2 win against Burnley on 2 February 2010. His second season with Aston Villa had been a much improved one, he scored the first Premier League goal of the season against West Ham United at Villa Park on 14 August in a 3–0 win. In the final match of the season, Downing scored his eighth against Liverpool at Villa Park with the result ending 1–0; during the 2010–11 season, Downing made 44 appearances and scored eight goals in all competitions. Downing was the subject of speculation over the summer, with Liverpool showing interest in the winger. On 6 July, Liverpool tabled a bid of £15 million for Downing but this was rejected by Villa, who said they would not let Downing go for less than £20m.
New Villa manager Alex McLeish then stated that Downing was not for sale and he would not be leaving Villa in the summer. However, on 13 July 2011, a fee was agreed between Aston Villa and Liverpool for the transfer of Downing.
Downing completed his move to Liverpool on 15 July 2011, for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £20 million. On 13 August 2011, Downing made his debut in Liverpool's first match of the 2011–12 Premier League, in a 1–1 draw against Sunderland at Anfield, playing the full 90 minutes. On 20 August 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes against Arsenal in a 2–0 victory at the Emirates Stadium. On 6 January 2012, Downing scored his first goal for Liverpool against Oldham Athletic at Anfield in the third round of the FA Cup. On 26 February he won the League Cup with Liverpool, scoring his penalty in the shoot-out and winning the Alan Hardaker Trophy as Man of the Match. On 18 March 2012 he scored the winner in a 2–1 victory over Stoke City in the FA Cup quarter-final, securing a second Wembley visit for Liverpool in the semi-finals in what was described as "his most telling Liverpool contribution" so far.
Downing scored the winner in Liverpool's first match of 2012–13, a left foot shot in a UEFA Europa League match against Gomel. On 30 August 2012, Downing was deployed as a left back against Hearts. He scored the winning and only goal against Anzhi Makhachkala at Anfield in the Europa League. After the match, he was praised by manager Brendan Rodgers saying "It's been a tough time. He's had a rough ride but he's an important member of our team." On 22 December, he made his first league assist and scored his first league goal in a 4–0 win against Fulham. He scored his second league goal for the club on 2 March 2013, opening the scoring in a 4–0 win away to Wigan Athletic, with a header from a Philippe Coutinho cross. In Liverpool's next match, Downing scored the equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur, in a 3–2 home victory for Liverpool. This marked Downing's fifth goal in all competitions and his last goal for Liverpool.