# Robert Taylor (footballer, born 1994)

Robert Thomas Taylor (born 21 October 1994) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and wing-back for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Finland national team.

## Youth career

Taylor joined the youth team at JJK in 2004, and stayed with the club until senior level. During this time, he had spells in the country of his father's birth, England, with Nottingham Forest and then Lincoln City, who he joined on a two-year scholarship in 2011.

## Club career
### Boston Town (loan)

Taylor was loaned out to Boston Town of the United Counties League in 2013, where he made one appearance.

### Barnet

Later in 2013, he joined Barnet, where he was due to sign a professional contract, but this fell through following their relegation from the English Football League.

### JJK

Taylor played for JJK in the Ykkönen until 2015, when he joined Veikkausliiga side RoPS.

### AIK

In July 2017, Taylor was transferred to AIK for €100,000.

### Tromsø (loan)

He joined Tromsø on loan for the 2018 season, and then permanently for the 2019 season.

### Brann

On 20 January 2020, Taylor penned a three-year deal with Brann, which saw Ruben Yttergård Jenssen go the other way.

### Inter Miami

On 11 February 2022, Taylor moved to Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise Inter Miami on a two-year deal with an option for a further year, for a transfer fee of $500,000. He was scouted by the club to play as a winger and made his debut in the season opener on 26 February, a 0–0 draw with the Chicago Fire.
During the 2023 Leagues Cup, Taylor formed an attacking partnership with new Miami signings Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba that drew comparisons to Messi's earlier teammates Ángel Di María and Andrés Iniesta. He scored five goals and had three assists in seven matches as the club won their first trophy. On 25 October 2023, Inter Miami announced they had exercised their option to keep Taylor in Miami until the end of 2024.
On 18 July 2024, in a match against Toronto FC, both Taylor and his teammate Drake Callender made their 100th appearance for Inter Miami in all competitions combined, becoming the first players in the franchise's history to reach the milestone. On 26 July, Taylor extended his deal until the end of 2026 with a one-year option.

## International career

Taylor has been capped by Finland at under-17, under-19, under-20, under-21 and senior level. He made his debut for the senior side on 9 January 2017 as a substitute in a 1–0 friendly win over Morocco.
On 11 October 2020, Taylor scored his first goal in a 2–0 UEFA Nations League victory over Bulgaria.
On 1 June 2021, Taylor was selected for Finland's UEFA Euro 2020 squad, but he did not appear in any of the matches of the tournament.
In March 2024, after Taylor was already named in the Finland squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs match against Wales, Taylor declined the call-up stating that he wants to focus more on an important MLS regular season match against New York Red Bulls.

## Personal life

Taylor was born in Kuopio to a Finnish mother and an English father. His father Paul is an English former footballer who played for KuPS in the 1990s. Paul resides in Jyväskylä and currently coaches youth teams in a local club Jyväskylän Komeetat.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 2 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| JJK | 2011 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ― | ― | 1 | 0 |
| Huima (loan) | 2011 | Kolmonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Lincoln City | 2012–13 | Conference Premier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Boston Town (loan) | 2012–13 | United Counties League | 1 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| JJK | 2013 | Veikkausliiga | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 12 | 1 |
| JJK | 2014 | Ykkönen | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 19 | 3 |
| JJK | 2015 | Ykkönen | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 21 | 7 |
| JJK | Total | Total | 50 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 53 | 11 |
| RoPS | 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 31 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ― | ― | 42 | 13 |
| RoPS | 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 14 | 6 |
| RoPS | Total | Total | 41 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ― | ― | 56 | 19 |
| AIK | 2017 | Allsvenskan | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | 6 | 0 |
| Tromsø (loan) | 2018 | Eliteserien | 17 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | 20 | 2 |
| Tromsø | 2018 | Eliteserien | 10 | 2 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | 10 | 2 |
| Tromsø | 2019 | Eliteserien | 28 | 4 | 3 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | 31 | 4 |
| Tromsø | Total | Total | 55 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 8 |
| Brann | 2020 | Eliteserien | 30 | 6 | — | — | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | 30 | 6 |
| Brann | 2021 | Eliteserien | 27 | 6 | 2 | 2 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 1 | 0 | 30 | 8 |
| Brann | Total | Total | 57 | 12 | 2 | 2 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 1 | 0 | 60 | 14 |
| Inter Miami | 2022 | MLS | 33 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 1 | 0 | 37 | 3 |
| Inter Miami | 2023 | MLS | 27 | 4 | 6 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 7 | 4 | 40 | 8 |
| Inter Miami | 2024 | MLS | 27 | 5 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 6 |
| Inter Miami | 2025 | MLS | 2 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Inter Miami | Total | Total | 89 | 12 | 9 | 0 | ― | ― | 4 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 113 | 17 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 298 | 57 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 350 | 69 |
* ↑ Includes Finnish Cup, Svenska Cupen, Norwegian Cup, U.S. Open Cup
* ↑ Includes Finnish League Cup
* ↑ Appearances in Lincolnshire Senior Cup
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearance in Eliteserien relegation play-offs
* ↑ Appearance in MLS Cup playoffs
* ↑ Appearances in Leagues Cup
* 1 2 Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup
* ↑ Two appearances in Leagues Cup, one appearance in MLS Cup playoffs

### International

    As of match played 17 November 2023
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Finland | 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| Finland | 2018 | 5 | 0 |
| Finland | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| Finland | 2020 | 7 | 1 |
| Finland | 2021 | 7 | 0 |
| Finland | 2022 | 3 | 0 |
| Finland | 2023 | 7 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 34 | 2 |
    As of match played 17 October 2023. Finland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Taylor goal.
List of international goals scored by Robert Taylor :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 11 October 2020 | Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland | 13 | Bulgaria | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B |
| 2 | 17 October 2023 | Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland | 32 | Kazakhstan | 1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |

## Honours

Inter Miami
* Supporters' Shield: 2024
* Leagues Cup: 2023
* U.S. Open Cup runner-up: 2023
AIK
* Allsvenskan runner-up: 2017