Early career in 2007 (back row, third from right) Vardy was in the youth system at Sheffield Wednesday, but was released when he was 16. He then played at
Stocksbridge Park Steels, earning £30 a week. After making his way through the
reserve team, he made his
first team league debut under
manager Peter Rinkcavage in 2006. His real break out came under
manager Gary Marrow during the 2007–08 season. After impressive displays, a number of
Football League teams became interested and in 2009 he spent a week on trial with
Crewe Alexandra. A move did not materialise and he later turned down a short-term contract with
Rotherham United. Vardy scored a total of 55 goals for the club in all competitions. He made his debut on 21 August 2010 in the home match against
Buxton, scoring the winning goal in a match that ended 2–1 to his new club. Vardy had a successful first season with "the Shaymen" finishing as the club's top goalscorer with 25 goals from 37 appearances His goals helped secure the
Northern Premier League Premier Division title for the 2010–11 season. Vardy started the 2011–12 season with Halifax and scored three goals in the opening four matches of the season. He made his debut the same day in a 0–0 home draw with
York City. He scored his first goals for the club in his third appearance, scoring twice in a 3–2 win away to
Kettering Town on 3 September. The following week he scored another two goals against
Gateshead at
Highbury Stadium, including one in added time. He scored twice for a third consecutive match in the 3–1 away win against
Ebbsfleet United, but did not score again for just over a month until he scored a hat-trick in the away match against
Alfreton Town on 18 October. On 20 September, he was given a straight
red card in a 5–2 home win over
Kidderminster Harriers, a match in which each team played for over an hour with ten men. Four days after his hat-trick, Vardy scored two more goals in a 4–1 win over
Bath City, a result which left Fleetwood two points behind leaders
Wrexham. In the first round of the
FA Cup on 12 November, Vardy scored the second goal in a 2–0 win over
League One team
Wycombe Wanderers. Fifteen days later, his goal in a 1–1 draw at Gateshead meant that he had recorded a goal in each of his last six appearances, totalling ten goals in that period; he won the Conference Premier Player of the Month award for November. On 13 December, Vardy confirmed a 2–0 win in added time as Fleetwood triumphed away to
Yeovil Town in the Cup second round
replay. On 1 January 2012, Vardy scored twice in a 6–0 win over
Southport, and six days later the team lost 5–1 at home to local rivals
Blackpool in the third round of the Cup. After the match, Blackpool manager
Ian Holloway made a £750,000 offer for him, which Fleetwood rejected, holding on for £1 million and a
loan back to the club. He totalled six goals in his first four matches of the calendar year. Vardy scored both Fleetwood goals in a 2–2 draw against
Lincoln City on 13 April; Wrexham's draw against
Grimsby Town the next day gave Fleetwood the Conference title and a first-ever promotion to the Football League. Vardy's 31 league goals saw him finish the season as the top scorer in the Conference Premier.
Leicester City 2012–14 in 2013 On 18 May 2012, it was announced that Vardy would be signing for
Championship club
Leicester City ahead of the 2012–13 season, for a reported fee of £1 million, a
non-League record, which could potentially be worth up to £1.7 million with add-ons. The next day, he signed on a three-year contract until June 2015. On 14 August, Vardy made his debut for Leicester against
Torquay United in the first round of the
League Cup, playing the entirety of the match at
Plainmoor and
heading the final goal in a 4–0 win. Four days later he made his
Football League debut at the
King Power Stadium, a 2–0 win over
Peterborough United in which he set up a goal for
Andy King. He scored his first league goal in a 2–1 away defeat to
Blackburn Rovers on 25 August. In September, he scored the winner in two 2–1 comeback victories, against
Burnley and
Middlesbrough. The following season brought a turn around in Vardy's fortunes as he established himself as a prolific scorer in the Leicester attack as the club took a commanding lead at the top of the table. Vardy finished the season with 16 league goals as Leicester were promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season as champions,
2014–15 season On 19 August 2014, Vardy extended his contract until the summer of 2018. After missing the first two matches of the season through injury, he made his
Premier League debut on 31 August 2014, as a second-half
substitute in a 1–1 draw at home to
Arsenal. On 21 September, Vardy delivered a
man of the match performance by scoring his first Premier League goal and setting up the other four as Leicester made a surprise comeback from 3–1 down to a 5–3 victory against
Manchester United. On 11 April 2015, Vardy scored a 90th-minute winning goal in Leicester's 3–2 victory away to
West Bromwich Albion. Impressive form throughout the rest of April, including another winning goal, against Burnley on 25 April, saw Vardy nominated for the
Premier League Player of the Month award. Vardy and Leicester ended the 2014–15 season in a safe 14th position having picked up 22 points since 4 April, capping things off by opening the scoring in a 5–1 victory against
Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the Premier League season on 24 May.
2015–16 season in 2015 Vardy started the
2015–16 season by scoring the opening goal as Leicester picked up a 4–2 victory at home against
Sunderland on 8 August 2015. He scored the equaliser in Leicester's 3–2 comeback victory against Aston Villa on 13 September. With two goals in Leicester's 5–2 defeat by Arsenal on 26 September, Vardy reached seven league goals for the season, eclipsing his goal tally of the previous year. On 24 October, he scored the only goal of a home win over
Crystal Palace, the seventh consecutive Premier League match in which he scored, and his tenth goal of the league season. Vardy scored in his eighth league match in a row on 31 October, and became only the third player ever to do so in the Premier League after
Ruud van Nistelrooy (twice) and
Daniel Sturridge, in a 3–2 win over West Bromwich Albion. A week later, he won and scored a penalty to secure a 2–1 win over
Watford, putting him on nine consecutive matches with a goal, behind Van Nistelrooy's Premier League record of ten. Vardy also became the first player in the Premier League to score in nine consecutive matches in a single season, as Van Nistelrooy's 10 matches were at the end of the 2002–03 season and the beginning of the 2003–04 season. For his run of good form, Vardy was the Premier League Player of the Month for October 2015, the first Leicester player to be given the accolade since goalkeeper
Tim Flowers in 2000. On 21 November, Vardy matched Van Nistelrooy's record of consecutive Premier League matches with a goal, opening a 3–0 win over
Newcastle United. A week later, against Manchester United, he scored again to claim the record for himself. His run ended on 5 December when he did not score in a 3–0 win at
Swansea City. Had he done so, he would have equalled the English top-flight record of 12 consecutive scoring matches set by
Jimmy Dunne for Sheffield United in the
1931–32 season; the result nonetheless put Leicester top of the table. Following his goalscoring exploits, Vardy was again named as the Premier League Player of the Month for November, becoming only the fifth ever player to win the award in consecutive months. He was presented with a certificate from
Guinness World Records for his achievement. 's
Premier League title victory with his family in 2016 In January 2016, manager
Claudio Ranieri declared that Vardy and
Riyad Mahrez would be sold to no-one, describing them as "priceless". On 2 February, he scored both goals in a 2–0 win against
Liverpool, the first being a long-distance
volley described as "world class" by opposing manager
Jürgen Klopp. Four days later, he signed a new contract to keep himself at Leicester until 2019, increasing his weekly salary to £80,000. On 10 April 2016, Vardy scored both goals (his 20th and 21st of the season) in Leicester's 2–0 win at Sunderland, becoming the first Leicester player since
Gary Lineker in the 1984–85 season to score 20 goals in the top division of English football. The result also secured qualification to the
UEFA Champions League for the first time in Leicester's history. A week later, Vardy scored the first goal of a 2–2 home draw against
West Ham United, but was later sent off for
diving in the penalty area under pressure from
Angelo Ogbonna. He was charged with improper conduct for his reaction to the dismissal and was fined £10,000, as well as being suspended for two matches during a vital point of Leicester's eventually successful title campaign. With 24 league goals, Vardy was the second-highest scorer in the Premier League for the 2015–16 season, alongside
Sergio Agüero, only one goal behind Golden Boot winner
Harry Kane. Vardy was one of four Leicester players in the
PFA Team of the Year; he was later also named the
FWA Footballer of the Year, and the 2016 Barclays
Premier League Player of the Season.
2016–17 season in 2017 On 3 June 2016, Arsenal made a bid of £22 million for Vardy, triggering a release clause in his contract. Leicester offered him improved terms, and 20 days later he agreed to a new four-year contract, to be signed on his return from
UEFA Euro 2016. Vardy rejected Arsenal's offer, because Arsenal had not promised that he would be played in his normal position and because of the differences between the two club's tactics, with
Arsène Wenger favouring possession and Leicester playing on the counter-attack. On 7 August 2016, he scored in a 2–1 defeat to Manchester United in the
2016 FA Community Shield. Twenty days later, Vardy scored his first league goal of the season in Leicester's first win of the campaign, beating Swansea City 2–1. On 10 December, Vardy ended his ten-match drought within the opening five minutes against
Manchester City. He ended up scoring another two for his first professional hat-trick to help Leicester to a 4–2 victory, their first win in five league matches. A week later, he was sent off in the first half of a 2–2 draw at Stoke City for a challenge on
Mame Biram Diouf; Leicester appealed unsuccessfully against his three-match suspension. Vardy scored his first Champions League goal on 22 February 2017 in a 2–1 away defeat to
Sevilla in the first leg of the round of 16. On 18 April, he scored Leicester's equaliser in their second leg quarter-final match against
Atlético Madrid, but nonetheless Leicester were eliminated 2–1 on aggregate.
2017–19 in 2017 Vardy began his sixth season at the club by netting two goals in the 4–3 away loss to Arsenal in the opening day of the
2017–18 season. On 16 October, Vardy made his 200th appearance for the club in the 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion. Two weeks later, he scored the opener of a 2–0 home win against
Everton in
Claude Puel's debut match as Leicester manager. On 23 December 2017, Vardy scored his 50th Premier League goal in a 2–2 draw against Manchester United. By scoring twice in the final match of the season, a 5–4 away defeat by
Tottenham Hotspur, Vardy reached 20-goal landmark in the Premier League for the second time in his career. Overall, he made 42 appearances in all competitions, scoring 23 times as Leicester finished the Premier League in 9th place. Vardy was the recipient of the
BBC Goal of the Season award for a goal against West Bromwich Albion where he struck a first-time ball with his weaker foot that was looped over his shoulder at range by his strike partner Riyad Mahrez. On 9 August 2018, just before the start of the
2018–19 season, Vardy signed a new four-year contract at Leicester, keeping him at the club until June 2022. Vardy started the season as a substitute, scoring a 92nd minute consolation goal in the 2–1 away defeat to Manchester United in the opening match of the season. He was sent off in the following match after a harsh tackle on
Wolverhampton Wanderers defender
Matt Doherty. On 9 March 2019, Vardy scored his 100th goal for Leicester, scoring two goals in a 3–1 home win over Fulham. On 28 April 2019, Vardy scored another two goals, this time in a 3–0 home victory against Arsenal, bringing his goal tally in league football for Leicester to 100.
2019–20 season in 2019 On 25 October 2019, Vardy scored a hat-trick in a
9–0 away win against
Southampton. Vardy
scored his 100th and 101st goal in the Premier League on 4 July 2020 in a 3–0 victory over Crystal Palace. He became the first Leicester player to reach the 100 goal milestone, and the 29th overall in Premier League history. Of those 29 players, only
Ian Wright (28 years 286 days) made his debut in the competition at a greater age than Vardy (27 years 232 days). The 33-year-old Vardy became the oldest player to win the award;
Didier Drogba was the previous oldest when, aged 32, he led Chelsea to the
2009–10 Premier League title with 29 goals.
2020–22 On 26 August 2020, Vardy signed a new contract with Leicester City until June 2023. On 27 September, he scored his second hat-trick against Manchester City in a 5–2 away win. On 25 October, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Arsenal, to gain Leicester City their first away win against Arsenal since September 1973. On 6 December, while celebrating his last-minute goal in Leicester's 2–1 win against Sheffield United, Vardy slid into and destroyed a corner flag which was carrying the
rainbow flag colours as part of
Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign. Vardy later signed the flag and gave it to Foxes Pride, Leicester's
LGBT+ supporters group. On 15 May 2021, he started in the
2021 FA Cup final as Leicester defeated Chelsea 1–0, the first time the club had ever won the Cup. By playing in the final, Vardy became the first player to play in every round of the competition, including the preliminary stages. Before the
2021–22 season, Leicester would win the
2021 FA Community Shield over defending Premier League champions Manchester City.
2022–24 In the midst of Leicester City's battle to steer clear of relegation in the
2022–23 season, he emphasized that eluding relegation would stand as the pinnacle accomplishment of his career. Nevertheless, Leicester City faced relegation after ending up in the 18th position on the league table. Following captain
Jonny Evans' departure, Leicester manager
Enzo Maresca named Vardy club captain for the
2023–24 EFL Championship season. On 29 April 2024, he netted twice in a 3–0 away victory against
Preston, clinching the title for Leicester City and catapulting them straight back into the Premier League.
2024–25 season On 7 June 2024, Vardy announced he had signed a new one-year deal with the club. On 19 August, in Leicester's first match after their return to the Premier League, Vardy netted an equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur to help his team draw 1–1. Following Leicester City's confirmed relegation from the Premier League after a 1–0 home defeat to Liverpool, Vardy described the
2024–25 season as a "total embarrassment" and issued a heartfelt apology to fans. On 24 April 2025, it was announced that Vardy would leave Leicester at the end of the 2024–25 season. Vardy was the last remaining player from Leicester's 2016 title success still at the club. His final game also happened to be his 500th game for Leicester, and played on the exact date he signed for Leicester 13 years earlier (18 May 2012). In the game, Vardy scored his 200th goal for Leicester in the 28th minute, before going off to a standing ovation in the 80th minute as Leicester secured a 2–0 victory.
Cremonese On 1 September 2025, Italian
Serie A club
Cremonese announced the signing of Vardy as a free transfer on a one-year contract with an extension option. On 15 September, he made his debut as a substitute in an away goalless draw against
Hellas Verona. A month later, on 25 October, he scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw with
Atalanta. On 1 December, he scored twice in a 3–1 away win over
Bologna, his first
Serie A brace, as Cremonese ended Bologna's 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions. He subsequently won the
Serie A Player of the Month award for November, the first English player to do so. ==International career==