Aaron James Ramsey (born 26 December 1990) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Cardiff City and captains the Wales national team.

Ramsey was a key player for Arsenal in the 2013–14 campaign, scoring 16 goals in all competitions, including the winner in the 2014 FA Cup final against Hull City.

Ramsey made his full international debut for Wales in 2008 and was part of their UEFA Euro 2016 campaign, where he helped his country to the semi-finals and was included in the Team of the Tournament.

[6] As a child, Ramsey attended Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni (Rhymney Valley Comprehensive School) in Caerphilly County Borough.

[10] He lived with his parents, Marlene and Kevin, and his brother, Josh, until moving to London where he was housemates with former Cardiff City teammate, Chris Gunter,[11] who was then playing for Tottenham Hotspur.

[12][13] After impressing in an Urdd tournament as a youngster he signed for Cardiff City, who beat off competition from Newcastle United, as a schoolboy at the age of eight, working his way through the club's youth system.

After a few more years he eventually made his debut in the last home game of the 2006–07 Championship season, coming on to replace Paul Parry in the final minute of the 1–0 defeat to Hull City on 28 April 2007.

In doing so, Ramsey became the youngest player to ever play for Cardiff City, aged just 16 years and 124 days,[14] beating the previous record holder John Toshack.

[15] Ramsey made his first league appearance of the 2007–08 season on 6 October, when he came on as a late substitute for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in the 2–1 home win over Burnley.

[17] Due to his performance against Chasetown, Ramsey was nominated for the Player of the Round award, eventually losing out to Coventry City's Michael Mifsud.

[32] In the League Cup fourth round win against Liverpool, on 28 October, he produced an impressive performance and set up Nicklas Bendtner earning himself the man of the match award.

[53] Ramsey again started for Cardiff in the South Wales derby against Swansea City where he provided an assist for Craig Bellamy in the game ending 1–0.

[74] On 19 December 2012, it was announced that Ramsey, along with teammates Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Carl Jenkinson, had signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.

[79] In the Premier League, Ramsey continued his fine form in Arsenal's 3–1 win over Fulham, helping Olivier Giroud score the first goal via a deflection, and being named man of the match.

[89] He also scored a crucial second-half header four days later against Borussia Dortmund in a 1–0 away victory in the Champions League group stages, bringing his goal tally to 13 in 21 appearances for club and country.

[95] On 12 April, he was named in the starting line-up for the first time since Boxing Day in the FA Cup semi-final against Wigan Athletic, playing 113 minutes before being substituted for Kim Källström.

[99] On 17 May, Ramsey scored the winning goal in the 109th minute of the 2014 FA Cup Final against Hull City, ending Arsenal's nine-year wait for a trophy.

[102] Six days later, in the club's first league match of the season, at home against Crystal Palace, he scored the winning goal in injury-time to secure a 2–1 comeback victory.

[107] On 30 May 2015, Ramsey was selected to start in the 2015 FA Cup Final, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium.

[114] Ramsey started in Arsenal's opening 2017–18 season Premier League fixture against Leicester City, bringing the Gunner's back to level at 3–3 in the 83rd minute in an eventual 4–3 victory.

He made a smart run on the brink of half time, receiving a pass from Mesut Özil before rounding Milan keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and slotting it into the empty net with great composure.

[127] His official club debut came on 18 September, when he made a second-half substitute appearance in Juventus' opening Champions League fixture of the 2019–20 season, a 2–2 away draw against Atlético Madrid.

[129] On 20 October 2020, Ramsey made his 50th Champions League appearance in a 2–0 away win over Dynamo Kyiv, becoming only the third Welsh male player to achieve this milestone in the competition after Ryan Giggs and Gareth Bale.

A part of the new wave of young talents to emerge from the Wales youth teams, he debuted for the U21 side on 21 August 2007 in a 4–3 away win over Sweden U21s several months shy of his seventeenth birthday, breaking former club mate Chris Gunter's record.

[155] On 22 March 2013, Ramsey scored an equalising 73rd-minute penalty in a 2–1 victory over fellow British rivals Scotland in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification fixture.

[171] Ultimately, Wales missed out on qualifying for the World Cup, as they lost to the Republic of Ireland in the final group match, with the Irish finishing above them in second place.

[179] He scored the opening goal in Wales's second group match on 16 June, a 2–0 win over Turkey;[180] he helped his country qualify for the round of 16, in which they were beaten 4–0 by Denmark.

[181] Ramsey missed the September matches of Wales' qualification group for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and returned the next month, where he scored against the Czech Republic.

[185] Ramsey played in the semi-finals and the final, overcoming Austria and Ukraine, respectively, thus cementing their place in history as the first Welsh squad to qualify for a World Cup in 64 years.

[199] During his time at Juventus, he was deployed in a new position on occasion under manager Maurizio Sarri, and was fielded as an offensive-minded central midfielder, known as the mezzala role in Italian football jargon.