Ben Mee

Benjamin Thomas Mee (born 21 September 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Burnley.

Starting off with Manchester City, Mee only made one League Cup match for them before being loaned out to Leicester City and Burnley, joining the latter on a permanent basis. He has made over 200 appearances for them since then. He has also featured for the England youth teams from U19 to U21 level.

Manchester City

Mee was born in Sale, Greater Manchester. He first came to prominence for Manchester City as the captain of the City Academy squad which won the 2008 FA Youth Cup. He signed a two-year contract that would keep him at City until 2011.

Mee was given his first real test of first-team experience when he was taken on City's US tour in the summer of 2010, with club manager Roberto Mancini expressing that he wanted to blood his youth players and have a chance to see what they could do at a higher level than reserve fixtures. Mee made up two appearances, against Portland Timbers and New York Red Bulls.

After being given number 41 shirt, Mee followed up his tour appearances with a starting line-up appearance in the League Cup against West Bromwich Albion on 22 September 2010 in a 2–1 away loss. Alongside Mee making his debut, Javan Vidal and John Guidetti were given their first competitive appearances for the club in a match where three of the four players in the defensive line were young Elite Development Squad players and a full six of the starting line-up were aged 21 or younger and had come through the club's academy system.

Leicester City (loan)

On New Year's Day 2011, Mee joined former Manchester City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson's Leicester City side on loan for the rest of the 2010–11 season. After signing for the club, Mee would join his Manchester City's teammate Greg Cunningham at Leicester City. After two weeks yet playing them, Mee finally made his debut for Leicester City in a 4–2 win over Millwall. On 12 March 2011, Mee provided his first professional assist for Miguel Vítor to score his first goal in the match against Scunthorpe United which he scored twice later in the match which Leicester City won 3–0. On 25 April 2011, Mee provided another his second assist for Jeffrey Bruma to score against Watford in a 4–2 win.

After the end of 2010–11 season, Mee returned to Manchester City after 6 months at Leicester City. Following the sacking of Sven Göran Eriksson, Mee commented that he was sad to hear of the news.

Burnley

On 14 July 2011 it was confirmed that Mee had joined Burnley on a season long loan. Following his move to Burnley on loan, Mee hints that his good performance at Burnley could earn him a chance back at parent club Manchester City next year.

On 19 July 2011, Mee made his debut for Burnley in a pre-season friendly match against before coming off for David Edgar on the 67th minute in a 2–0 loss against League Two side Bristol Rovers. On 6 August 2011, Mee made his league debut for Burnley in a 2–2 draw against Watford and played 90 minutes until the end of the match. On 29 November 2011, Mee got his first clean sheet for Burnley without letting an opponent score, capping a perfect birthday for Burnley manager Eddie Howe in a 4–0 win over Ipswich Town.

On 10 January 2012, Burnley boss Eddie Howe expressed interest in signing Mee on a permanent basis with Manchester City sanctioning a sale just days after signing former Manchester City teammate Kieran Trippier who was also on loan at the club. Mee joined on a permanent three and a half-year deal on 17 January for an undisclosed fee. His move to Burnley has comes as no surprise to find that the club have moved to bring him on board full-time. During a match against Reading in a 1–0 loss on 27 February 2012, Mee made an impressive tremendous clearance by using his head to block a Noel Hunt shot to prevent Reading scoring for a second time. However, his season ended after suffering a slight back fracture which he sustained during a 5–1 win over Portsmouth. In combination of his loan spell and permanent spell at Burnley, Mee finished his season, making thirty-one appearances.

In the 2012–13 season, Mee started his season when he appeared sporadic at the start until he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–2 draw against Millwall on 28 September 2012. However soon after, Mee suffered a knee injury during the Lancashire derby, which kept him out for several weeks. Mee made his return from injury, on 11 March 2013, as Burnley and Hull City both drew 1–1. In the next match, on 17 March 2013, Mee was sent-off after a second bookable offense when Burnley meet Blackburn Rovers meet again, as they both drew 1–1. Soon after that, Mee continued to be sidelined with injuries, including missing out for the rest of the season.

In the 2013–14 season, Mee sustained a knee injury in the pre-season friendly and made a return, though he missed the first four matches, due to being on the bench. From late-December to January, Mee had been absent twice in weeks. Despite the absent, Mee played a vital role as a left-back position, where he helped the club get promoted to Premier League and made thirty-eight appearances.

In the 2014–15 season, Mee signed a three-year contract that would keep him until 2017. Mee made his first Premier League start of the season in the opening match as a left-back, as Burnley lost 3–1 to Chelsea. Mee went on to score the late equaliser for Burnley in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea to keep the final score 1–1, his goal being the second goal of the season Chelsea conceded from a corner kick.

At international level, Mee has represented England at under-21 level, making his debut as a substitute in a friendly against Germany.

As of match played 29 February 2020

Burnley

• Football League Championship: 2015–16; runner-up: 2013–14