David Bates

The latest in our series of interviews with Scottish footballers who have played outside of the UK. David Bates talks to John Walker about his career in the Scotland, Germany, England & Belgium.

David started his football career with his local side Raith Rovers where he spent 5 years developing his style including loan moves to East Stirlingshire & Brechin City. In 2016 he moved to his boyhood team, Rangers, as a development loan that turned into a full signing.

About David Bates

David started his football career with his local side Raith Rovers where he spent 5 years developing his style including loan moves to East Stirlingshire & Brechin City. In 2016 he moved to his boyhood team, Rangers, as a development loan that turned into a full signing.

In the summer of 2018 he moved to Germany to play for Hamburg. The historically successful side had just suffered their first ever relegation to the Bundesliga 2. A huge impact made Bates an instant fan favourite until injuries hampered his season both in Hamburg and his loan to Sheffield Wednesday.

He is currently on loan at Cercle Brugge in the Belgian Pro League. We discuss his hopes for the seasons ahead and his ambition to add to his 4 international caps so far.

The podcast

Scots Abroad interviews are available to listen on all podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts. You can also find them on Spotify and YouTube. Each episode John Walker speaks to a Scottish sports person about their upbringing and career in Scotland. This is followed by discussing the reasons and decisions that led to them choosing to move outside the UK to further their career.