Phillip Bardsley, an English footballer, was born on June 28, 1985 in Salford. He studied at Hope High School, Salford, along with Mark Howard, a former Manchester United team-mate. As a child, Phillip Bardsley grew up near Manchester United’s old training ground, the Cliff and used to go there to watch the players practise. He initially trained at Charlestown Lads Club before he joined the youth ranks at Manchester United in 1994, when he was eight years old. Phillip Bardsley rose through the ranks rapidly and went on to become the only current player then, who advanced through all the levels of Manchester United academy before his transfer to Sunderland.
Phillip Bardsley represented Manchester United in the Under-17s and was a part of the team that won the Football Association (FA) Youth Cup during 2002-03 season. He progressed to the senior side of the club in 2003, when he played full 90 minutes of a Carling Cup match against West Brom and was praised by Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, for his outstanding performance.
In January 2004 Phillip Bardsley also played as a substitute in a 3-0 win at FA Cup against Northampton before going on a four-month loan to Royal Antwerp, Manchester United's Belgian feeder club, for which he made six appearances. On March 16, 2006 Phillip Bardsley transferred to Burnley on loan and stayed with the club till the end of the season and featured in six games for it.
At the start of the 2006-07 season, Phillip Bardsley went on a loan to Rangers, a Scottish Premier League club, and he scored his first goal for it on September 9, 2006 in a match against Falkirk. After making 5 appearances for Rangers, he moved to Aston Villa on loan on January 8, 2007 and played his first Premiership match for it on January 20 against Watford. He starred in thirteen matches for Aston Villa and on the completion of his loan period he returned to United. In 2007 Phillip Bardsley was again loaned out, this time to Sheffield United and went on to make his full debut for the club in a 1-1 draw with Preston at Bramall Lane. In January 2008, he returned to Manchester United after playing 16 games for Sheffield United.
On January 22, 2008 Phillip Bardsley joined Sunderland by signing a three-and-a-half-year contract and made his first appearance for the club at the Premier League on January 29 in a 2-0 win against Birmingham. Phillip Bardsley scored his first goal in English football on August 27, 2008 in a Carling Cup match against Nottingham Forest, which resulted in a draw.
