Ryan McGowan, born on 15 August 1989 (age 36) in Australia, is a central defender for Livingston. Standing 6ft 3in (1.91m) tall and weighing 11st 11lb (75kg), McGowan dons the number 5 jersey. His current market value is around £63.5, according to Transfermarkt.
In January 2008, McGowan joined Hearts in the Scottish Premiership. His debut season (2007 - 2008) saw him make a single appearance in a league match. Subsequent seasons showed a steady increase in appearances, culminating in the 2011 - 2012 season, where he achieved 28 appearances and netted two goals. His last season with Hearts (2012 - 2013) recorded 20 appearances.
During this time, McGowan had multiple loan spells. First, a transfer to Ayr United in the Championship in October 2009 saw him play in 28 first team matches and score once. Upon his return to Hearts, he made further appearances before embarking on his second loan spell to Partick Thistle in February 2011, where he played in eight league matches.
January 2013 marked a significant shift for McGowan as he transferred from Hearts to Chinese Super League's Shandong Taishan for a fee of around £400k. In his time at Shandong, he made 46 appearances and scored twice.
McGowan returned to Scotland with Dundee United in January 2015, making a total of 34 first team appearances in league matches over two seasons. However, an offer from another Chinese Super League team, Henan, saw him depart Dundee in February 2016 for a fee of around £300k.
Subsequent years saw McGowan playing for teams in different parts of the world, including Guizhou in China, Sharjah in the UAE, Bradford City in England and Dundee in Scotland (on loan). His stint at Bradford City was followed by a move to Sydney FC in the Australian A-League in July 2019. Two seasons at Sydney yielded a combined 48 appearances.
After a short stint in Kuwait with Al Kuwait, McGowan returned to Scotland in July 2022, signing with St Johnstone. Over the next two seasons, he made 57 appearances and scored twice. In July 2024, he transferred to his current club, Livingston, where he has so far made a total of 44 appearances in league matches.
McGowan has also participated in the League Cup 2025 - 2026 for Livingston with five starts, and Premiership Play-offs 2024 - 2025 for Livingston with four starts.
