The Linfield striker is from Omagh and his father was former Irish League forward John McDaid who played most notably for Glentoran, as well as Portadown and hometown club Omagh Town, plus League of Ireland sides Derry City and Finn Harps.

His first involvement as a kid was with Omagh United – a youth team for the now extinct Omagh Town. McDaid’s youth career progressed with Maiden City as he was persuaded to make the move because their coach John Cunningham had played with Robbie’s father John at Derry City. After impressing in the Milk Cup and Foyle Cup youth tournaments as a teenager, Robbie was signed for Glenavon by Davy Maguire.

McDaid was handed an Irish League debut at 15 by former Glenavon manager Gary Hamilton and he marked his debut with a goal in a Cup match against H&W Welders. In 2013 he had trials with Aston Villa, Southampton and Reading, as well as Huddersfield who offered him a contract, but he turned it down in favour of staying at Glenavon to gain another year’s experience of senior football.

After scoring twice for a Northern Ireland Under-17 team, McDaid caught the eye of Leeds United who invited the striker over for a trial which was ultimately successful. Brian McDermott was the Leeds manager who signed McDaid, but he was dismissed by the time McDaid arrived at the club in the summer of 2014. During his two years at Leeds, the whites had five managers and McDaid didn’t make a senior appearance. He spent the second half of the 2015/16 season on loan at Lincoln City where he scored four times in 16 appearances in the National League. McDaid turned down a permanent offer to stay at Lincoln before moving to York City at the start of the 2016/17 season, however the move didn’t work out as he made just six appearances before returning home to Northern Ireland in January 2017.

Robbie followed in his father’s footsteps in January 2017 when he signed for Glentoran. Gary Haveron was the manager who brought Robbie to Glentoran and he went on to also play under Ronnie McFaul and Mick McDermott. McDaid scored 66 goals and assisted 25 times in 169 appearances for Glentoran where he won the Irish Cup in 2020, scoring the winner against David Jeffrey’s Ballymena United in the final.

McDaid then signed a pre-contract with the Blues in 2022 to become a Linfield player upon the opening of the transfer window on July 1, 2022, following the expiry of his contract at Glentoran. He made his debut in a 1-0 defeat away to TNS in a UEFA Champions League first round, first leg qualifier, and scored his first goal in Linfield colours in a 4-0 win away to Ballymena United on September 3, 2022.

The Blues won the League Cup in McDaid’s first season, however he missed the final due to picking up a severe ACL injury in a home win over Carrick Rangers in February 2023 – an injury which brought an abrupt end to his season. McDaid scored 9 times in 40 appearances in his first season at Windsor Park. His ACL injury ruled him out for nine months until mid-December 2023 when he scored a hat-trick for Linfield Swifts in his first match back, before suffering another devastating, serious injury in his second match back which meant his second season was over without making a first team appearance.

McDaid is contracted with Linfield until the end of the 2024-25 season.