Joleon Lescott: Ex-Man City star comes out of retirement to make surprise Spanish move

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Former England and Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has come out of retirement to join Spanish minnows Racing Murcia.

The shock decision comes three years after the 38-year-old last turned out for Sunderland with his final game ending in a 5-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a season that resulted in relegation to the Championship for the Black Cats.

During his career, Lescott won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup, all coming throughout his time at the Etihad Stadium, but will now feature in Spain’s fourth tier.

Since retiring in 2017 the centre-back had been working as the Citizens loans manager to help with the development of Pep Guardiola’s young stars while they’re away from the club, as well as appearing as a pundit.

Joleon Lescott snapshot:

But now Lescott has made the surprise decision to return to his playing days with Murcia, who announced the signing on their Twitter account.

The tweet states: “Our president Morris Pagniello and the club are happy to announce the signing of English star Joleon Lescott, who will play the Copa Del Rey game against Levante UD.”

Julio Algar’s men face La Liga side Levante in the Spanish Cup on 16th December in what is set to be a huge occasion for the side plying their trade in the Tercera Division.

Real Murcia are Lescott’s seventh side in a career spanning 14 years and over 500 appearances, having previously played for Wolves, Everton, West Brom, Sunderland and AEK Athens, as well as City.

At the peak of his career, Lescott was also a regular in the England squad. He made 26 appearances for the Three Lions between 2007 and 2013, scoring a single goal against France in Euro 2012 – a fixture that ended 1-1.