Wolverhampton Wanderers His first-team debut for
Wolverhampton Wanderers came as a 17-year-old in the
2000–01 season against
Sheffield Wednesday at
Molineux on 13 August 2000. Lescott started to become a regular fixture in the Wolves team. During the
2002–03 season he missed only one league match and played in each of the club's
FA Cup fixtures. He was a member of the team that beat
Sheffield United 3–0 at the
Millennium Stadium in the
2003 First Division play-off final to win promotion to the
Premier League for the
2003–04 season. Despite Wolves gaining promotion, Lescott was unable to participate in the 2003–04 season due to knee surgery, preventing him from competing in the Premier League. Wolves were subsequently relegated and, upon completing his rehabilitation, Lescott returned to compete in the Championship. In October 2005, Lescott agreed a two-and-a-half-year extension to his contract at Wolves. At the conclusion of the
2005–06 season, he was named in the
Championship PFA Team of the Year.
Everton in 2008 Lescott was sold to
Everton at the start of the
2006–07 season for an immediate payment of £2 million, followed by a further £2 million paid in instalments and a final £1 million contingent on appearances. The transfer was slightly delayed as Everton asked for extra medical checks to be taken on Lescott's knee following the reconstruction of the joint earlier in his career. Lescott made his Everton debut in August 2006 during a victory over
Watford and his first start of the season away to
Tottenham Hotspur, after
Alan Stubbs injured his groin in the previous match against
Blackburn Rovers. The match was Everton's first victory at
White Hart Lane in two decades, and Lescott was named man of the match. Lescott started again in the next match, the 204th
Merseyside derby, a 3–0 victory for Everton. Lescott's first Everton goal came in a 1–1 draw against
Aston Villa at
Villa Park on 2 April 2007. Lescott was voted the Players' Player of the Season for 2006–07 by his teammates. He also finished second behind
Mikel Arteta in the Fans' Player of the Season. The start of the
2007–08 season saw Lescott score three goals in the first eight matches of the season. He did not quite manage to continue scoring at that rate, but he ended the campaign with 10 goals in all competitions and the highest shot-to-goal ratio in the Premier League: 42.1%. At the end of season awards, Lescott was voted Everton's Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season. The start of the 2007–08 season saw Lescott move to the left-back position after
Joseph Yobo and
Phil Jagielka's successful partnership at the centre of Everton's defence provided manager
David Moyes with a selection dilemma. On 7 December 2008, Lescott played superbly against Aston Villa scoring two goals, even though Everton lost 3–2. On 25 January 2009, Lescott scored Everton's only goal – a close-range header – in the FA Cup fourth round meeting with
Liverpool. The match ended as a 1–1 draw, but Everton went through by scoring the replay's only goal in extra-time on 4 February. Lescott played for Everton in the
2009 FA Cup Final at
Wembley Stadium on 30 May, resulting in a 2–1 defeat to
Chelsea. Following the end of the 2008–09 season,
Manchester City attempted to sign Lescott, but Everton publicly rejected two offers. On 11 August 2009, Lescott submitted a formal written transfer request, which was immediately rejected by Everton. Manager David Moyes refused a request from Lescott to be taken out of the squad for the first home match of the season, a 6–1 defeat to Arsenal. Lescott received a mixed reaction from Evertonians when the teams were announced on the PA system.
Manchester City in 2010 The ongoing saga finally came to an end when Lescott moved to Manchester City for a fee speculated to be £22 million with Lescott signing a five-year contract with the club on 25 August 2009. Lescott made his debut for City on 27 August in a 2–0 League Cup away victory over
Crystal Palace and scored his first City goal in a 2–2 draw with
Fulham on 25 October 2009. Lescott's first season and a half proved to be a frustrating time for the defender with him struggling to find the form he had shown at Everton, along with picking up a number of injuries, which included re-injuring his knee after hyper-extending it in a 3–3 away draw with
Bolton Wanderers.
Roberto Mancini replaced
Mark Hughes as manager in December 2009 and preferred Lescott after his return from injury to
Kolo Touré to partner the fast improving
Vincent Kompany for a few months which in this time, including an impressive 4–2 win over Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge in March 2010. With Lescott finally showing good form he would once again find himself frustrated after picking up another niggling injury, which would see him struggle to get back into the team in his preferred central defensive role for the foreseeable future. On 28 December 2010, Lescott scored a header, City's first of the season, in the 4–0 victory over Aston Villa at the
City of Manchester Stadium, but during the January 2011 transfer window, with Lescott making few first-team appearances during the first half of the
2010–11 season, there was speculation that he would be moving back to Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan, Roberto Mancini however continually insisted that Lescott was a part of his plans. In February 2011, Kolo Touré was suspended for failing a
drug test, this would represent a huge opportunity for Lescott who was reinstalled as the partner of Kompany in central defence. Lescott went from strength to strength as the two formed a formidable defensive partnership. On 17 April 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes against
Manchester United in the 1–0 FA Cup semi-final victory at Wembley Stadium as City reached their first major-final since
1981. On 25 April, eight days after that win over their rivals, Lescott partnered Kompany again in an important match against Blackburn Rovers at
Ewood Park and completing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win, also making his 30th appearance of the season for City in the process. Lescott was part of the Manchester City team that won the FA Cup, beating
Stoke City 1–0 in
the final at Wembley Stadium and ending a 35-year wait for a major trophy in the process. He would also score two more headers in the final two matches of the season, in a 3–0 win against Stoke City three days later and also against Bolton Wanderers in a 2–0 win, as City ended the season in third position and qualified for the
UEFA Champions League for the first time. On 7 August 2011, in the
2011 FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium, Lescott scored in a 3–2 loss against Manchester United. This would prove to be City's last defeat on English soil until a 2–1 defeat by Chelsea on 12 December. During this time, Lescott firmly established himself as a vital part of the team in defence as City recorded 5–1 and 6–1 away victories over Tottenham and Manchester United respectively, in which Lescott started both and assisted a goal in the victory over United. Lescott scored an own goal in a 1–1 draw with Liverpool at
Anfield in November but continued to show strong form throughout the season. Lescott also made his Champions League debut against
Napoli, though City failed to progress past the group stages. On 22 January 2012, Lescott scored a goal in a 3–2 win against Tottenham, giving City a 2–0 lead at the time. He was an unused substitute as City were beaten 1–0 by
Wigan Athletic in the
2013 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on 11 May. In 2014, Lescott was reportedly offered the chance to leave Manchester City with clubs such as
West Ham being linked as prospective destinations, and a deal being agreed at one point. However, Lescott turned down a move to "win trophies" before seeing what happened at the end of the season. Lescott fulfilled his wishes, winning the
League Cup and the
2013–14 Premier League.
West Bromwich Albion in 2014 Lescott signed for
West Bromwich Albion on 20 June 2014 on a
free transfer, signing a two-year contract with the option of a further year. He was the first signing for the club by
Alan Irvine, with whom he had previously worked at Everton, and he also knew his assistant
Rob Kelly from Wolves. Following six
clean sheets in only ten matches under new
manager Tony Pulis, Lescott was praised by the fans with some calling for a call-up back into the
England squad.
Aston Villa On 1 September 2015, Lescott signed for fellow Premier League club Aston Villa.
In December 2008, Lescott had been revealed as a Villa fan when he put two past Villa for Everton and still lost the match. When signing for Villa, Lescott confirmed to the
Birmingham Mail he has been an Aston Villa fan from a young age. Lescott made his debut twelve days later, playing the entirety of a 3–2 loss away to
Leicester City. On 5 December, he scored his first goal for Villa, finishing
Jordan Veretout's corner kick to open a 1–1 draw at
Southampton. Lescott scored again for
The Villans when another of his headers was fumbled by
Wayne Hennessey in what proved to be the only goal in a 1–0 win over Crystal Palace on 12 January 2016, just the team's second win of the 2015–16 season and first of 20 matches, and their first clean sheet since 8 November. On 6 February 2016, Lescott was on the score sheet again in a 2–0 victory over
Norwich City, his header finding its way past
Declan Rudd from
Carles Gil's corner. Eight days later, after last-placed Villa lost 0–6 at home to Liverpool, Lescott drew the ire of fans when he
tweeted a picture of a luxury car. He later claimed that this was an accident when his mobile was in his pocket, and apologised for the performance. In a season that ended with relegation, Lescott's performances, efforts and attitude were criticised by the fans and press. In April 2016, Lescott again angered fans with controversial comments following the club's confirmed relegation to the Championship after losing to Manchester United. He described the relegation as "a weight off the shoulders" and that they "can give these fans what they deserve – some performances". The 34-year-old defender suffered a detached cartilage in his knee while cycling in his apartment. The injury ruled Lescott out for the remainder of the season. The player refused to get help from the team's doctors and insisted on completing his rehabilitation in the UK. AEK Athens did not agree to the player's wishes and additional demands, which resulted in his contract being terminated on 14 November 2016 by mutual consent.
Sunderland On 24 January 2017,
Sunderland signed Lescott on a short-term contract until the end of the season. His departure was confirmed on 9 June 2017.
Racing Murcia On 27 November 2020, three years after Lescott's retirement, Spanish
Tercera División side
Racing Murcia announced they had signed Lescott to play in their
Copa del Rey match against
Levante. Lescott later announced that he had not agreed to officially sign when the club announced the signing and was still only in preliminary discussions. ==International career==