Rico Mark Lewis (born 21 November 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left or right-back or defensive midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the England national team.[4]

Rico Lewis
Lewis with Manchester City in 2024
Personal information
Full name Rico Mark Lewis
Date of birth (2004-11-21) 21 November 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth Bury, Greater Manchester, England
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.69 m)[1]
Position(s) Full-back, defensive midfielder[2][3]
Team information
Current team
Manchester City
Number 82
Youth career
0000–2022 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Manchester City 41 (2)
International career
2019–2020 England U16 3 (0)
2021–2022 England U18 7 (1)
2022 England U19 3 (0)
2023– England U21 6 (0)
2023– England 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:18, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:10, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Early life

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Rico Mark Lewis[5] was born on 21 November 2004[1] in Bury, Greater Manchester.[6] When he was young, Lewis was inspired by the boxer Muhammad Ali.[7] He is of Jamaican descent.[8] Lewis was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with a degree in Philosophy in 2022.

Club career

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Early career

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Lewis joined Manchester City's academy at the age of eight and joined the club's under-18 team at the age of 15. He captained the team for the 2021–22 season, with the team winning the title.[9]

2022–23 season

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Lewis was named on City's bench for the first time for Manchester City's first match of the 2022–23 seasonand made his Premier League debut a week later, on 13 August 2022, against AFC Bournemouth, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Kyle Walker.[10][11] On 5 October, Lewis made his UEFA Champions League debut for Manchester City in a 5–0 win against Copenhagen, entering as a substitute for João Cancelo.[12]

After a string of substitute appearances, Lewis was given his first start in the Champions League on 2 November 2022, scoring the equaliser in a 3–1 comeback win against Sevilla.[13] In doing so, he became the youngest scorer on a first start in a Champions League match, and City's youngest ever Champions League scorer, aged 17 years and 346 days.[14][15] Lewis received racist abuse during the match from Sevilla fans.[16] On 28 December, he was given his first start in the Premier League, in a 3–1 win over Leeds United, playing until the 68th minute, coming off for João Cancelo.[17]

On 20 May 2023, Manchester City won the 2022–23 Premier League title, with Lewis playing 14 matches, starting 10.[18] His team also won the FA Cup, with him playing all games but the final, completing a domestic double. On 10 June, his team won the Champions League for the first time, with Lewis being an unused substitute in the final, completing a continental treble.[19]

2023–present

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Lewis playing for Manchester City in 2023

On 16 August 2023, Lewis signed a new five-year contract with City.[20] He scored his first league goal for the club on 16 December in a 2–2 draw at home to Crystal Palace.[21]

On 22 December, Lewis started in central midfield in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup final, playing 60 minutes as City beat Fluminense 4–0 in Jeddah to become world champions for the first time.[22]

International career

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In September 2021, Lewis scored for the England national under-18 team in a draw against Wales.[23]

On 21 September 2022, Lewis made his under-19 debut in a 2–0 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification win over Montenegro in Denmark.[24]

Lewis made his debut for the under-21s on 28 March 2023 in a 2–1 defeat to Croatia at Craven Cottage.[25]

On 13 November 2023, Lewis received his first call-up to the senior England national team ahead of their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Malta and North Macedonia.[26] He made his debut on 20 November, playing the entirety of a 1–1 draw away to North Macedonia, a result that ensured England top seeding at Euro 2024.[27]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 26 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester City U21 2021–22[28] 1[a] 0 1 0
2022–23[29] 1[a] 0 1 0
Total 2 0 2 0
Manchester City 2022–23[29] Premier League 14 0 5 0 2 0 2[b] 1 23 1
2023–24[30] Premier League 16 2 2 0 1 0 7[b] 0 1[c] 0 27 2
2024–25[31] Premier League 11 0 0 0 2 0 5[b] 0 1[d] 0 19 0
Total 41 2 7 0 5 0 14 1 2 0 69 3
Career total 41 2 7 0 5 0 14 1 4 0 71 3
  1. ^ a b Appearance in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
  4. ^ Appearance in FA Community Shield

International

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As of match played 14 November 2024[32]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
England 2023 1 0
2024 4 0
Total 5 0

Honours

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Manchester City

References

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  1. ^ a b "R. Lewis: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Rico Lewis: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Rico Lewis". WhoScored.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Rico Lewis is Guardiola's pocket-sized hero for Manchester City | Manchester City | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Updated Premier League squad lists for 2022/23". Premier League. 4 February 2023. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Rico Lewis: Academy to First Team". Manchester City F.C. 26 November 2022. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  7. ^ Mumford, Jack (15 October 2022). "RICO LEWIS' INSPIRATIONS: HIS DAD, MUHAMMAD ALI AND KYLE WALKER". Manchester City F.C. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Which country is Rico Lewis from? Does Rico Lewis play for England? - ABTC".
  9. ^ "Rico Lewis player profile". Manchester City F.C. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  10. ^ Edwards, John. "Slick City cruise to victory over Bournemouth". Manchester City F.C. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Manchester City 4–0 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 13 August 2022. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Relentless Haaland at the double as Man City crush Copenhagen". ESPN. Reuters. 5 October 2022. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Man City 3–1 Sevilla: Rico Lewis makes Champions League history as City end Group G with victory". Sky Sports. 2 November 2022. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Manchester City 3–1 Sevilla". BBC Sport. 2 November 2022. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Teenager Lewis a dream for Man City – Guardiola". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Man City condemn racist abuse of 17-year-old Lewis". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Leeds United 1–3 Manchester City". SofaScore. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Manchester City win Premier League title after Arsenal lose at Nottingham Forest". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  19. ^ Jackson, Jamie (20 May 2023). "How Rico Lewis helped harden up Manchester City's treble surge". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Rico Lewis signs new five-year deal".
  21. ^ Johnson, Isaac (26 December 2023). "'Down to us' - Rico Lewis makes honest Man City admission after Crystal Palace draw". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Manchester City vs Fluminense 4-0: Club World Cup final – as it happened". Al Jazeera. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  23. ^ "Wales U18 1–1 England U18: Rico Lewis cancels out Luke Harris opener". BBC Sport. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  24. ^ Smith, Frank (21 September 2022). "Report: England MU19s 2–0 Montenegro". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  25. ^ "Report: England MU21s 1-2 Croatia". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  26. ^ Walker, Andy (13 November 2023). "England men's squad updates: Lewis, Palmer and Konsa called up". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  27. ^ Rindl, Joe (20 November 2023). "North Macedonia 1–1 England". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  28. ^ "Games played by Rico Lewis in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  29. ^ a b "Games played by Rico Lewis in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  30. ^ "Games played by Rico Lewis in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  31. ^ "Games played by Rico Lewis in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  32. ^ "Rico Lewis: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Rico Lewis: Overview". Premier League. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  34. ^ McNulty, Phil (3 June 2023). "Manchester City 2–1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  35. ^ "Manchester City 1–2 Manchester United: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  36. ^ "Manchester City 1–1 Manchester United: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  37. ^ McNulty, Phil (10 June 2023). "Manchester City 1–0 Inter Milan". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  38. ^ McNulty, Phil (16 August 2023). "Manchester City 1–1 Sevilla". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  39. ^ "Manchester City 4–0 Fluminense". BBC Sport. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
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