Rico Lewis

Rico Henry Mark Lewis (born 21 November 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Manchester City.

Rico Lewis
Personal information
Full name Rico Henry Mark Lewis[1]
Date of birth (2004-11-21) 21 November 2004[2]
Place of birth Bury, England
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Manchester City
Number 82
Youth career
2013–2022 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Manchester City 11 (0)
International career‡
2019–2020 England U16 4 (0)
2021– England U18 7 (1)
2022 England U19 3 (0)
2023– England U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:05, 6 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:28, 29 March 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Lewis joined Manchester City at the age of eight and captained the club's under-18 side for the 2021–22 season.[3] He was named on City's bench for the first time for Manchester City's first game of the 2022–23 season, and made his Premier League debut a week later, on 13 August 2022, against Bournemouth, coming on as an 82nd minute substitute for Kyle Walker.[4][5]

On 5 October 2022, Lewis made his Champions League debut for Manchester City in a 5–0 win against Copenhagen, entering as a substitute for João Cancelo,[6] a player he has been compared to.[7] On 2 November 2022, Lewis scored his first Champions League goal in a 3–1 win against Sevilla;[8] hence, he became the all-time 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.[9][10] Lewis suffered racist abuse during the match from Sevilla fans.[11]

In 2022, he was shortlisted for that year's BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award.[12]

International career

In September 2021, Lewis scored for the England under-18 team in a draw against Wales.[13]

On 21 September 2022, Lewis made his England U19 debut during a 2–0 2023 U19 EURO qualifying win over Montenegro in Denmark.[14]

On 17 March 2023, Lewis received his first call up to the England U21s.[15] He made his debut on 28 March 2023 during a 2-1 defeat to Croatia at Craven Cottage.[16]

Personal life

Born in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, Lewis is of Jamaican descent.[17] His father owns a boxing gym, and Lewis received inspiration from the boxer Muhammad Ali.[18]

Career statistics
As of match played 6 May 2023[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester City U21 2021–22 ————1[lower-alpha 1]010
Manchester City 2022–23 Premier League 11050202[lower-alpha 2]100201
Career total 11050202110211
  1. Appearance in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

References
  1. Rico Lewis at Soccerway
  2. "Rico Lewis". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  3. "Rico Lewis player profile". Manchester City F.C. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  4. Edwards, John. "Slick City cruise to victory over Bournemouth". Manchester City F.C. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  5. "Manchester City 4–0 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  6. "Relentless Haaland at the double as Man City crush Copenhagen". ESPN FC. Reuters. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  7. "Rico Lewis: Man City's academy star could become the next Cancelo | Goal.com". Goal (website).
  8. "Man City 3–1 Sevilla: Rico Lewis makes Champions League history as City end Group G with victory". Sky Sports. 2 November 2022.
  9. "Manchester City 3–1 Sevilla". BBC Sport. 2 November 2022.
  10. "Teenager Lewis a dream for Man City – Guardiola". BBC Sport.
  11. "Man City condemn racist abuse of 17-year-old Lewis". BBC Sport.
  12. "Young Sports Personality 2022: Sky Brown, Jessica Gadirova & Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix on shortlist". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  13. "Wales U18 1–1 England U18: Rico Lewis cancels out Luke Harris opener". BBC Sport. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  14. "Report: England MU19s 2–0 Montenegro". England Football. Frank Smith. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  15. "England MU21s squad to play France and Croatia". England Football. Nick Veevers. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  16. "Report: England MU21s 1-2 Croatia". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  17. "What is the deal with Rico Lewis?". Reggae Boyz Commentary. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023 – via YouTube.
  18. Mumford, Jack (15 October 2022). "RICO LEWIS' INSPIRATIONS: HIS DAD, MUHAMMAD ALI AND KYLE WALKER". Manchester City F.C. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
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