‘I went from Premier League winner to playing in Greece – the ultras waited by my car’

Joleon Lescott swapped Premier League glory for AEK Athens when trying a new challenge towards the end of his career – and there he met their ultras.

Lescott tasted top-flight success in both 2011/12 and 2013/14 with Manchester City after leaving Everton for the Etihad, leaving for West Brom in 2014 before joining AEK from Aston Villa.

Despite only playing four games for the Greek Super League giants after suffering detached cartilage in his knee – he left with plenty of memories.

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Speaking in his role with AceOdds, Lescott told Daily Star Sport when asked if anything took him by surprise on his move to Greece in 2016: “A lot of stuff was unexpected, or just stuff I wasn’t used to!

“I remember for the derby game, we played Olympiacos, and the fans come to the hotel that we stay in and are in the reception area. Then the captain come and knocked on my door, and was like: ‘we’re going downstairs, the fans are here’.

“When I say fans, I don’t just mean a couple of them looking for autographs, it’s the ultras with flares in reception.

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“I had a routine before games, just do what I needed to do; chill, ice, and recover. And I was like: ‘Oh yeah? Na, I’ll leave it.’ He said: ‘No, I’m not asking. We’re going down’.

“So we went down there and it was going off. They were singing and chanting and obviously letting us know how important this game was.

“And then equally we lost the game, but we had a few days off, so I was going home. So my car was in the car park, and then we came back, and they were waiting. All the ultras were waiting there.

“But as we got off the coach, I could go the other way to get to my car and go to the airport. So I didn’t see the outcome of that. That was a pretty new experience, I should say.

“But overall, players and staff members were good. The majority of them were great, the ones that I worked with – but a different, very different experience.”

Lescott, who made 26 appearances for England and scored against France at Euro 2012, retired after a spell with Sunderland in 2017 and can now be seen on BT Sport as well as in his role as loans manager at City.

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