A Sunderland flop who failed to turn the relegation tide in the 2016/17 disaster season for Sunderland has appeared in the influencer-led Baller League on Monday evening for a certain Newcastle legend’s team.
In news away from the Stadium of Light, a former Sunderland defender who played two times for the Mackems was revealed to be featuring in the Baller League UK.
The influencer-led football league has taken social media by storm, with former Premier League players, futsal stars, and celebrities facing each other as 12 teams compete to win the Baller League.
One particular inclusion piqued the interest of Sunderland supporters this week, after his two-game career on Wearside culminated in the club’s heartbreaking relegation from the Premier League into the Championship.
In the latest set of clashes, the former David Moyes signing made his first footballing appearance since his Black Cats days over seven years ago, as a Baller League ‘wildcard’.
Sunderland flop Joleon Lescott features in Baller League
Joleon Lescott made only two appearances during his 2016/17 stint at Sunderland. The centre-back was previously at Greek outfit AEK Athens prior to his Wearside move, where he had his contract terminated by the Greece Super League side, after disputes over where Lescott would complete his rehab from a long-term injury.
The former Everton and Manchester City defender was signed under Moyes — whom he played under at the Toffees from 2006 until 2009 — on a short-term contract in the January window as the Black Cats battled to stave off relegation.
Lescott joined Sunderland with them three points from safety at the foot of the Premier League.
Upon his Sunderland arrival, Lescott said: “I’m over the moon, I spoke to the manager last week, he said there was some interest, I’m delighted to get it done. He’s an experienced manager, if anyone can get us out I’m sure it will be him.”
On the final day of the 2016/17 Premier League season, in which Sunderland’s relegation fate had already been mathematically confirmed weeks prior, Lescott played the full 90 minutes in the Black Cats’ 5-1 defeat at Chelsea.
Over 2,800 days on since his last Sunderland appearance, now 42-year-old Lescott was drafted into the Baller League by fellow former Premier League defender Micah Richards for the former Manchester City man’s Deportrio side.
Deportrio, managed by Richards, Newcastle legend Alan Shearer, and Leicester legend Gary Lineker, beat N5 FC 7-3 as Lescott made a winning impact in his only appearance so far in the Baller League.
Joleon Lescott’s staggering Sunderland salary
Lescott made only two appearances for Sunderland in a season that will live long in the memories of supporters as the worst they’ve ever witnessed at the Stadium of Light.
Under former Sunderland owner Ellis Short, Lescott’s staggering Sunderland salary was reported by capology.com as being just shy of £30,000 per week, prior to his retirement the following summer after the Black Cats’ relegation.
Lescott was joined by a host of Moyes’ former Everton favourites who failed to flatter on Wearside, including Steven Pienaar, Darron Gibson, and Victor Anichebe. Dreadful signings such as those, and Lescott’s, never gave Sunderland a fighting chance at survival.
| Clubs | Joleon Lescott’s appearances |
| Wolves | 212 |
| Everton | 113 |
| Manchester City | 107 |
| West Brom | 36 |
| Aston Villa | 30 |
| AEK Athens | 4 |
| Sunderland | 2 |
Contrasting to today, despite being still stuck in the Championship, the difference in recruitment and talent at Sunderland is night and day as the Black Cats battle for promotion with seven games to go.
Jobe Bellingham could follow in brother Jude’s footsteps at Dortmund, academy graduate Chris Rigg is wanted by Moyes at Everton ironically, and full-back Trai Hume was scouted by Premier League sides.
Recruiting and developing some of the country’s finest footballing talents is a far-cry from the days of mercenaries and journeymen who saw Sunderland as an easy payday, as many of Lescott’s former Black Cats teammates did. How times have changed for the better on Wearside.