Joleon Lescott has revealed that England's youth players were left embarrassed after failing to recognise a young Cristiano Ronaldo, who proceeded to torment them in a match. The former Manchester City defender recalled how the Portuguese winger, then an unknown talent, forced both opposing full-backs to be substituted during a game between England Under-20s and Portugal in 2003.
An Unknown Prodigy
Before Ronaldo became a global superstar at Manchester United and Real Madrid, he was an 18-year-old showcasing his skills for Portugal's youth teams and Sporting CP. In 2003, England's Under-20s faced Portugal in France, and Lescott recounted how the future Ballon d'Or winner ran the English defence ragged.
Speaking on the podcast In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet, Lescott said: "We played Portugal and everyone is going there and everyone knew [Ricardo] Quaresma. It was away. At that time, when you were sponsored, the elite players had the elite boots. You turn up there and Quaresma has got the bright orange [Nike] Vapors on. Only like top players got them. You had to have a mad sponsor. But the other winger had them on. We were all thinking, 'Who is this guy?' It was him, Cristiano. We didn't know."
A Humbling Experience
Shaking his head in disbelief, Lescott added: "We didn't know him, but he got both full-backs subbed that game. They swapped them over and both came off!" The match served as a stark introduction to a player who would go on to become one of the greatest of all time.
Nedum Onuoha, Lescott's former City teammate, also shared a similar experience from his time with England's youth setup. Recalling a 2005 European Under-21 Championship qualifying play-off against France at White Hart Lane, Onuoha said: "Walking onto the pitch before the game, not for a warm-up but to check it out, there was this weird-looking feller. Weird-looking feller walking through. Everyone's just like, 'Look at him. Who is this? Is he a player for France?' [It was] Franck Ribery. It was a two-game masterclass from Franck Ribery. Just ridiculous."
Reflections on Youth Encounters
Onuoha also reflected on other standout opponents from his youth career: "The next time we lost in a semi-final to the Netherlands. They had Ryan Babel and loads more people like that. It's funny looking back at those times. I've started to realise just how many people I ended up playing with or against at that age group. I played against an Italian side with Giuseppe Rossi and some big names. I think [Giorgio] Chiellini would've been playing."
These anecdotes highlight how even England's brightest young talents were caught off guard by future superstars who were relatively unknown at the time. Ronaldo joined Manchester United just weeks after that 2003 encounter, embarking on a legendary career.
