Manchester City’s Black England internationals | OneFootball

City have a long history of producing talented footballers that go on to play for their country.

Naturally, many of these are English and elect to represent the Three Lions in the international arena.

As part of our Black History Month celebrations, we are looking back at the Black players who have won caps for England while being at City.

Keith Curle

An exemplary first season with City in 1991/92 and a fifth-placed finish earned defender Curle a call-up to the England squad at the end of the season.

He played in two warm up matches for Euro 92 against the CIS (a team made up of former Soviet states) and Hungary before starting the opening group game of the tournament against Denmark.

Upon his return to City, he was made club captain – eventually playing 204 times before leaving in the summer of 1996.

Trevor Sinclair

Having already enjoyed a lengthy career in the Premier League and as part of the England squad, Sinclair joined City in the summer of 2003.

He had excelled in left midfield for England at the 2002 World Cup and that’s where he’d start his City career, despite predominantly playing on the right before then.

Joining City as a 30-year-old, Sinclair’s final England cap came once he’d made the move before he focused on club football. He played 98 times for the Club before leaving in 2007.

David James

Goalkeeper James joined City as a 34-year-old but many of his better days in an England shirt were still to come.

He had established himself as England No.1 but needed to ensure Premier League football to keep the shirt, hence the move to Manchester.

In two and a half years at City, he played 13 times for England and 100 times for his club.

Shaun Wright-Phillips

The best City player of his generation, Wright-Phillips was a fan favourite from the moment he made his senior debut in 1999.

He had been released by Nottingham Forest as a teenager for being too small, but that did not stop City who brought him to Manchester and turned him into one of the most feared wingers in English football.

He made 181 appearances in his first spell at City before title-chasing Chelsea offered a sizeable amount to take him to London.

After three seasons there, he returned ‘home’ for another three terms – playing 94 times.

19 of his 36 England caps came while he was a City player, with the rest during his days at Chelsea – who were one of Europe’s leading clubs at the time.

Micah Richards

Another youngster who burst onto the scene and immediately captured City fan’s hearts, Richards came into a struggling team and remained part of the squad right through to our maiden Premier League success.

A powerful header against Aston Villa announced him to the world, before he struck up a central defensive partnership with Richard Dunne.

He then moved to right-back, where he became a well-loved lieutenant of Mark Hughes and Roberto Mancini.

13 appearances for England all came during his City days, with 10 of those taking place in 2007 at the height of his game.

In the end, he played 245 times for City before moving on to Villa.

Joleon Lescott

A signing that demonstrated City’s ambition, Lescott came from Everton – who had been upwardly mobile at the time.The defender was one of the most talented in the league and in 2009 joined a City side that was looking to build towards a title challenge.

There he struck up a colossal partnership with Vincent Kompany, that went on to be the backbone of FA Cup and Premier League triumphs.

He played 19 times for England during his four years at City, with 160 club appearances coming in that time.

Fabian Delph

A midfielder capable of covering every blade of grass, Delph joined Manuel Pellegrini’s City in 2015.

It looked like his time at the Etihad may be up when he made just 13 appearances in Pep Guardiola’s first campaign, but instead he transformed himself into an excellent left-back for the high-flying Blues.

That formed earned him an England recall after three years out of the national side – eventually playing 14 times for his country while a City player.

He left City in 2019 after 89 appearances and six major trophies.

Demi Stokes

After a fifth-place finish in our first season as a professional outfit in 2014, we were looking for more WSL experience to improve a backline that already included Steph Houghton and goalkeeper Karen Bardsley.

Introducing Demi Stokes. The left-back was solid as a rock and more than capable of whipping in a dangerous cross.

She became one of only three players to represent City more than 200 times in the women’s game during her nine-year stay, playing a pivotal role particularly in the 2016 WSL success.

Internationally, all but 12 of her 74 England caps came while she was a City star.

Raheem Sterling

One of just 19 men to score more than 100 goals for City and a go-to for England throughout the last decade, Sterling has already enjoyed a remarkably successful career.

In total, he played 339 times for City – netting 131 times.

During his seven seasons at the Etihad between 2015 and 2022, he also won 11 trophies as Pep Guardiola’s dominance of English football began.

He played 61 times for his country while a City player, often as the best player during some of England’s tougher major tournament experiences.

Nikita Parris

Impressing as a teenager at Everton, Parris joined City’s rapidly improving side in 2015 before making the move permanent in 2016.

The winger was a regular under Nick Cushing, including in the 2016 WSL title success and in total scored a brilliant 62 goals in 127 games for City.

Her 19 strikes in 19 games in her final season was the club record tally for an individual campaign until Bunny Shaw’s incredible 2022/23.

While at City, she was a regular in the Lionesses side – scoring 14 times in 47 caps.

Kyle Walker

Our current club captain has been a stalwart of Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering side and the England team over the last decade too.

So far, he has played 90 times for England – 63 of them since moving to City – including en route to two European Championship finals.

He also has played more than 300 games for City, winning an astonishing 17 major honours.

Walker remains trusted by one of the game’s greatest coaches and at the forefront of the thinking for future England squads.

KALVIN PHILLIPS

Phillips joined City in 2022 after being named England’s Men’s Player of the Year in 2021.

He struggled for game time at City due to Rodrigo’s form and injury issues of his own before moving to West Ham and then Ipswich Town on loan.

While at City, he has played eight times for his country – now totalling 31 England caps across his career.

Rico Lewis

Our incredibly exciting Bury-born Academy graduate is about as Manchester City as it gets.

Lewis, still only 19, has already played more than 50 times for Pep Guardiola’s incredible team.

His form at right-back, left-back and venturing into midfield has made him a versatile option and perfect for international football.

That meant he got his international debut against North Macedonia last November, before playing again against Finland just last month.

It looks very likely that Lewis will add greatly to that tally as his career progresses.