'I won the league with Sergio Aguero and David Silva but this Man City star was better'

Forget the Centurions or the Treble Winners, Joleon Lescott was part of Manchester City’s original super-team.

Rewind 12 years and a star-studded cast filled with some of Europe’s best, spearheaded by the fervent Roberto Mancini, helped deliver City’s first trophies of the post-takeover era.

Lescott played every minute of City’s 2011 FA Cup triumph – a run that saw them keep five consecutive clean sheets from the fourth-round replay against Notts County onwards.

But it was the 2012 Premier League-winning campaign that history remembers best.

A last-kick-of-the-season goal to snatch the league title away from bitter rivals Manchester United and end a four-decade-long wait to be crowned English champions.

It’s a story so absurd even Hollywood scriptwriters would’ve deemed it too unrealistic.

Sergio Aguero the talisman. Carlos Tevez as the supporting act. Vincent Kompany the side’s General. Mario Balotelli plays the anti-hero. David Silva the architect.

According to Lescott though, there was one man who transcended them all.

“Yaya,” replied the former England international when asked by Express Sport who the best player from City’s triumphant 2012 team was.

His response was instant, without even a hint of irony. And why wouldn’t it be?

Yaya Toure might’ve played less than 45 minutes of the final-day clash against Queens Park Rangers, but throughout the 38 league matches, he was the beating heart of City’s midfield.

His late brace away to Newcastle United in the penultimate game of the season, some might argue, was just as important as Sergio Aguero’s 93rd-minute winner a week later.

“There were a few good ones,” he continued. “I’m saying that pretty quick, but David Silva, Vincent [Kompany], Sergio, Carlos Tevez. There were some good players.”

Lescott has never shied away from his admiration of ex-team-mate Toure. In a recent video shared to the City YouTube account, Lescott – albeit reluctantly – insisted he’d still take the Ivorian over recent Ballon d’Or winner Rodri.

But the now 42-year-old, who was speaking at a Padel Pro Am tournament, didn’t stop there when it came to backing the Class of 2012, even suggesting they’d be able to get the better of Guardiola’s City teams.

“I’m always gonna be biased to that group of players because they’re friends and we achieve stuff as well,” he added.

“It would have been very difficult because Pep is a unique coach and his is a great set of players. But yeah, I would always back my team against any team.”

It’s a bold claim, given there aren’t many records left standing since Guardiola arrived on England’s shores in 2016.

However, Mancini and Co. do have at least one thing Pep won’t ever be able to lay claim to as City boss… beating a Sir Alex Ferguson United side to the Premier League title.

Something, explained by Lescott, was the vision sold to the players by the club’s owners from the day they joined.

“When I joined, the chairman definitely spelled out what we’re seeing and that was part of the selling factor to join in the club. ‘We are going to be successful, we want you to be a part of it’.

“The chairman knew exactly what he’s talking about and he’s created a mega club. It’s not just a team, they’ve got clubs all over the world, the influence they’ve had on the city [of Manchester].

“What the owners and chairman have done has been unique.”