Leighton Baines

Leighton John Baines (born 11 December 1984) is an English footballer who plays for Everton and the England national football team.

He started his career with Wigan Athletic, with whom he won the Second Division in the 2002–03 season and was a runner-up in the 2004–05 Championship and the 2006 Football League Cup Final. He joined Everton in 2007, helping them reach the 2009 FA Cup Final. He has played for England at under-21 and senior levels.

Club career

Youth career

Baines began his career as a left-winger at the Liverpool Centre of Excellence. He also represented the Merseyside boys team, but his career went no further at Liverpool. After interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers he joined Wigan Athletic.

Wigan Athletic

Baines made his debut for Wigan Athletic in 2002, and was a member of the team that won the Second Division in the 2002–03 season. He was a regular in the first-team when Wigan earned promotion to the Premier League in 2004–05. That season saw Baines score his first goal for the club, a long-range shot against Ipswich Town.

Baines is believed to be a pessimist and often doubts his own footballing ability, when he secured promotion with Wigan, he doubted he was good enough to play in the Premier League: "We won promotion to the Premier League and, straight away, I was thinking, 'Where am I going to go now?' I should have been celebrating but I spent a...
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