Key Takeaways
Aaron Lennon signed a huge contract at Leeds United as a teenager. The contract caused divisions within the team as appearance bonuses reduced his playing time. After Leeds were relegated, Lennon moved to Spurs, where he won the League Cup in 2008.
In 2003, Leeds United chief executive Peter Ridsdale made the statement to reporters at a time when the club was undergoing dramatic cost-cutting. This came after he had overseen huge spending at a time when the Elland Road club were trying to compete in both the English top flight and in Europe.
While the Premier League’s recent developments have erased those turbulent times from West Yorkshire memories, their shadows remain whenever a club empties its wallet or, as in this case, a former player looks back on the past. Youth Academy product Aaron Lennon spoke about those days on Rio Ferdinand’s podcast, 20 years on from Peter Ridsdale’s famous press conference.
Lennon reflects on crazy numbers at spendthrift Leeds
Salaries for young wingers are a matter of debate
In an era when Leeds’ mismanagement of finances led to their collapse and ultimately relegation from the Premier League in 2004, Lennon made clear through the audacity of his first professional contract just how financially unattainable the club’s prospects were.
The contract he incredible signed at the age of 14 was ultimately likely designed to protect his talent and keep him at the club – in fact Leeds didn’t expect him to reach certain milestones so quickly, so Lennon was still paid £5,000-a-week after turning professional, with a bonus of £10,000 per appearance and £100,000 for five appearances.
“Looking back, my contract was ridiculous. It was crazy money and they thought he wouldn’t play. But I started playing. I was on the bench and they couldn’t put me in because I was going to get a hit in one of my appearances.”
Now fully retired at 37, Lennon made his debut for Leeds aged just 16, becoming the youngest player in Premier League history at the time when he came on as a substitute against Tottenham in August 2003. But the weight of the contract was so great that once details leaked it quickly became clear that rifts were appearing at the club.
“I remember Gary Kelly being furious and saying our best player was on the bench – our most in-form winger – and I was just sitting there and the Leeds fans were singing my name.”
“At the end of the season Ken Bates said to me: ‘You’re done at this club because of money’ – and he didn’t mean it in a good way. I thought: ‘This is my home’. I was upset and was about to walk away when I got a phone call saying they’d accepted my bid and they said: ‘You’re going to Tottenham’.”
Aaron Lennon’s Leeds United career
Cast
43
the goal
1
assist
5
Play Time (min)
2,210
Lennon’s post-Leeds career
Leeds outcasts become Premier League powerhouse
Leeds’ financial incompetence made Lennon a millionaire as a teenager. From his debut in 2003 until his cut-rate move to Tottenham in 2005, Lennon earned around £1.37m in wages and bonuses during his time at Elland Road. In the end, it wasn’t his fault that the Whites had such a lucrative contract, but Lennon moved to Spurs for £1m plus a sell-on clause.
Despite a tough start to his professional football career, Lennon went on to have a successful career with a solid 10-year tenure in North London, delivering some scorching performances in the Premier League and winning the League Cup in 2008. Moreover, excelling in scoring and assisting abilities, Lennon made 364 appearances for the White Hart Lane club, contributing to 106 goals. He went on to play for Everton, Burnley and Turkish club Kayserispor, winning 21 caps for the England national team between 2006 and 2013.
Aaron Lennon’s career stats since leaving Leeds
club
game
the goal
assist
Tottenham Hotspur
364
30
76
Everton
77
9
3
Burnley (2 seasons)
87
3
4
Kayserispor
36
0
5
All statistics found on transfermarkt.
