Homecoming footballer
The story behind Scott Sinclair’s football career: How Helen Flanagan’s ex-boyfriend found his way back to boyhood club
Scott was voted player of the year and the player's player of the year whilst at Celtic
SCOTT Sinclair is known to football fans as a legend and to many others as the ex-boyfriend of reality star Helen Flanagan.
He supported Manchester United from a young age and has gone on to have a successful career across multiple clubs.
Scott was born on March 25, 1989, in Bath, Somerset.
He got engaged to Corrie actress Helen Flanagan in 2018, but they split in 2022.
Their relationship made headlines when Helen appeared on Celebs Go Dating in 2024 and opened up about her love life.
So what clubs has the football legend played for?
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Bristol Rovers
Scott joined the Bristol Rovers at just nine years old.
He became the second-youngest debutant on the club's first-team at the age of 15 years old and 277 days.
The youngest ever debutant in the first-team was Ronnie Dix, aged 15 180 days.
The then-15-year-old's first appearance was as a late substitute for Junior Agogo in a League Two game against Layton Orient in 2004.
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Chelsea
In July 2005, Scott was signed to West London football club Chelsea FC.
Scott scored his first goal for the blues in September 2007 when they faced off against Hull City, in a match Chelsea won 4-0.
The young footballer signed a new four-year deal with the football club in August 2007 and received the squad number 17.
History repeated itself for him, as his first goal for Chelsea as a senior player was against Hull City, which ended in a 4-0 win for the London side in the League Cup.
Plymouth Argyle (loan)
Plymouth Argyle was the first of Scott's loans from Chelsea to another football club.
When Scott was just ten, he was noticed by Plymouth manager Ian Holloway as a future star.
Whilst playing for Plymouth for one month during 2007, he helped the team beat Coventry City, Barnet, Derby County and Crystal Palace.
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Queen's Park Rangers
Scott had a brief, month-long stint at Queen's Park Rangers after he helped Plymouth beat Crystal Palace in November 2007.
At the time, it was reported that QPR had beaten off "stiff competition" to sign Scott.
Charlton Athletic (loan)
In February 2008, Sinclair was in demand as an upcoming star.
He was signed to Charlton Athletic that month, but had little opportunity to play as a member of the first-team.
Scott's loan was terminated after just a month, during which he had three appearances from the bench.
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Crystal Palace (loan)
Scott joined Crystal Palace in March 2008 for the rest of the season.
Here, he had many more opportunities to play than he did at Charlton Athletic.
He scored twice against Hull and Burnley, in six appearances, and was a key player in helping Crystal Palace to finish fifth in the Championship.
Birmingham City (loan)
Yet another loan brought Scott to Birmingham City, where his one-month stint was extended to span over the entire season.
During his time with Birmingham, Scott made 14 appearances before returning to Chelsea in May.
Upon his return to Chelsea, Scott was a substitute for the Blackburn Rovers but did not play.
Wigan Athletic (loan)
In 2009, Sinclair signed to Wigan Athletic for the 2009-2010 season.
Whilst at the Premier League club, he scored his first goal against a familiar foe: Hull City.
Unbelievably, his second goal with Wigan was scored (yet again) against Hull.
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Swansea City
Scott's period of loans and transfers came to an end, as he signed a three-year contract with Swansea in 2010.
The fee was worth £500,000 with the potential of the number moving up to £1 million.
The footballer quickly made waves, when he scored a his first hat-trick against Peterborough united in a 3-1 win.
He later scored another hat-trick against Reading and helped get Swansea promoted to the the Premier League.
With only one season remaining, it was reported that he would not be extending his contract with Swansea.
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Manchester City
Sinclair signed for Manchester City in 2012, with a four-year contract.
The transfer was reportedly worth £8 million.
During his time with the club, he often made late appearances as a substitute which limited his time on the pitch.
Surgery on a blood clot in his shoulder took him off the pitch for even more time, before he was loaned to West Bromwich Albion.
West Bromwich Albion (loan)
Scott started playing with West Bromwich Albion in August 2013, in a season-long loan.
His time was cut short with the club though, when a hamstring injury kept him off the pitch until December.
Scott played little for the team when he recovered, after their new manager Pepe Mel took over.
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Aston Villa (loan)
A new period of being loaned to various football clubs continued for Scott, as he joined Aston Villa.
He signed with the club in January 2015 as part of a season-long loan.
Here, Scott was able to make a big impact.
Scott scored their only goal in a 2–1 defeat to Stoke City and helped the team win by scoring in an FA Cup Quarter Final against rivals West Bromwich Albion.
Aston Villa (permanent transfer)
Scott joined Aston Villa permanently in May 2015 in a deal reportedly worth £2.5 million.
At the time, he said: "This is the happiest I have been in a long time."
He stayed with the club until 2016 and scored 27 goals for the team.
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Celtic
The footballer signed with Celtic on August 7, 2016, and debuted on that same day.
He scored the winning goal in that match against Hearts in the 81st minute.
In 2017, he was voted Player of the Year and Player's Player of the Year at Celtic's Player of the Year Awards.
He described as "the best time and the happiest time in my career".
In May 2019, Celtic exercised a clause in his contract to keep him at the club, for one more season.
During his time with Celtic, he was the club's second-highest scorer with 25 goals, behind Moussa Dembélé.
Moussa scored 32 goals during this time.
Preston North End
Scott was signed to Preston North End in January 2020.
However, the Covid lockdown, announced in March 2020, made it difficult for the team to play together.
He was released by Preston North End at the end of the 2021-22 season.
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Bristol Rovers (second spell)
After a long and varied career, it was announced that Scott would rejoin his childhood team in October 2022.
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He returned for a short-time, at first, and beat another former club: Plymouth Argyle.
In 2024, it was announced that Scott had accepted a one-year deal with the team and that he would be staying on to become club captain.
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