Rob Lee

Charlton Athletic

Lee started his career in the youth team of Hornchurch and actually played for the first team at the age of 15 in a pre-season friendly under manager, Brian Kelly. Hornchurch wanted Lee to sign a contract with them but he was offered an academy place at Charlton Athletic and established himself in the first team by the 1984–85 season, when he scored 10 goals in the Second Division. He rapidly became the Addicks' star player playing as a winger and helping Charlton to promotion to the First Division at the end of the 1985–86 season and gained international recognition at under-21 level. He remained a regular in the top flight over the next four years until Charlton were relegated back to the Second Division at the end of the 1989–90 season. Lee remained with Charlton for more than two years after relegation, but he was sold shortly after the start of 1992–93 season as the club needed money to finance its return to The Valley. At the time, Charlton were second in the table, and Lee moved to the league leaders, Newcastle United, for a fee of £700,000. He moved to Newcastle after their manager, Kevin Keegan, told him that Newcastle upon Tyne was closer to London than Middlesbrough, the other club interested in signing Lee, and who were already in the Premier League.

Newcastle United

Lee who also has ancestral ties to the North East, having relatives who marched in the Jarrow March, signed for Newcastle in 1992. Despite his North East…

Lee played for England between 1994 and 1998, scoring twice in 21 appearances. He was called up for the first time for a friendly against the USA in September 1994, and scored on his début the following month against Romania. He was in the squad for the 1998 World Cup under Glenn Hoddle, and came on once as a substitute against Colombia. He had been surprisingly omitted from the England squad for UEFA Euro 1996 under Terry Venables despite being in arguably better form in 1996 than two years later.

In October 2006, Lee was interviewed for the manager position at AFC Bournemouth, but the job went to Kevin Bond. Lee was arrested in July 2007, alongside former teammate Warren Barton, for taking a limousine but was not charged. He also appeared for Newcastle on the charity television show Premier League All Stars in September 2007. In May 2008, he captained Legal & General to victory in a charity five-a-side tournament in St Albans, helping to raise £15,000 for the leukaemia charity the Anthony Nolan Trust. In 2008, he worked as a regular pundit for Singapore's Football Channel. In 2010 he was also backup commentator alongside John Burridge for TEN Sports' UEFA Champions League fixtures. On 5 November 2019, Lee was inducted into the Newcastle United Hall of Fame. In 2019 and 2020, Lee featured in both seasons of ITV show Harry's Heroes, which featured former football manager Harry Redknapp attempting to get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for a game against Germany legends. On 10 June 2026, Hornchurch unveiled Lee as their new director of football.

Lee is married to his wife, Anna. The couple have three children, Olly and Elliot, both of whom are also footballers, and one daughter Megan.