Trevor Sinclair

Blackpool

Sinclair was born in Dulwich, London, but grew up in Manchester. He began his career at Blackpool where he played from 1989 to 1993. When he made his debut for Blackpool, on 19 August 1989, he became the club's youngest ever player, at 16 years, five months, breaking Colin Greenall's record set nine years earlier. Sinclair's record was in turn broken by Matty Kay in November 2006. Sinclair was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Bloomfield Road when it was officially opened by former Blackpool player Jimmy Armfield in April 2006. Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Sinclair is in the 1990s. He made 112 league appearances for the Seasiders, scoring 15 goals.

Queens Park Rangers

In 1993, Sinclair moved to Queens Park Rangers for £600,000, a figure which broke Blackpool's record transfer sale. He won the October 1995 Premier League Player of the Month award, although he was unable to prevent QPR from being relegated from the Premier League that season. Throughout the 1995-96 season, Sinclair's name was constantly linked with a move to several of the Premier League's leading clubs, namely Leeds United, Manchester United and Newcastle United - with fees of up to £6million being mentioned. In May 1997, he won the BBC's Match of the Day "Goal of the Season" competition with a bicycle kick from outside the penalty area whilst playing…

In 1994, Sinclair was called up to the Republic of Ireland squad by Jack Charlton, but was unable to declare for his mother's homeland as he had already played at U21 level for England. This meant he missed out on the World Cup on 1994. Sinclair was called up to Terry Venables' get-together England squad in April 1995, and again by Kevin Keegan in 1999, but was not capped for the senior side until 2001. Sinclair earned 12 caps for England, four of which came in the 2002 World Cup, in which he was a last-minute replacement for the injured Danny Murphy. In turn, he replaced Owen Hargreaves, who was injured early in the competition, in the team and was widely regarded as one of England's best players in the tournament, doing a job on England's then "problem left hand side".

Sinclair was the assistant manager of Lancaster City. On 25 August 2014, he made a substitute appearance in the second half of a 3–1 defeat to Clitheroe in the league. As of October 2021, Sinclair runs a football academy with Bamber Bridge manager Jamie Milligan. In January 2024, Sinclair was appointed as an assistant coach for the men's India national team. In January 2026, he was announced as an assistant coach for USL 1 Sarasota Paradise.

Following his retirement, Sinclair largely worked as a pundit on both television and radio, most notably for BBC Sport on Football Focus and Final Score. Sinclair has worked as a sports commentator, notably on Talksport.