Michael John Ball (born 2 October 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a left back. Ball started his professional career at Everton, making his debut as a 17-year-old in 1997. He was capped by the England national team in 2001. Ball joined Rangers in the 2001 close season in a £6.5 million transfer. In the 2004–05 season, Ball won Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup medals with Rangers. Before the start of the 2005–06 season, Ball was signed by PSV Eindhoven. He spent one and a half seasons with the club, winning the Dutch Eredivisie. Ball was sold to Manchester City in 2007. He signed for Leicester City, where his career was cut short due to a recurrence of his knee injury. Club career Everton (1996–2001) Ball was born in Liverpool, Merseyside. As a schoolboy he was part of the Liverpool youth system, playing alongside Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard. From 1994 to 1996 he attended The Football Association's National School at Lilleshall, before joining Everton. He played his first senior match in April 1997 as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur, and made his first start a week later at West Ham United. Ball developed into an impressive player equally adept at both centre back and his main position, left back. His solid performances for Everton led to an England national team call-up to Sven-Göran Eriksson's first England squad for a friendly against Spain in February 2001. Ball was named as a substitute, and made his debut when he replaced Chris Powell at half-time. Rangers (2001–2005) In 2001, he was allowed to leave Everton, primarily due to the club's financial problems. Although he had offers from Premier League clubs, he opted for a lucrative deal with Scottish Premier League (SPL) club Rangers and moved to Glasgow in a £6.5 million deal. His first Old Firm match ended in controversy when he swore at Rangers manager Dick Advocaat after being substituted, resulting in a £10,000 fine. He scored his first Rangers goal in the UEFA Cup against Dynamo Moscow. In December 2001, after his eleventh Rangers appearance, he suffered medial ligament damage which kept him sidelined for 18 months, including the entire 2002–03 season. Upon his return to fitness he regained his place in the team, becoming a first-team regular in the 2003–04 season, scoring his first league goal against Dundee. He also won the Player