Liverpool-born Ball is a full-back who's tenacious in the tackle, something Cristiano Ronaldo found out all too well when Ball followed through on a tackle of the Portugal attacker by stamping on his chest while at Manchester City, something the referee missed but what saw him earn a three-match ban afterwards.

Ball came through the youth ranks at Liverpool, playing alongside players such as Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen but he went on to join city rivals Everton, where he played his first senior match in 1997. Ball could play at full-back or in the centre of defence and was tipped as a star of the future whilst at Goodison Park. His top performances saw him called-up for the England side, when managed by Sven Goran Eriksson.

Financial troubles at Everton saw the club offload Ball to Rangers, where he made 55 league appearances before the SPL side, also struggling financially, sold Ball to PSV Eindhoven. Eriksson, who'd called him up for England, brought Ball back to his home country in January 2007 when he signed him for Manchester City. When his contract expired in July 2009, City released him - in the middle of a nine-month spell on the sidelines following a knee operation. He trained with Wigan Athletic and Blackpool but neither side took a chance on him, until Eriksson again offered him a lifeline when he invited him on Leicester's pre-season tour of Sweden and Austria.

He signed a one-year deal and made his competitive debut for Leicester in a 4-1 win over Rotherham United in the League Cup. With his knee injury, and the fact he's not getting any younger, Ball was little more than a squad player with the Foxes, with his best footballing days very much behind him.