Roberto Mancini’s side faced Wednesday’s opening 2022 US tour opponents Club America, and LA Galaxy in California, with a clash against Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada sandwiched in between.
City would win all three matches, setting the tone for a season that would end in a first top flight title in 44 years.
Speaking on episode one of City on Tour Daily, Lescott also revealed how Dutch midfielder Nigel De Jong would often get carried away once the hard work at training was over each day.
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“Los Angeles in 2011 (was my favourite pre-season tour). It was the best pre-season I ever went on and that was the reason we won the league (the following year),” the former England international recalled.
“To be fair, the lads used to come back in decent condition, but someone got carried away on that pre-season.
“Nigel, when we went to LA, it was his first time in America so he thought he was going to Disneyland.
“We were going to training and then when we had the afternoon off, he’d buy nuggets and burgers.
“I was like: ‘Nigel what are you doing?’ he was just eating nuggets and burgers the whole time.
“He said he put on eight kg during that trip. I’d never heard of anyone putting weight on (during pre-season) in the heat!”
Former City defender Pablo Zabaleta joined Lescott as special guest on our pre-season show and agreed that a successful pre-season can also be crucial in boosting a squad’s morale.
The Argentine also explained why our tour of South Africa in 2009 ranks above the others in terms of his favourite pre-season experiences.
“Sometimes we forget how important those moments are for the team, to bring people together and to enjoy it,” said the former City left back.
“I know pre-season is about preparation and you have to work really hard but sometimes you need those moments to go out and enjoy with the players and create that connection with everyone.
“(My favourite pre-season was) South Africa. That was when all the big names came to the Club, (Carlos) Tevez, (Emmanuel) Adebayor, Gareth Barry.
“I remember I was there just looking at the players and thinking ‘wow’.”
