Wright-Phillips grew up in Brockley, South London, the adopted son of England International striker Ian Wright.  He was educated at a state school in New Cross Gate.

Although he started at Nottingham Forrest as a youth, he moved to Manchester City when he was 15, signing a professional contract with them in 1999.  His first appearance was as a substitute in the League Cup, and it wasn’t until two months later that he finally appeared in a League game against Port Vale, scoring a goal as a substitute and helping turn a 1-0 defeat into a 2-1 win.

Over the next few seasons he made the transition from forward to wing, where he played successfully thanks to his speed on the ball, and firmly established himself as a first-team player.

His form returned and in only one month with his old side he had scored four times, the same number of goals that he had made in his entire term at Chelsea.

Wright-Phillips made his first international appearance as a substitute in August 2004 against Ukraine, playing again in qualifiers for Euro 2008.  In October 2009 he scored a fantastic shot from the edge of the penalty area which evaded the Belarus goalkeeper, and also scored in his last match for the England side on 3 March 2010 against Egypt.