Mikele Benjamin Leigertwood (born 12 November 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

After progressing through the ranks at Wimbledon, he was one of a number of youngsters called up to the first team by the manager Terry Burton in September 2001.

[2] In November 2001, Leigertwood was loaned out to Leyton Orient and made his professional debut in a 3–0 win over Oxford United.

[15] Leigertwood made his Crystal Palace debut as a late substitute in a 6–3 win over Stoke City on 14 February 2004.

[28] At the end of the 2005–06 season, which saw Palace miss out on a return to the Premier League after losing 1–0 to Watford in the play-offs, Leigertwood went on to make thirty appearances in all competitions.

[31] Leigertwood made his Sheffield United debut as a 75th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw against Liverpool in the opening game of the season,[32] quickly establishing himself a first team regular, until he suffered an ankle injury in early December.

At the start of the 2007–08 season, Leigertwood made four appearances, despite struggling to hold down a first team place since the club's relegation from the Premier League.

[38][39][40] Leigertwood made his Queens Park Rangers debut the next day on 1 September 2007, starting a 3–0 loss against Southampton.

[44] A month later, on 27 December 2007, he was sent off for the second time that season in the final minutes f a 2–1 loss against Plymouth Argyle,[45] as a result of which Leigertwood served a three match suspension.

[47] Leigertwood became a first team regular for the side, finishing his first season at the club with forty appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.

[50] His performance at Queens Park Rangers attracted interest in the January transfer window, when he was reportedly "wanted by three clubs ready to shell out a £1m-plus" for him.

[70] A week later Leigertwood added another goal to his tally with a 21st minute deflected strike against Cardiff City in a 2–2 draw.

[72] After serving his suspension, his performance earned him the Reading Post AHG Group-sponsored Player of the Month award for February.

[83] His second goal of the campaign came at home to Leicester City in a 3–1 win, and this was followed up with strikes against Blackpool and West Ham United as Reading surged towards promotion with an incredible run of games of which Leigertwood was an important figure in.

[84] After returning from a knee injury, he returned to the starting line-up, where he key role Leigertwood had played was rewarded when he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory at home to Nottingham Forest, which secured Reading's promotion back to the top flight after a four-year absence.

[87] After returning from injury, he scored his first Premier League goal for Reading in a 3–3 draw with Fulham with a superb strike from 20 yards on 27 October 2012.

[89] After being sidelined in early–2013 due to injury, Leigterwood then captained the side for the first time and scored his third goal of the season, in a 4–0 win over Sheffield United in the third round of the FA Cup.

[90] He continued to be in the starting line-up until he was dropped from the first team for the rest of the 2012–13 season, as Leigterwood went on to make thirty–four appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.

[102] Whilst on trial, Leigertwood sustained a hip injury which forced him to retire from the game,[103] although this was not officially confirmed until the following year.

Willie Donachie, Antigua and Barbuda's manager, tried to bring Leigertwood into the squad for a World Cup qualifier in June 2008, but the player had a wedding to attend.

[106] While serving a four match ban after receiving a red card against Birmingham City on 28 October 2008, he accepted a call up for the 2008 Caribbean Championship to represent Antigua and Barbuda.

[citation needed] He made his international debut on 5 November 2008 in a 3–2 loss against Trinidad and Tobago and scored his first goal in their next match against Guyana.

[citation needed] In November 2010, he returned to the national team and participated in the second stage of the 2010 Caribbean Championship, playing in all three matches.

[109] In March 2010, Leigertwood was involved in Kick It Out's latest campaign, which aimed to raise awareness of homophobia in football.

[112] Leigertwood is good friends with Jobi McAnuff, the two having known each other since school and been teammates at Wimbledon, Crystal Palace and Reading.