Nicolas Anelka

Nicolas Anelka

Anelka playing for Chelsea in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Nicolas Sébastien Anelka[1]
Date of birth	(1979-03-14) 14 March 1979 (age 45)[2]
Place of birth	Le Chesnay, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Lille (youth manager)[4]
Youth career
1983–1993	Trappes Saint-Quentin
1993–1995	Clairefontaine[5]
1995–1996	Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1997	Paris Saint-Germain	10	(1)
1997–1999	Arsenal	65	(23)
1999–2000	Real Madrid	19	(7)
2000–2002	Paris Saint-Germain	39	(14)
2001–2002	→ Liverpool (loan)	20	(5)
2002–2005	Manchester City	89	(37)
2005–2006	Fenerbahçe	39	(14)
2006–2008	Bolton Wanderers	53	(23)
2008–2012	Chelsea	125	(59)
2012–2013	Shanghai Shenhua	22	(3)
2013	→ Juventus (loan)	2	(0)
2013–2014	West Bromwich Albion	12	(2)
2014–2015	Mumbai City	13	(2)
Total		508	(157)
International career
1997	France U20	3	(0)
1998–2010	France	69	(14)
Managerial career
2012	Shanghai Shenhua (player-coach)
2015	Mumbai City (player-manager)
2018–2020	Lille (youth)
2021	Hyères (sports director)
2024-	Ümraniyespor (CEO)
Medal record Men's football Representing  France UEFA European Championship Winner 2000 Belgium-Netherlands FIFA Confederations Cup Winner 2001 Japan–South Korea
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (French pronunciation: [nikɔla anɛlka]; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known for his ability to both score and assist goals, he has been described as a classy and quick player, with good aerial ability, technique, shooting, and movement off the ball, and was capable of playing both as a main striker and as a second striker.^[6][7]

Anelka began his career at Paris Saint-Germain, but soon moved to Arsenal. At Arsenal, he won the 1997–98 Premier League and FA Cup double. He became a first team regular and won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award the following season. He moved to Real Madrid for £22.3 million in 1999. He was part of the Real Madrid team that won the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League, but he did not settle in well and returned to PSG in a £20 million deal. Despite regular first team football in Paris, Anelka set his eyes upon the Premier League once more, moving on loan to Liverpool in January 2002 before joining Manchester City for £13 million at the start of the 2002–03 season.

After three seasons in Manchester, he moved to Turkish club Fenerbahçe for two seasons, before returning to England to join Bolton Wanderers in deals worth £7 million and £8 million respectively. He was then transferred to Chelsea from Bolton for a reported £15 million in January 2008. At Chelsea, he won one Premier League title and two FA Cup trophies, as well as played in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League final. In 2009, he won the Premier League Golden Boot award as the league's top goalscorer. During his transfers over the years, he has built an aggregate transfer cost of just under £90 million.^[8] After leaving Chelsea, he had brief stints at Shanghai Shenhua, Juventus, West Bromwich Albion and Mumbai City.

Anelka played 69 times at international level and won his first international honours with France at UEFA Euro 2000, and won the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup the following year. His failure to settle at club level limited his international appearances, but he returned to the national team for Euro 2008. On 19 June 2010, he was excluded by the French Football Federation (FFF) from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa for "comments directed against the national coach, Raymond Domenech."^[9] He did not play again for the national team.^[10]