Blaise Matuidi

Blaise Matuidi (born 9 April 1987) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

He most notably played for Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, and the France national team.

Matuidi began his football career playing for amateur clubs in the Île-de-France region, such as US Fontenay-sous-Bois and CO Vincennois.

In 1999, Matuidi was rated as one of the best players in the Île-de-France region and was subsequently selected to attend the prestigious INF Clairefontaine academy.

He trained at the academy for three seasons, playing there on weekdays while simultaneously playing for Vincennes on the weekends.

In 2000, he was selected to attend the prestigious Clairefontaine academy.

In 2001, Matuidi left Vincennes to sign for semi-professional club Créteil.

He spent one year in the club youth academy quickly becoming one of the club's most sought after prospects.

Despite an intriguing offer from the two-time defending champions Lyon, Matuidi signed with Troyes, citing the club's training centre as his primary reason.

Matuidi began his career with Troyes playing on the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth division of French football.

In 2004, he signed with professional club Troyes and made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season.

After three seasons with Troyes, Matuidi joined Saint-Étienne.

In November 2004, he was called up to the senior team by manager Jean-Marc Furlan and made his professional debut on 23 November in the team's Ligue 2 match against Gueugnon.

Matuidi started the match and played over 60 minutes in a 2–1 victory.

His only other appearance with the senior team in the 2004–05 season came on 4 February 2005 in a league match against Guingamp.

Matuidi was relegated back to the club's reserve team for the rest of the campaign where he helped the team finish in sixth place.

In the following season, Matuidi was promoted to the senior team, who were now playing in Ligue 1, on a permanent basis.

He was inserted as a starter by Furlan and appeared in 31 league matches.

Matuidi was also one of the league leaders in card accumulation, with 11.

He scored his first professional goal on 11 January 2006 in a 1–0 victory against Lille, converting a volley that was described by the media as "magnificent."

Despite the impressive individual season from Matuidi, Troyes finished only one spot above the relegation zone.

Following the season, on 16 June 2006, Matuidi signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a four-year deal with Troyes despite interest from English club Charlton Athletic.

Despite the firing of Furlan, Matuidi remained first-choice under new manager Denis Troch.

He appeared in 35 total matches and score three goals.

He also reduced his card accumulation to only six.

With Saint-Étienne, he played European football for the first time after participating in the 2008–09 edition of the UEFA Cup.

In the 2009–10 season, he was named first-choice captain under manager Alain Perrin.

In August 2010, Matuidi was called up to the senior team for the first time under new manager Laurent Blanc.

He made his international debut in September 2010 and has since represented his nation at two UEFA European Football Championships and two FIFA World Cups, winning a runners-up medal at Euro 2016, and a winner's medal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Matuidi was born and raised in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, to an Angolan father, Faria Rivelino, and a Congolese mother, Élise.

Rivelino emigrated to France at a young age.

Matuidi has four other siblings and was raised in the Parisian suburb of Fontenay-sous-Bois.

He grew an attraction to the sport of football watching Paris Saint-Germain and became an admirer of former PSG attacker Jay-Jay Okocha.

Matuidi began his football career at the age of six playing for hometown club US Fontenay-sous-Bois.

After five years at the club, he joined CO Vincennes in nearby Vincennes, where he was teammates with Yacine Brahimi for a year.

In July 2011, after four seasons with Saint-Étienne, Matuidi transferred to Paris Saint-Germain, which had been newly acquired by Qatar Sports Investments, on a three-year deal.

He won sixteen domestic honours during his time with the club, including four consecutive Ligue 1 titles.

In 2017, he joined Italian side Juventus, winning a domestic double in his first season, followed by two more consecutive league titles over the next two seasons, as well as the 2018 Supercoppa Italiana.

He played for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami for two seasons before retiring in 2022.

Matuidi is a former France youth international, having represented his nation at under-19 and under-21 level.