William Gallas

William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender.

He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glory.

A graduate of the French football academy at Clairefontaine, Gallas started his professional career at second division Caen, helping them to promotion as champions in 1996.

He subsequently transferred to Marseille in 1997, where he played for four seasons.

He made his debut in the UEFA Champions League for Marseille, scoring his first goal in European competition in a 1–0 win over then European champions Manchester United at the Stade Vélodrome in October 1999.

Gallas began his career in France, before being signed by English club Chelsea in 2001.

Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri bought Gallas from Marseille in 2001 for £6.2 million.

He chose the number 13 shirt because it was his postcode back where he lived in Marseille.

Under Ranieri, Gallas developed centre-back partnerships with Marcel Desailly and later with John Terry.

His partnership with Terry included a run of 16 games without conceding a goal.

He also played as a left-back at times.

It was with Chelsea and under Ranieri where Gallas obtained his first international cap for France.

Gallas made his debut as a substitute for John Terry against Newcastle United in August 2001.

His first goal followed in the FA Cup against Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea ended up reaching the 2002 FA Cup Final in which Gallas started, however they were defeated by Arsenal.

Gallas was part of the Chelsea squad which won back-to-back Premier League titles and a League Cup under Ranieri's successor José Mourinho.

The Blues also made the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League that year, but were knocked out by Liverpool 1–0 in controversial circumstances—Gallas cleared the ball, after it was adjudged to have crossed the line.

Due to a serious injury to left-back Wayne Bridge in 2004–05, Gallas was forced to play out of position, and despite the purchase of Asier del Horno from Athletic Bilbao for £8 million in the 2005 close season, Gallas found himself often playing on the left, a situation he grew increasingly frustrated with, although it did showcase his versatility, being able to play anywhere in the backline.

While his career has been successful, including Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, Gallas has also had controversy due to on-field behaviour and friction with other personnel.

Gallas scored some vital goals against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United as Chelsea retained their title in the 2005–06 Premier League season.

He transferred to Arsenal as part of an exchange deal in 2006.

Chelsea, however, did not agree to a transfer request by the player in May 2006, as they considered Gallas an important first-team member.

After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Gallas refused to turn up at Chelsea's crowded ranks of defenders at Stamford Bridge, so Chelsea signed Dutch international centre back Khalid Boulahrouz, though in his single season at Chelsea, Boulahrouz would play almost exclusively as a fullback.

On 1 September 2006, Gallas transferred to Arsenal as part of a deal that brought Ashley Cole to Chelsea, in addition to Arsenal receiving £5 million.

After the transfer, Chelsea issued a statement that Gallas threatened to deliberately score own goals if he was not allowed to leave Chelsea.

Gallas rejected Chelsea's claim and accused the West Londoners of "lack[ing] class" and "hiding behind false accusations."

Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea manager who signed Gallas from Marseille, said of the allegations, "I cannot believe these stories. It is absolutely incredible. I signed William and he was always a good professional on the pitch. Of course, I don't know what has happened in the last two years."

PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor declared that the whole episode has left a "bad taste in the mouth" and that Chelsea's statement should be taken "with a large pinch of salt."

Gallas signed a four-year contract with Arsenal, where he took the number 10 shirt vacated by the recently retired Dennis Bergkamp.

In an October 2006 interview with the official team magazine, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger explained his decision to hand him the squad number 10 (traditionally a forward's or a midfielder's number): "Number three was uncomfortable for him and I had given the rest of the numbers out. In the end I thought it might be a good idea to give the number ten to a defender, because a striker would suffer a lot with the comparison with Dennis. At first I was reluctant to give Dennis's number out, and especially to a defender, but overall I think it's better that way."

Gallas made his full debut for the Gunners at left-back in the team's 1–1 home draw against Middlesbrough on 9 September 2006 and scored his first goal against Sheffield United on 23 September 2006.

In 2007, he was named Arsenal's captain, but was removed from the role during the 2008–09 season after criticising teammates in a media interview.

Gallas' contract with Chelsea was due to expire in May 2007.

He refused to sign a new contract with Chelsea on improved terms after saying the club did not offer him enough money and expressed a wish to play in the Italian Serie A, with Juventus and Milan both interested.

He left Arsenal at the end of the 2009–10 season, when his contract expired, later signing for rivals Tottenham.

He then signed for rivals Tottenham Hotspur in 2010.

He was released at the end of the 2012–13 season when his contract expired.

He retired from professional football on 16 October 2014.

Gallas was born in Asnières-sur-Seine.

He is the cousin of the deceased former footballer Ludovic Quistin and of Mathieu Bastareaud, a French rugby union centre playing for Lyon.