Pascal Chimbonda

Early career

Chimbonda was born in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe. He began his career at Le Havre in France in 1999, making his debut against Strasbourg on 29 April 2000. He spent four years with the club, until Le Havre were relegated to Ligue 2, when he transferred to Bastia. During his stay at Bastia, Chimbonda received racist taunts from his own fans after a heavy loss against Saint-Étienne; this may have contributed to his leaving the club. However, his former teammates at Bastia firmly denied Chimbonda's accusations of racism. After Bastia were relegated in July 2005, he left the club, turning down an offer from Marseille, and moved to Wigan Athletic for £500,000 on a three-year contract. He cited the fact that he was "ready for a new challenge and coming to Wigan is the perfect opportunity to test myself against the best players in the world" as the reason for selecting Wigan Athletic.

Wigan Athletic

After signing for Wigan Athletic, Chimbonda was one of the stars of the Latics' first ever season in the Premier League. He played 44 times for the club in all competitions and featured in all but one game of the 2005–06 Premier League season. He scored two goals for the club, both in the 2005–06 season, in consecutive league games against Fulham and Portsmouth. After a hugely successful first season in English football, Chimbonda was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2005–06 season, having been voted as best right back in the Premiership, ahead of Gary…

Guadeloupe

In 2003, he played three matches for Guadeloupe in the Caribbean qualifiers for the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. In 2012, he represented Guadeloupe during qualifications to the 2012 Caribbean Cup (Second Round, Group 7), playing in games against Martinique, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.

France

Despite early concerns that he would not make France's 2006 World Cup squad, he was selected on the quality of his performances for Wigan in the Premier League. During a World Cup warm-up friendly match, a 2–0 win against Denmark on 31 May 2006, he appeared amongst the substitutes, appearing briefly on the pitch in the final minutes of the game in the 87th minute for his debut. Chimbonda did not make an appearance during the 2006 World Cup, the cap against Denmark was his only appearance for the national side.

In October 2023, Chimbonda was appointed manager of non-league team Skelmersdale United. He said he wanted to be an inspiration to black managers. On 30 January 2024, having registered himself as a player earlier in the month, Chimbonda made his debut for Skelmersdale United in a 2-2 home draw versus Charnock Richard FC in the North West Counties League Premier Division.

Club

As of 15 February 2024

International