André-Pierre Gignac

Gignac spent the first five years of his career at ES Fos-sur-Mer before joining hometown club Martigues. After almost seven years at Martigues, he was released after being informed he needed to bulk up. Subsequently, Gignac moved over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) to the Brittany region to join the youth academy of professional club Lorient. After developing in the club's academy for two seasons, Gignac was promoted to the club's senior team for the 2004–05 Ligue 2 season by manager Christian Gourcuff.

Lorient

Gignac made his professional debut with Lorient on 13 August 2004, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute with the score tied 1–1 against Châteauroux. Within seconds of coming on, he scored the winning goal to bring Lorient a 2–1 victory. An elated Gignac later said after scoring the match-winning goal that he "thought he was Ronaldo". In subsequent matches, Gignac was minor presence within the team featuring primarily as a substitute. Gignac scored his only other goal in the season against Reims in a 4–1 victory on 29 October. The following week he made his first professional start, in a 2–1 defeat to Le Mans, playing 70 minutes.

Pau

The following season, Lorient achieved promotion to Ligue 1, though without Gignac's services as he was loaned out to Championnat National club Pau during the winter transfer period. Prior to the loan, Gignac had appeared in only one match for the club in the season. At Pau, Gignac featured as a starter for the first time in his career. He appeared in 20 league matches for the club and scored eight goals. Notable appearances with the team included a double in a victory over Toulon and a hat-trick against Châtellerault. The week before the match against Châtellerault, Gignac scored the equalizing goal against Romorantin in a 1–1 draw.

Back to Lorient

Gignac's newfound confidence saw the player return to Lorient senior team for the 2006–07 Ligue 1 season where he was inserted as starter. Initially, he…

Gignac received his first international call-up for France for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Lithuania. He missed the first match due to injury, but was fit enough to earn his first cap on 1 April 2009 coming on as a substitute in the 69th minute and providing the assist to Franck Ribéry's goal in the 1–0 victory. On 12 August 2009, Gignac scored France's lone goal after 42 minutes when set up by Florent Malouda against last-place Faroe Islands in a World Cup qualifier in Tórshavn. On 10 October, he scored a brace in a five-minute span, again against the Faroes, in France's 5–0 rout in Guingamp, securing a place in the play-offs. Four days later, Gignac struck against Austria, scoring the final goal in France's 3–1 victory after appearing as a substitute for Thierry Henry in the second half. On 11 May 2010, Gignac was named to France manager Raymond Domenech's 30-man preliminary squad to participate in the 2010 World Cup tournament proper. He was later named in the 23-man team to compete in the competition, after which he was issued shirt number 11 for the tournament. On 11 June, Gignac made his World Cup debut in the nation's opening group stage match against Uruguay, replacing Sidney Govou as a substitute in the 85th minute of a goalless draw. He also appeared in the final two group stage matches, which included a start against the hosts South Africa. France lost the match 2–1, which resulted in the team's elimination from the competition. On 6 September…

Gignac was born in the city of Martigues in Bouches-du-Rhône in southern France. Gignac is of partial Romani descent, but has stated he considers himself to be an adopted Manouche. He is the cousin of former defender Jacques Abardonado and winger Yohan Mollo.