Charles N'Zogbia

Early career

N'Zogbia began his career at the academy of Le Havre. When he was 16, he was spotted by the former chief scout of Newcastle United, Charlie Woods, who arranged for him to have a trial at the club. After training with Newcastle for a month, he impressed the club and they were keen to sign him. However, his transfer to Newcastle proved controversial. Le Havre had tied him to an educational contract, but Newcastle claimed that the player had freedom of contract to move on a free transfer, an assertion which FIFA supported.

Newcastle United

After a protracted saga involving the threat of a case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Newcastle eventually paid a fee in the region of £250,000 to sign N'Zogbia from Le Havre, for compensation on youth development cost. His transfer to Newcastle officially completed on 2 September 2004. He was the last player to be signed by the late Sir Bobby Robson. N'Zogbia earned the nickname 'Zog', with supporters chanting Zog on the Tyne (in reference to the Lindisfarne song "Fog on the Tyne"), in appreciation to his contribution to the team. His debut for the club came in a 3–0 win over Blackburn Rovers on 11 September 2004. In the 2005–06 season, N'Zogbia established himself as a first-team regular, appearing in 41 matches. He scored Newcastle's first goal of the season in the 1–1 draw at home to Fulham, with a skilful free kick. He further displayed his goalscoring ability with 6 goals in total that season,…

N'Zogbia played twice for the France under-16 national side in 2002. In the summer of 2006, he was selected for the France under-21 24-man provisional squad for the European Under-21 Football Championship in Portugal. However, because of an ongoing dispute between Newcastle, Le Havre and the French FA concerning his move to The Magpies, the French coach had no choice but to leave him out of the final squad. After impressive form for Newcastle in September 2007, he was called up to the France under-21 team. He made his debut for France under-21 on 7 September 2007 in a 1–0 victory over Wales. Congo DR had called up N'Zogbia to play for them against the France 'B' Team in February 2008, but he declined the invitation so that he could have more time to think about his international football future. On 5 August 2010, N'Zogbia was called up to France's senior team for the first time by new manager Laurent Blanc, for the team's friendly against Norway on 11 August 2010. N'Zogbia played the first half of the game, which finished in a 1–2 defeat.

As of match played 21 November 2015

Newcastle United

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006 Aston Villa

FA Cup runner-up: 2014–15