Gabriel Obertan

As of 4 March 2024

Obertan has been active with France on the youth level. He has received caps with the under-16s, under-17s, under-18s, and the under-19s. With the under-16s, Obertan made 10 appearances scoring only one goal. The following season, he played with the under-17s making 12 appearances and scoring three goals. Obertan and the team failed to qualify for the 2006 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, due to their second-place finish in the Elite Round. With the under-18s, Obertan made nine total appearances, but failed to get on the scoresheet. He rarely played with the under-19 team making just two appearances and scoring his lone goal against Sweden in a 2–1 victory during the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship elite qualification round. Obertan earned his first cap with the under-21 team on 11 February 2009 against Tunisia. On 31 March 2009, he scored his first under-21 goal against the England under-21s in a friendly at the City Ground in Nottingham.

Early career

Obertan began his career playing for his local club Paris-Pantin before moving to a higher level joining Paris FC in 2002. After spending a year there, he did what most youths at Paris FC often do and joined Paris-Saint Germain. Following another year of training, he moved to the famed Clairefontaine academy in order to further his development. It was here where he was first spotted by Bordeaux scouts and after one year at Clairefontaine, he moved to Bordeaux to begin training with them.

Bordeaux

After spending only a year in the reserves, in the 2006–07 season Obertan signed his first professional contract where he was given the number 26 shirt for the senior squad, signing a three-year contract. On 30 September 2006, at the age of 17 he made his professional debut, playing the last 15 minutes of a 2–0 defeat to Valenciennes and made his Champions League debut a month later, in a 3–0 loss against Liverpool. He scored his first goal on 22 April 2007 against Saint-Étienne in a 2–0 away league victory, netting during injury time to seal the win. He made 17 league appearances and a total of 23 matches scoring one goal during his debut season. The following season, he signed a contract extension and his playing time increased to 37 matches and three goals, though he was still limited to mostly substitute appearances. For the first half of the 2008–09 season, his play was limited again, though he impressed as he scored a brace in Bordeaux's 4–2 win…

Obertan was born in Paris. He decided to become a footballer after watching the World Cup final, which saw France beat Brazil 3–0. While growing up, his father worked at IKEA and his mother worked for the organisation in Environmental Research. Obertan is of Guadeloupean descent through his father.