Manuel da Costa

Nancy

Manuel da Costa began his career at Ligue 1 club AS Nancy. As well as his ten appearances in Ligue 1 in the 2005–06 season with his debut coming in January – da Costa scored a memorable individual goal to help Nancy defeat Le Mans in the French League Cup semi-finals. Nancy went on to lift the trophy and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

PSV

After rejecting offers from Bordeaux and Newcastle United, Da Costa opted to play in the Netherlands with PSV, where the glamour of Champions League football caught his eye. The 20-year-old centre-back agreed a five-year contract with the Dutch champions to become new coach Ronald Koeman's second summer signing at €1 million. Da Costa was given the number 14 shirt, and he stated: "It will be a beautiful base to grow and develop with PSV."

Da Costa, after a first season to get acquainted to a new challenge, gradually became more important in Koeman's side in 2007–08, establishing himself as a versatile defender. He played his first Champions League match on 12 September 2006, in a 0–0 home draw against Liverpool.

Fiorentina

On 29 January 2008, it was confirmed by PSV that an agreement had been reached on the transfer of da Costa to ACF Fiorentina, subject to a medical. Da Costa did not manage to make a breakthrough into Fiorentina's first team, making just one appearance in the Italian Serie A. On 30 January 2009, he agreed for a loan move to Sampdoria till the end of the season.

West Ham United

In…

Da Costa had never played for Portugal but he was called up for Euro 2008 qualifying matches in October, November 2006 and March 2007. He could have played for France or Morocco but instead joined the Portuguese U-21 team. Although he does not speak fluent Portuguese, da Costa insisted that he felt Portuguese, and that the country's place in his heart was his reason for choosing Portugal over France. He also represented Portugal at the Toulon under-20 tournament in May 2006, having resisted calls to play for France, where he was born. In October 2010 da Costa was called up, for the first time, into the Portugal under-23 team for a game against Northern Ireland under-23 team on 12 October. In May 2014 Da Costa was named by coach Badou Zaki in the Morocco squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, to be hosted by Morocco. On 23 May, he made his debut for the Lions of the Atlas in a 4–0 win against Mozambique. In May 2018 he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

As of match played 12 July 2019

Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.

Da Costa was born and raised in France to a Portuguese father and a Moroccan mother. He speaks French, Portuguese, Moroccan Arabic and English. He has various tattoos, which he had tattooed on him throughout Europe, in Italy, France, England and Russia respectively.

Legal issues

In January 2011, da Costa was charged with sexual assault and common assault on a woman in a nightclub in Ilford. He appeared at Redbridge Magistrates' Court on 25 January. He did not enter a plea and was remanded on bail to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 18 April 2011. On 18 April, he pleaded not guilty to sexual assault on a woman in Ilford in October 2010 but admitted one charge of common assault. He was released on conditional bail to stand trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 12 September 2011. On 16 September, he was cleared of groping a woman in a nightclub, but was fined £1,000 at Snaresbrook Crown Court for slapping her in the face. The judge ordered him to pay £250 compensation to the victim. During his Nacional career in 2013, da Costa was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) after the police performed a breathalyzer test on him, which was more than 1.30 g, leading to his arrest in the early morning. In court, da Costa was fined €350 and banned from driving for three months, due to driving under the influence of alcohol.