Steed Malbranque

Lyon

He was a trainee at Lyon youth academy between 1995 and 1997, during which time he won the Under-15 championship twice, the Under-17 Cup and the reserve team championship. He also captained the French Under-18 side. He made his professional debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Montpellier on 21 February 1998 aged 18. He went on to play a total of 96 games for the club, which included 12 appearances and two goals in the Champions League and seven appearances in the UEFA Cup. Malbranque was an unused substitute in the final as Lyon won the 2001 French Coupe de la Ligue. During his time at the club, there was a chance to join English club Arsenal after impressing in a Champions League tie at Highbury and the following tie, a 3–0 victory over Bayern Munich at Stade de Gerland. He rejected the move as he felt he was not ready to play in the Premier League.

Fulham

He eventually made his move to the Premier League in 2001, joining Fulham for a fee believed to be £4.5 million, making his debut in a 3–2 defeat at Old Trafford against Manchester United. He went on to score 10 goals in his first season. As a result, making an impressive display in his first season at Fulham, Malbranque was described by Christian Damiano, who has kept track of Malbranque's development since he was 13-year-old, as "the number 10 position that Zidane excels at Fulham". He became a firm favourite during his five years at the club, playing a total of 211 games and scoring 44…

Born in Belgium to French parents, Malbranque was called up to the French Under-21s and was part of the squad of Les Bleus that lost to the Czech Republic in the final of the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. In February 2004, after failing to break into France's senior squad, Malbranque expressed an interest in representing the Belgium national team. However, the Red Devils' coach Aimé Anthuenis claimed that Malbranque was not eligible to represent the country. A month later, Malbranque was called into the senior France squad for a friendly against the Netherlands but was an unused squad member. In November 2012, Malbranque received a call-up to the French squad for a friendly against Italy but again failed to earn his debut cap.

Lyon

Coupe de la Ligue: 2000–01 Fulham

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002 Tottenham Hotspur

Football League Cup: 2007–08