39 Facts About Florent Malouda

1.

Florent Malouda was part of the French team which reached the 2006 World Cup final.

2.

Florent Malouda attracted the interest of scouts from French club Chateauroux and he soon moved to Paris to join the club.

3.

Florent Malouda played 57 games for Chateauroux, making his senior debut at the age of 16 in Ligue 2.

4.

Florent Malouda was then signed by top division side Guingamp following Chateauroux's inability to secure a Ligue 1 berth.

5.

Under the tutelage of coach Guy Lacombe, Florent Malouda demonstrated his ability and formed a combination with Didier Drogba, whom he would accompany later in his career at Chelsea.

6.

Florent Malouda won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year that season, edging teammate Juninho, Lille's Kader Keita, Toulouse's Johan Elmander and Lens' Seydou Keita to the accolade.

7.

Florent Malouda later repeated this comment in an interview with the Daily Star.

8.

Florent Malouda had looked set to join Liverpool until their Premier League rivals Chelsea intervened.

9.

Replays of the incident indicated Florent Malouda had backed into Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher after trying to leave the ball for the unmarked Didier Drogba.

10.

Florent Malouda scored against Schalke 04 in his first Champions League match for Chelsea, squeezing the ball through keeper Manuel Neuer's legs after turning his marker Rafinha.

11.

On 5 May 2008, Florent Malouda scored his second Premier League goal in the penultimate game of the season against Newcastle United, converting a Frank Lampard through-ball.

12.

Florent Malouda ended his first season in English football with two goals and one assist in the league.

13.

Florent Malouda scored his first two goals in the Luiz Felipe Scolari era against French outfit Bordeaux in the Champions League group stages on 16 September 2008, and in the League Cup third round tie against Portsmouth.

14.

On 23 June 2009 Florent Malouda signed a new four-year deal with Chelsea which would keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2013.

15.

On 3 November 2009, Florent Malouda made his 100th appearance for Chelsea in a Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.

16.

On 26 December 2009, Florent Malouda was sent off for the first time in the season for tackling Stephen Carr in a league game against Birmingham City at St Andrew's.

17.

Florent Malouda was designated for the first time as Premier League's Player of the Month in March 2010.

18.

Florent Malouda finished joint 12th top scorer in the Premier League that season with Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov.

19.

Florent Malouda continued this prolific form against Blackpool, scoring 2 more goals to take his goal tally to six only five games into the season.

20.

Florent Malouda missed some of Chelsea's pre-season matches as he was given extra rest following his inclusion in France's UEFA Euro 2012 squad.

21.

Florent Malouda was used as a second-half substitute in the pre-season matches against Paris Saint-Germain, MLS All-Stars, and Milan.

22.

Florent Malouda requested a transfer away from Chelsea during the summer.

23.

Florent Malouda was instead ordered to train away from the regular team with the under-21 squad.

24.

On 17 July 2013, it was announced that Florent Malouda signed a two-year contract with Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor.

25.

On 23 August 2015, Florent Malouda signed for Indian Super League side Delhi Dynamos, managed by Roberto Carlos.

26.

Florent Malouda played in all of the Dynamos 2015 Indian Super League games, as they reached the playoff semi-finals.

27.

On 29 January 2016, Florent Malouda joined Egyptian Premier League side Wadi Degla on a six-month loan deal, allowing him to continue to play and remain fit during the Indian off-season.

28.

Florent Malouda played 18 times as he helped his new club the Egyptian cup quarter-finals and a fifth-placed finish in the league, narrowly missing out on qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup.

29.

Florent Malouda returned to the Dynamos, ready for the 2016 Indian Super League season.

30.

Florent Malouda played the majority of the season as captain as they again reached the playoff semi-finals before leaving the club in July 2017.

31.

On 25 January 2018, after being without a club for almost half a year, Florent Malouda signed a contract with Luxembourg National Division team FC Differdange 03 until the end of the season.

32.

Florent Malouda made his debut for France on 17 November 2004 in a match against Poland.

33.

Florent Malouda then became a squad regular, scoring his first goal for his country on 31 May 2005 against Hungary.

34.

Florent Malouda continued to play regularly in the tournament, where the French eventually lost on penalties to Italy in the final.

35.

Florent Malouda won a penalty for France in that game, which was converted by Zinedine Zidane.

36.

On 3 September 2010, Florent Malouda was handed the captain's armband in France's first UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Belarus, while a five-game suspension was being served by the previous captain, Patrice Evra.

37.

Florent Malouda became available to play for his home nation, a non-FIFA association, after a five-year absence from the French squad.

38.

Florent Malouda was ruled ineligible for the Gold Cup since CONCACAF rules for the tournament use FIFA eligibility guidelines and Malouda remains cap-tied to France.

39.

Florent Malouda later became a coach at Swiss club FC Zurich, but his contract was cancelled in April 2019 after less than 2 months.