28 Facts About Steed Malbranque

Steed Malbranque returned to France in 2011 for a short spell with Saint-Etienne.

Steed Malbranque principally played as a winger or attacking midfielder.

Steed Malbranque 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.

Steed Malbranque 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.

Steed Malbranque was an unused substitute in the final as Lyon won the 2001 French Coupe de la Ligue.

Steed Malbranque rejected the move as he felt he was not ready to play in the Premier League.

Steed Malbranque went on to score 10 goals in his first season.

Steed Malbranque was the top scorer that season with 13 goals that helped save Fulham from relegation.

Steed Malbranque was offered the chance to play for Belgium towards the end of the campaign, having not represented the full France side; however, he turned it down with the hope that he would eventually break into the full French squad.

On 13 May 2006, after extensive contract talks with the club failed, Steed Malbranque was placed on the transfer list at Fulham after he declared his intention to leave at the end of his contract.

Steed Malbranque had been unable to play earlier than that after a non-essential groin operation.

Steed Malbranque became a fan favourite at Tottenham because of his strong work ethic.

Steed Malbranque scored Tottenham's 150th goal in European competition with his goal in the second leg of the UEFA Cup last 16 against Sporting Braga on 14 March 2007 at White Hart Lane.

On 12 April 2007, during the second leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-final against defending champions Sevilla, Steed Malbranque famously scored an anomalous own goal.

The ball appeared to be going wide of the goal until Steed Malbranque took a wild lash at the ball to clear it and keep it in play.

Steed Malbranque started for Spurs as they won the 2008 Football League Cup Final against Chelsea.

Steed Malbranque followed teammates Pascal Chimbonda and Teemu Tainio to Sunderland.

Steed Malbranque scored his second Sunderland goal in their FA Cup third round victory over non-league Barrow.

Steed Malbranque's run of form helped Sunderland climb the table after a positive streak of results mid-season.

Steed Malbranque featured in Sunderland's early seven match unbeaten run, which included games against Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Steed Malbranque became a fan favourite during his time with Sunderland but in the 2011 summer transfer window it was revealed that he was in advanced talks with French team Saint-Etienne with a view to joining them.

On 3 August 2011, it was announced Steed Malbranque had signed with French side AS Saint-Etienne on a two-year contract, thus ending a 10-year stay in English football.

Steed Malbranque eventually released a statement issued by London-based solicitors Thomas Cooper denying this:.

On 25 August 2012 Steed Malbranque signed a one-year contract with Lyon after spending three weeks with the club.

On 17 June 2016, Steed Malbranque signed for Caen as a free agent on a one-year contract.

In February 2004, after failing to break into France's senior squad, Steed Malbranque expressed an interest in representing the Belgium national team.

However, the Red Devils' coach Aime Anthuenis claimed that Steed Malbranque was not eligible to represent the country.

In November 2012, Steed Malbranque received a call-up to the French squad for a friendly against Italy but again failed to earn his debut cap.