38 Facts About William Gallas

1.

William Eric Gallas was born on 17 August 1977 and is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender.

2.

William Gallas played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glory.

3.

William Gallas transferred to Arsenal as part of an exchange deal in 2006.

4.

William Gallas then signed for rivals Tottenham Hotspur in 2010.

5.

William Gallas retired from professional football on 16 October 2014.

6.

William Gallas is the cousin of the deceased former footballer Ludovic Quistin and of Mathieu Bastareaud, a French rugby union centre playing for Lyon.

7.

William Gallas subsequently transferred to Marseille in 1997, where he played for four seasons.

8.

William Gallas chose the number 13 shirt because it was his postcode back where he lived in Marseille.

9.

Under Ranieri, William Gallas developed centre-back partnerships with Marcel Desailly and later with John Terry.

10.

William Gallas made his debut as a substitute for John Terry against Newcastle United in August 2001.

11.

Chelsea ended up reaching the 2002 FA Cup Final in which William Gallas started, however they were defeated by Arsenal.

12.

William Gallas was part of the Chelsea squad which won back-to-back Premier League titles and a League Cup under Ranieri's successor Jose Mourinho.

13.

William Gallas refused to sign a new contract with Chelsea on improved terms after saying the club did not offer him enough money and expressed a wish to play in the Italian Serie A, with Juventus and Milan both interested.

14.

William Gallas signed a four-year contract with Arsenal, where he took the number 10 shirt vacated by the recently retired Dennis Bergkamp.

15.

William Gallas was confirmed as Arsenal captain on 9 August 2007, with Kolo Toure serving as vice-captain.

16.

On 24 November 2007, William Gallas scored against Wigan Athletic when Bacary Sagna crossed in and William Gallas headed past goalkeeper Mike Pollitt.

17.

On 16 December 2007, William Gallas scored against his old club Chelsea, which was to be the only goal in the match to secure three points for Arsenal.

18.

When Gael Clichy of Arsenal conceded a penalty in injury time at the end of the second half, William Gallas walked into the Birmingham half, apparently in protest.

19.

William Gallas stood there as Birmingham striker James McFadden converted the penalty.

20.

William Gallas then had to be restrained as he appeared to confront the crowd in fury.

21.

Amid speculation that William Gallas would be replaced as club captain following his behaviour during the Birmingham game, Wenger said that he would consider the matter at the end of the season.

22.

William Gallas scored six goals in Arsenal's campaign, including two against Dutch side Twente and an equaliser against Dynamo Kyiv, as well as a header against Spurs.

23.

William Gallas was dropped from the squad for the next match, against Manchester City, and was reported to have been fined two weeks' wages.

24.

Wenger confirmed that William Gallas still had a future with the club, contrary to media speculation, and William Gallas played in the following day's Champions League match.

25.

William Gallas formed a partnership with Belgian centre back Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal's only major summer signing, and the pair scored seven goals between them in their first eight league games.

26.

William Gallas suffered an injury-hit second half of the season and did not play for over two months; he was surprisingly included in the starting line up against Barcelona only to get stretchered off before half-time with a recurrence of the injury.

27.

On 23 October 2013, William Gallas signed a one-year deal with Perth Glory, becoming the first Frenchman to play in the Australian A-League.

28.

William Gallas joined the league following the arrival of other international players, Alessandro Del Piero, Emile Heskey and Shinji Ono.

29.

William Gallas made his debut for Perth in round 6 against Adelaide United, coming on as substitute.

30.

William Gallas was a part of the France U-18 European Championship winning side.

31.

William Gallas played for the France U-20 team in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship along with Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Nicolas Anelka, Mikael Silvestre and Willy Sagnol.

32.

In October 2002, William Gallas debuted for the France senior team in a UEFA Euro 2004 qualifier against Slovenia.

33.

William Gallas went on to represent France at UEFA Euro 2004, starting in three of France's four matches, as they were knocked out by eventual champions Greece.

34.

William Gallas was ever present as France finished runner-up in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, losing on penalties to Italy at the Berlin Olympiastadion.

35.

At UEFA Euro 2008, William Gallas was a regular starter as France were knocked out at the group stage.

36.

In November 2009, William Gallas scored a goal which qualified France for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

37.

William Gallas was included in France's squad for the 2010 World Cup.

38.

William Gallas was eligible to represent Guadeloupe internationally as well, as they are not FIFA-affiliated.