PLAYER PROFILE

Florent Malouda

Position: Midfield

Height: 6'0

Weight: 11st 7lbs

Date of Birth: 1980-06-13 Cayenne, French Guyana

Florent Malouda

Pacey winger Florent Malouda was born in French Guiana but started his career in Paris with Chateauroux, before moving to Guingamp where he played alongside future Chelsea team-mate Didier Drogba and earned himself a reputation as one of France's top young stars.

In the summer of 2003 he joined French champions Lyon and became an important part of their team as they continued to tighten their grip on the title in Ligue 1, playing in a midfield that initially featured another future Blues star, Michael Essien.

He broke into the French squad in 2004 and eventually established himself as a key figure for the national team, and in 2006/07 helped Lyon to yet another title, earning himself the Ligue 1 Player Of The Year award.

That summer he made it clear that he wanted to move on and in July 2007 joined Drogba and Essien by moving to Chelsea for a undisclosed fee believed to be around £13.5m.

His first season for the Blues was a largely unsuccessful one, but he improved in his second campaign, scoring a handful of important goals. He was particularly influential in the Champions League quarter-final first leg match against Liverpool at Anfield as he set up goals for Didier Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic.

During the summer of 2009, he was linked with a move to Barcelona and AC Milan, but decided to stay at Chelsea, signing a new four-year contract with the club.