Blaise Matuidi

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Matuidi began his football career playing for amateur clubs in the Île-de-France region, such as US Fontenay-sous-Bois and CO Vincennois. In 2000, he was selected to attend the prestigious Clairefontaine academy. In 2004, he signed with professional club Troyes and made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season. After three seasons with Troyes, Matuidi joined Saint-Étienne. With Saint-Étienne, he played European football for the first time after participating in the 2008–09 edition of the UEFA Cup. In the 2009–10 season, he was named first-choice captain under manager Alain Perrin. In July 2011, after four seasons with Saint-Étienne, Matuidi transferred to Paris Saint-Germain, which had been newly acquired by Qatar Sports Investments, on a three-year deal. He won sixteen domestic honours during his time with the club, including four consecutive Ligue 1 titles. In 2017, he joined Italian side Juventus, winning a domestic double in his first season, followed by two more consecutive league titles over the next two seasons, as well as the 2018 Supercoppa Italiana. He played for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami for two seasons before retiring in 2022.

In Their Own Story

The journey to the number 14 shirt began long before Paris; it started with a youth career at US Fontenay-sous-Bois and CO Vincennes, where he was once teammates with Yacine Brahimi. After three seasons at Troyes, where he scored his first professional goal against Lille on January 11, 2006, and a memorable two-goal performance against Sedan in April 2007 to help them avoid immediate relegation, Matuidi moved to Saint-Étienne. There, he captained the side under Alain Perrin during the 2009–10 season before making his move to Paris. At PSG, the atmosphere shifted dramatically with the QSI investment. While the source notes a physical altercation between him and Dimitri Payet at Saint-Étienne in May 2010 that Matuidi later called a "lack of maturity," at PSG he channeled that intensity into consistency, helping the team navigate their first major trophy droughts and establish a winning culture.

Reader's Guide

Matuidi is a former France youth international, having represented his nation at under-19 and under-21 level. In August 2010, Matuidi was called up to the senior team for the first time under new manager Laurent Blanc. He made his international debut in September 2010 and has since represented his nation at two UEFA European Football Championships and two FIFA World Cups, winning a runners-up medal at Euro 2016, and a winner's medal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Did You Know?

• Matuidi was born on 9 April 1987 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, to an Angolan father and a Congolese mother.
• He grew up in the Parisian suburb of Fontenay-sous-Bois and became an admirer of former PSG attacker Jay-Jay Okocha.
• Matuidi scored his first professional goal on 11 January 2006 in a 1–0 victory against Lille, with a volley described as 'magnificent'.
• He was involved in a physical altercation with teammate Dimitri Payet during a match in May 2010.