Ginola David

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

A forward, Ginola played for ten seasons in France with Toulon, Racing Paris, Brest and Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Newcastle United in the English Premier League in July 1995. He subsequently played for Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton before retiring in 2002. At international level, he made 17 appearances, scoring three goals, for the France national team between 1990 and 1995. Since his retirement from football, he has become involved in football punditry and acting. Ginola is a regular contributor to BBC, BT Sport and CNN. He has hosted Match of ze Day, a program which broadcasts live Premier League matches on Canal+. In January 2015, Ginola attempted to run for the FIFA presidency but withdrew after failing to receive the required backing of at least five national football associations.

In Their Own Story

The atmosphere at Parc des Princes shifted in January 1992 as David Ginola arrived, bringing a flamboyant style that would define an era. In his first full season of 1992–93, he delivered the decisive goal in the Coupe de France final, securing silverware for the club while also guiding them to the UEFA Cup semi-finals. The following year, under Artur Jorge, Ginola was instrumental as PSG won their second league title in history, losing only three matches all season; his 13 goals in 38 games made him the team's top scorer alongside key figures like Bernard Lama and Paul Le Guen. When Luis Fernandez took over for the 1994–95 campaign, the league was lost to Nantes, but Ginola scored 11 times in 28 appearances while PSG triumphed in both the Coupe de France and the newly created Coupe de la Ligue. His European heroics that season included a standout performance against Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals, where his brilliance helped eliminate the Spanish finalists before the team fell to AC Milan.

Reader's Guide

Ginola joined Paris Saint-Germain in January 1992. In his first full season (1992–93), he won the Coupe de France (scoring in the final) and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. At the end of 1993, he won the French Footballer of the Year award. In 1993–94, PSG won the second league title of its history, losing only three times. Alongside Paul Le Guen, Bernard Lama and Antoine Kombouaré and coached by Artur Jorge, Ginola provided 13 goals in 38 games, which made him the top club goalscorer. The following season, under new manager Luis Fernandez, PSG won another Coupe de France and the first Coupe de la Ligue. In the UEFA Champions League, PSG knocked out Barcelona in the quarter-finals, with Ginola playing particularly well, before being eliminated by AC Milan. In the summer of 1995, Ginola decided to leave France. A proposed transfer to Barcelona broke down, Ginola being told this was down to the Catalan club's inability to move on other foreign-registered players.

Did You Know?

• Ginola made his senior debut for Sporting Toulon as an eighteen-year-old in a 1985 2–0 victory away at Metz.
• In 1991, he played a crucial role in a landmark 3–2 victory against the side who would later sign him, Paris Saint-Germain.
• Ginola admitted he supported Paris Saint-Germain's rivals Marseille as a boy and would have joined them rather than PSG.
• He was named PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year in 1999, the first player in Premiership history to win the award while at a club outside the top four.
• Ginola is infamous in France for a mistake in a 1994 World Cup qualifying match against Bulgaria, where his overhit cross led to a Bulgarian counterattack and winning goal.