Florent Malouda born June 13, 1980 in Cayenne, French Guiana. Malouda plays as a left winger for Chelsea F.C in the Premier League and France National Team. Malouda is a pacy, attacking left winger who can also play as a second striker or behind the front two.

Florent Malouda signed for Chelsea in July after beating off stiff competition from around Europe including Liverpool and Real Madrid. The 27 year old French winger joined the FA and Carling Cup holders from Lyon for an undisclosed fee said to be within the £13.5 million mark. He joined them on a 4 1/2 year deal.

Guingamp

Malouda was then signed by top division side Guingamp following Châteauroux’s inability to secure a Ligue 1 berth. It was in Guingamp where his talent was showcased in French top-flight football. Under the tutelage of coach Guy Lacombe, Malouda demonstrated his tremendous ability and formed a superb assister and finisher combination with then team-mate Didier Drogba.

In 92 appearances for Guingamp, Malouda scored 15 goals.

Lyon

Malouda’s performances at Guingamp began catching the attention of French giants Olympique Lyonnais who, after claiming their second consecutive title during the 2002–03 season, decided to sign Malouda. In an outstanding Lyon team containing Juninho Pernambucano, Michael Essien, Gregory Coupet, and Mahamadou Diarra, Malouda established himself on the left side of Lyon’s attack, forming great link-ups with all of Lyon’s strikers. His performances for Lyon finally earned him a much deserved call up to the French national football team.

The highlights of Malouda’s career at Lyon were a man of the match display against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and his 10 goals which led Lyon to their sixth consecutive Ligue 1 title, both during the 2006–07 season.

He also won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year that season, succeeding team-mate Juninho, Lille’s Abdul Kader Keïta, Toulouse’s Johan Elmander and Lens’ Seydou Keïta to the accolade.

(more…)