 Nasri with France in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samir Nasri[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 26 June 1987[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Septèmes-les-Vallons, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Pennes Mirabeau | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2004 | Marseille | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2008 | Marseille | 121 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Arsenal | 86 | (18) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2017 | Manchester City | 129 | (18) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | → Sevilla (loan) | 23 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Antalyaspor | 8 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | West Ham United | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Anderlecht | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 379 | (52) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | France U16 | 16 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | France U17 | 16 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | France U18 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | France U19 | 10 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | France U21 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2013 | France | 41 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Samir Nasri (Arabic: سمير نصري; born 26 June 1987) is a French former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder and a winger, although he had also been deployed in central midfield. Nasri was known for his dribbling, ball control and passing ability.[4][5] His playing style, ability and cultural background drew comparisons to former French player Zinedine Zidane.[6]
Nasri began his football career playing for local youth clubs in his hometown Marseille. At age nine, he joined professional club Olympique de Marseille and spent the next seven years developing in the club's youth academy at La Commanderie, the club's training centre. In the 2004–05 season, he made his professional debut in September 2004 at age 17 against Sochaux. In the following season, he became a regular starter in the team and participated in European competition for the first time after playing in the 2005–06 edition of the UEFA Cup. In the 2006–07 campaign, Nasri won the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year award and was also named to the Team of the Year. He finished his career with Marseille amassing over 160 appearances. He played in the teams that reached back-to-back Coupe de France finals in 2006 and 2007.
In June 2008, Nasri joined Premier League club Arsenal on a four-year contract. He reached prominence with the team in his third season winning the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Fans' Player of the Month award on three occasions and being named to the association's Team of the Year. In December 2010, he was named the French Player of the Year for his performances during the calendar year.[7] In August 2011, after three seasons with Arsenal, Nasri joined Manchester City on a four-year contract. In his first season with the club, he won his first major honour as a player as the club won the 2011–12 Premier League. He totalled 176 games and 27 goals for the club, winning another Premier League title and the Football League Cup in 2014. Following a loan to Sevilla in 2016, he had short spells at Antalyaspor, West Ham United and Anderlecht until his retirement in 2021. He was suspended from football for eighteen months until January 2019 following a doping violation.
Nasri was a France youth international and represented his nation at every level for which he was eligible. Prior to playing for the senior team, he played on the under-17 team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Nasri made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a friendly match against Austria and scored his first senior international goal in a 1–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying win over Georgia two months later. He played 41 games for France, scoring 5 goals, and represented the country at UEFA Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. In 2014, he announced his retirement from international football after being omitted from the 2014 World Cup.
- ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 29 de octubre de 2016, en Gijón" [Minutes of the Match held on 29 October 2016, in Gijón] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016.
- ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 304. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
- ^ "Samir Nasri". Manchester City F.C. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- ^ Lawrence, Amy (17 August 2008). "Nasri makes an instant impact". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ Lacey, David (13 March 2010). "Samir Nasri's dribbling makes him a throwback to days of Matthews". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ Doyle, Paul (23 March 2007). "Samir Nasri: the new Zidane?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ "Nasri, numéro 1 à 23 ans". France Football (in French). 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.