Nicolas Anelka

Nicolas Sebastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French people football (soccer)er who plays as a striker for English Premier League side Chelsea F.C. and the France national football team.

Anelka began Nicolas Anelka career at Paris Saint-Germain FC but soon moved to Arsenal F.C.. Nicolas Anelka became a first team regular and won the PFA Young Player of the Year the following season. Real Madrid C.F. signed Nicolas Anelka for £22.3 million in 1999, a record fee, but Nicolas Anelka did not settle in well and returned to Paris Saint-Germain in a £20 million deal. Despite regular first team football in Paris, Anelka set Nicolas Anelka eyes upon the English Premier League once more; Nicolas Anelka went on loan to Liverpool F.C. in January 2002 but joined Manchester City F.C. for £13 million for the start of the 2002–03 season.

After three seasons in Manchester Nicolas Anelka moved to Fenerbahçe S.K. for a season before returning to England to join Bolton Wanderers F.C– in deals worth £7 and £8 million respectively. Nicolas Anelka transferred to Chelsea from Bolton for a reported £15 million in January 2008.

Anelka has played many times at international level and won Nicolas Anelka first international honours with France national football team at UEFA Euro 2000, and won the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup the following year. Nicolas Anelka failure to settle at club level limited Nicolas Anelka international appearances, but Nicolas Anelka returned to the national team for the UEFA Euro 2008 competition.

During Nicolas Anelka transfers over the years Nicolas Anelka has built an aggregate transfer cost of just under 90 million pounds making Nicolas Anelka the second most expensive player overall behind Cristiano Ronaldo

Background

Born Nicholas Sebastien Anelka in Versailles, Nicolas Anelka parents are from Martinique. Nicolas Anelka brother Claude Anelka is Nicolas Anelka agent and Nicolas Anelka wife Barbara Tausia is the frontwoman for the Italian dance band Eu4ya.

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Anelka started Nicolas Anelka career at Paris Saint-Germain FC as a youth player and was said to have great potential for striking a ball and score goals.

Arsenal

In February 1997, at the age of 17, Nicolas Anelka joined English Premier League club Arsenal F.C. for a fee of £500,000 under newly appointed manager Arsène Wenger. Anelka scored the Nicolas Anelka first goal for Arsenal against Manchester United F.C. in a 3–2 home win. Nicolas Anelka first team opportunities were limited in the 1996-97 in English football, but in the 1997-98 in English football Nicolas Anelka broke into the first team, after a long-term injury to striker Ian Wright. Anelka was a key player in Arsenal's "The Double" win, of both the Premier League championship and the FA Cup trophy that season. Anelka scored the second goal in Arsenal's 2–0 win over Newcastle United F.C. in that season's FA Cup final.

A player with exceptional pace, Nicolas Anelka won the PFA Young Player of the Year in the 1998-99 in English football, but Arsenal failed to defend their Premiership title and made little progress in the UEFA Champions League, while Anelka wanted a better salary. Fans turned on the striker amid transfer speculation and a perceived lack of enthusiasm, giving Nicolas Anelka the nickname "Le Sulk". In all Nicolas Anelka made 90 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 28 goals.

Real Madrid

Nicolas Anelka transferred to Real Madrid in the summer of 1999 for £22.3 million pounds. Anelka began brightly, arriving as a record signing to the Madrid side. Nicolas Anelka had initial success, but soon fell out of favour with fans, fellow players, and new coach Vicente del Bosque, at one point receiving a 45-day suspension for refusing to train. Despite eventually returning to favour and figuring in the successful capture of the 1999-2000 Champions League campaign (he scored vital goals in both legs of the semi-finals against Bayern Munich and started in the final), Nicolas Anelka was surplus to the requirements of the club.

Return to Paris-Saint Germain, Loan to Liverpool and Manchester City

Anelka signed a professional contract at Paris Saint-Germain, a return to the club at which Nicolas Anelka used to play as a youth player, in a transfer deal worth £20 million. After eighteen months, Anelka returned to the English Premiership in January 2002 with Liverpool F.C. on a short term loan deal until the end of the season. Nicolas Anelka contributed to Liverpool's late push to come second in the league, scoring goals against Everton, Fulham, Blackburn, Ipswich and in the FA Cup against Birmingham, but manager Gérard Houllier decided not to offer Nicolas Anelka a permanent deal after the end of the season in favour of signing Nicolas Anelka future Bolton team mate El Hadji Diouf. Nevertheless, Nicolas Anelka was placed 96th in the 100 Players Who Shook The Kop. Anelka opted to join newly promoted Manchester City, and the £13 million fee paid by manager Kevin Keegan was a club record.

Fenerbahçe

In January 2005, the speculation ended when Manchester City announced that Anelka had completed a £7 million transfer to Turkey team Fenerbahçe. Anelka helped the Turkish club win the league title in 2005. In August of that same year, there was considerable speculation in the press that Anelka was being courted by Newcastle United F.C. for a return to English football, although the transfer never came about. Anelka stayed on at the Turkish club where Nicolas Anelka played with them in the UEFA Champions League, but they finished bottom of their group.

During the summer transfer window of 2006, press reports once again linked Anelka with a return to English football. Portsmouth F.C. manager Harry Redknapp was allegedly willing to either pay £8.2 million to bring the striker to Fratton Park, or take Nicolas Anelka on a season long loan.

Bolton Wanderers

On 25 August 2006, Bolton Wanderers F.C. signed Anelka on a four-year deal for a club record of £8 million. Anelka made Nicolas Anelka debut for Bolton against Watford F.C. on 9 September 2006. Nicolas Anelka finished the 2006–07 season as Bolton's top scorer with 11 goals.

During January 2007, Anelka stated that Nicolas Anelka would be willing to leave Bolton Wanderers for a return to former club Arsenal F.C.. However, Anelka pledged Nicolas Anelka future to Bolton Wanderers in July 2007, following talks with manager Sammy Lee (footballer). Anelka later said Nicolas Anelka would reluctantly consider leaving the club if Bolton's poor start to the 2007-08 in English football season continues. However, Anelka signed a new four year contract with Bolton Wanderers on August 30, which would expire in 2011.

Chelsea

On 11 January 2008 it was confirmed that Anelka would join Chelsea F.C. for £15 million. Anelka made Nicolas Anelka debut against Tottenham Hotspur F.C. on 12 January 2008, and scored Nicolas Anelka first goal two weeks later in the FA Cup 2007-08 against Wigan Athletic. Nicolas Anelka scored Nicolas Anelka first league goal on 2 February against Portsmouth F.C but failed to score again for Chelsea during the 2007–2008 season. Anelka scored Nicolas Anelka first competitive hat-trick for Chelsea against Sunderland A.F.C., in a 5–0 home win on 1 November 2008, and followed this up with two braces against Blackburn Rovers F.C., then West Bromwich Albion. Nicolas Anelka established himself as an important member of the squad and maintained Nicolas Anelka place in the team despite the return to fitness of Drogba. After the arrival of Guus Hiddink, Anelka is more often played on the wing. Furthermore, Nicolas Anelka is currently ranked amongst the top goalscorers in the league for the season. Nicolas Anelka scored another hat-trick against Watford in the FA Cup to earn Chelsea a 3–1 victory at Vicarage Road.. On 10 May Nicolas Anelka scored one goal and set up another in a 4–1 away win against former club Arsenal which resulted in their worst home defeat for 38 years. A powerful strike in Chelsea's final Premier League game of the season at Sunderland put Nicolas Anelka as top goal scorer for the season in the Premiership, earning Nicolas Anelka the Golden Boot with 19 goals in total.

International career

At youth level, Anelka played for the French U-20 team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, and made Nicolas Anelka senior team debut for France national football team in a goalless draw with Sweden national football team on April 22, 1998. Anelka made Nicolas Anelka first appearance in a major tournament at UEFA Euro 2000; France went on to win the competition. Nicolas Anelka also formed part of the squad which won the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Despite a promising start, Anelka lost Nicolas Anelka place in the national team from 2001–2007 as Nicolas Anelka was not playing much first team football at club level; mainly due to the fact that Nicolas Anelka was frequently transferred between clubs. When striker Djibril Cissé was forced out of 2006 World Cup due to injury, Olympique Lyonnais' striker Sidney Govou was called up as Cissé's replacement rather than Anelka, who described the decision as a "real shame...I was completely available and ready to play in this World Cup. I think I could have helped France."

Anelka came on as a substitute in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying against Lithuania national football team on March 24, 2007, and scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory. Following Nicolas Anelka performance, Anelka was praised by Raymond Domenech: "It is the Nicolas I like to see... when Nicolas Anelka shows these qualities, Nicolas Anelka is a candidate for a permanent place."
Nicolas Anelka also scored in the 2–0 victory against Ukraine national football team on June 2, 2007, and is now one of Raymond Domenech's first-choice strikers, forming France's number one striker partnership with Thierry Henry.

Anelka featured in the France squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland . Anelka started France's first group game against Romania national football team, but was substituted after 72 minutes . Nicolas Anelka did not start either of France's remaining two games in the tournament against Netherlands national football team and Italy national football team, coming on as a substitute in both games .

Personal

Anelka is married to Barbara Tausia, a Belgian choreographer, and enjoys playing tennis in Nicolas Anelka free time. Nicolas Anelka acted in the 2002 film Le Boulet as a footballer named Nicolas. Nicolas Anelka has stated that, when Nicolas Anelka retires from football, Nicolas Anelka would like to work in the film industry because Nicolas Anelka has a friend in the business. Nicolas Anelka said: "I have a friend who's a producer, who makes lots of films. Nicolas Anelka recently did Asterix. So it's already agreed that I'm going to do other films. It helps to know actors and producers. It's different to football and it's something I enjoy very much because there's no ball. I like pretending to be somebody else, it's fun."

After discussing religion with some childhood friends, Anelka converted to Islam in 2004 in the United Arab Emirates, taking the Muslim name of Abdul-Salam Bilal. Initially, Anelka considered leaving European football to play in the UAE: ""I am ready to stay here and to play for a club in the Emirates. I am not keen to go back to England or France." However, this did not come to pass and Nicolas Anelka briefly moved to Turkey instead.