Bacary Sagna

2004/07 AJ Auxerre (FRA) 121 matches

(French Championship: 87 matches)

(Coupe de France: 12 matches)

(Trophée des Champions: 1 match)

(UEFA Cup: 17 matches)

(Intertoto Cup: 4 matches)

2007/14 Arsenal (ENG) 284 matches, 5 goals

(English Premier League: 213 matches, 4 goals)

(English Cup: 18 matches, 1 goal)

(English League Cup: 6 matches)

(Champions League: 47 matches)

2014/17 Manchester City (ENG) 86 matches

(English Premier League: 54 matches)

(English Cup: 5 matches)

(English League Cup: 7 matches)

(Champions League: 20 matches)

2018 Benevento (ITA) 13 matches, 1 goal

2018/19 Montreal Impact (CAN) 40 matches, 2 goals

With the National Team :

65 caps

(Friendly matches: 33 caps)

(World Cup qualifiers: 15 caps)

(World Cup: 4 caps)

(Euro qualifiers: 6 caps)

(Euro: 7 caps)

1st cap: August 22, 2007 against Slovakia (1-0)

Last cap: October 7, 2016 against Bulgaria (4-1)

U23: 13 caps, 1 goal

Bacary Sagna

Born February 14, 1983 in Sens (FRA)

French, Right-back, 1m76

Bacary Sagna was born on February 14, 1983 in the city of Sens. The young boy obtained his first football license in the club of his city, Eveil Senonais, then at FC Sens. Very early, he was spotted by the club AJ Auxerre who signed him at the age of 14. At that age, he played as a striker, and it was only during a CFA match that the coach at the time, Bernard David, would reposition him as a right-back to compensate for the injury of the holder in this position.

He joined the club's squad in the 2003/04 season but made his professional debut in the 2004/05 season and already played 43 matches including 10 in the Europa League, reaching the quarter-finals.

Thanks to good performances in the 2006-2007 season during which he took part in all 38 league matches, Sagna was a member of the Ligue 1 team of the year and established himself as one of the best French full-backs of the moment.

In the summer of 2007, Bacary Sagna would experience two of the biggest changes of his career, firstly he became a French international, playing his first match against Slovakia, a 1-0 victory; and he joined Arsenal for 9 million euros. With Arsenal, he became a starter and scored his first goal with the London club in the derby against Chelsea on March 23, 2008. At the end of his first season in England, he finished in the championship's team of the year.

He then became an undisputed starter for Arsenal and finished again in the English championship's team of the year during the 2010/11 season. Twice best right-back in the Premier League in the space of 4 years, a great debut. That same season, he was a finalist in the League Cup but was beaten by Birmingham City.

The rest would be a little more complicated, during the 2011/12 season, the player suffered a fractured fibula twice and missed almost the entire season. But upon his return, he was once again put in a starting position, which he never let go of. Even if he had lost a little of his level, he remains one of the best full-backs in the world.

After 7 years at Arsenal, Bacary Sagna decided to change clubs and signed with Manchester City for 3 years. A starter despite some physical problems, he was a good full-back, at Manchester City, he won an English League Cup before leaving England after 10 years.

In February 2019, after spending 8 months without a club, he signed in Italy, with the league's bottom team, Benevento. Despite his arrival, the club ended up relegated and Bacary did not extend his contract, it was finally in Canada that he would end his career, at the Montreal Impact, for two seasons, he was the undisputed starter on the right in defense and he was voted the club's best defensive player, in 2019, he retired at the age of 36.

His career in the national team is also very good, emblematic right-back of the late 2000s and early 2010s in the French team, he will have played in total 65 times for his country between 2007 and 2016.

After his debut in 2007 under Raymond Domenech, he is in the shoes of a luxury replacement for Willy Sagnol during Euro 2008. In 2010, he is a starter but lives the ordeal and the humiliation with the French team as much on the field as off. Despite everything, he will be one of the rare players kept in the French team after the shame of 2010.

Under the Laurent Blanc era, he suffered from his serious fibula injury, and missed Euro 2012. In 2013, he was recalled by Didier Deschamps for a friendly match against Germany, Debuchy having taken his place, he was then again a luxury substitute in the French team.

In September 2015, during a match against Portugal, Bacary Sagna reached the symbolic bar of 50 selections with France. And he was selected for Euro 2016 as a starter. He played the two preparation matches against Cameroon (3-2 victory) and Scotland, providing an assist in this match (3-0 victory). He made another assist, this time in the tournament in the round of 16 against Ireland on a header from Antoine Griezmann who scored twice while the Blues were behind (2-1 victory). The Blues then eliminated Iceland and Germany before losing in the final against Portugal.

On October 7, 2016, Bacary had his last selection against Bulgaria, a qualifying match for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He distinguished himself by providing an assist for Kevin Gameiro after conceding a penalty in the 6th minute of play. Injured a few minutes later, he was replaced by Djibril Sidibé, who would be the new right-back for the Blues during the qualifying campaign. Sagna totaled 65 matches with the Blues between 2007 and 2016.

Bacary Sagna was a very complete defensive player, his quality as a center was notable, as were his athletic qualities despite his 1.76 meters. A player with very great endurance, he did not hesitate to make offensive and defensive efforts on his right flank. He was also quite aggressive in his defensive vision of football, and an excellent tackler.

- Named in the French Championship Team of the Year in 2007

- Named in the PFA Team of the Year in the English Championship in 2008 and 2011

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