Éric Abidal is a left back who plays for Spanish side Barcelona and the French national team. Abidal was born and bred in Lyon but started his professional career first at AS Monaco, then at Lille. In 2004 he moved back to his home town and joined Olympique Lyonnais. With Lyon he won Ligue 1 three years in a row, before signing with Barcelona in June 2007 for €15 million. The contract also stated that Lyon would receive an extra €500,000 if Barcelona win the Champions League in any of the next four seasons, which they did in the 2008-09 season.
Abidal made his debut for the French national team in August 2004. He has been France’s first choice left back in the 2006 World Cup, in Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.

Gabriel Milito is a defender who plays for Spanish side Barcelona. He has also been capped 34 times for the Argentinian national team. Milito arrived in Spain in 2003 from Argentinian Club Atlético Independiente. He played for seasons for Real Zaragoza, with whom he won the Spanish Cup and Spanish Super Cup in 2004. In July 2007 he was signed by Barcelona. Towards the end of his first season there Milito suffered a serious knee injury, which kept him out of action for almost two years. This meant he missed out on the entire 2008-09 campaign, in which Barcelona won the treble. In January 2010 Milito finally returned to competitive football again. His older brother Diego Milito is a striker who plays for Italian side Inter Milan.

Seydou Keita is a defensive midfielder who plays for Spanish side Barcelona and the Mali national team. Keita began his professional career at French club Marseille but first came to prominence playing for Lorient. After two seasons there he moved on to RC Lens. There he was scoring several goals, as a defensive player, and was given the captaincy. He stayed at Lens for five seasons before his move to Spain came. He signed a four year contract with Sevilla but had such a brilliant first season there, that several top clubs were chasing his services. When the season finished in May 2008 he transferred to Camp Nou and Barcelona.
Keita has been a regular in Mali’s national team since 2000. He also played in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. Mali came 3rd in the competition and Keita was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s most outstanding player.

Thierry Henry is a French footballer who plays for The New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer in USA. Henry came up through the ranks at Monaco, while Arsene Wenger was the coach there. After a brief stint at Italian side Juventus in 1999 he joined up again with Arsene Wenger, this time at English side Arsenal. At Arsenal Wenger turned him from a winger into a striker. This move saw Henry blossom into a world-class player and he played a huge part in Arsenal’s success the next 8 years. He was the top goal-scorer in the Premier League for a record four seasons (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006). In 2005 he became Arsenal’s all-time topscorer. A feat which he also has managed for the French national team.
At the conclusion of the 2006/07 season, in which Henry had been troubled by injuries, he made a surprise move to Spanish side Barcelona. He enjoyed further success as a top scorer and Champions League winner with Barcelona. After leaving Barcelona he has also announced his retirement from France’s national side.

Lionel Messi is a forward who plays for Spanish side Barcelona and the Argentinian national team. Messi is today widely regarded as perhaps the best player in the world. He moved to Spain and Barcelona’s youth academy at the age of 13. Two years prior he had been diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency and Barcelona offered to pay for his monthly treatment. In November 2003, aged 16, he made his first team debut for Barcelona in a friendly match. A year later he made his debut in La Liga. Within a couple of years Messi was established as a regular starter for Barcelona. Since then he has captivated football fans all the world over with his charging runs, his vision, assists and regular goal scoring. The superlatives from football fans, media and fellow players have been seemingly never-ending from match to match he has played. With Barcelona Messi has won 4 La Liga titles, 1 Spanish Cup, 4 Spanish Super Cups, 2 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. With Argentina he has won the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2008 Olympics Gold Medal. Amongst many individual honours he has been named European Footballer of the Year and World Player of the Year.