Gaël Clichy participant in UEFA Euro 2012
Gaël Dimitri Clichy (born 26 July 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays for Swiss Super League club Servette. He primarily plays as a left-back, being also capable of playing as an offensive-minded wing-back. He is predominantly left footed, but naturally right footed. Earlier in his career, he was described as a player who possesses "almost unrivaled stamina" that is "quick in the tackle and willing to drive forward".Clichy was born in the city of Toulouse and began his football career playing for a host of amateur clubs in the Haute-Garonne département such as JS Cugnaux, AS Muret, and Tournefeuille. In 2001, he moved to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region to play for professional club Cannes. Clichy made his professional debut for the club in the 2002–03 season while the club was playing in the Championnat National, the third level of French football. After three seasons with Cannes, in 2003, he was convinced by manager and countryman Arsène Wenger to join Arsenal in England.
In Clichy's first season with the club, he was a member of the squad, dubbed the Invincibles, that went undefeated in the league season. As a result of the title, at 18 years and 10 months, Clichy became the youngest player to win a Premier League medal. After three seasons of backing up Ashley Cole, in the 2006–07 season, Clichy took over the starters' role permanently. In the 2007–08 season, he appeared in all 38 league matches. His performances during the season earned him an appearance on the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Team of the Year. Aside from the 2003–04 league title, he has also won the 2004 FA Community Shield in with Arsenal. Clichy moved on in 2011 to more success with Manchester City, adding two more Premier League titles (2011–12 and 2013–14) and two League Cups (2014 and 2016). He left England after 14 years for Turkish side İstanbul Başakşehir in 2017, with whom he won the national league in 2020.
Clichy is a former French youth international and has 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 finished runners-up to Switzerland at the 2002 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Clichy made his senior international debut in September 2008 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Serbia. He made his first major international tournament appearance for France at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Clichy made one appearance in the competition against South Africa in the final group stage match. He additionally featured in the UEFA Euro 2012 squad, before making his last international appearance in 2013.Senior
On 31 January 2008, Clichy was called up to the senior national team for the first time for the team's February 2008 match against Spain. However, he instead played for the B team in its friendly match against the Congo DR, held the day before the Spain friendly. After receiving several more call ups in 2008, Clichy finally earned his first cap on 10 September 2008 in a 2010 World Cup qualification match against Serbia. The following month, he appeared as a starter in 3–1 victories over Tunisia and Austria, the former match being a friendly and the latter being a World Cup qualifier. In the next year and a half, Clichy failed to represent France internationally. Despite this, he was named in Domenech's 30-man preliminary squad to participate in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Clichy was later named in the 23-man team to serve as the backup for the incumbent starter Patrice Evra. At the competition, France endured a disastrous campaign as the players went on strike in response to its disagreement over the expulsion of striker Nicolas Anelka from the team. In the team's final group stage match against hosts South Africa, with several veteran players missing from the squad, Clichy was inserted as a starter and played the entire match in the team's 2–1 loss, which resulted in its elimination from the competition. As a result of the players' mutiny, Clichy, along with the 22 other members of the team, were suspended for the team's friendly match against Norway.Due to the five-match suspension of Evra, new national team manager Laurent Blanc inserted Clichy as the starter. Following his first match since the World Cup against Belarus, Clichy was criticised for his defending; following a mix-up with Yann M'Vila, he failed to prevent Vyacheslav Hleb from providing the assist for the only goal of the match as France lost 1–0. Despite this setback, Clichy remained first-choice and featured in the team's next three matches. In November 2010, Clichy was benched in favour of Eric Abidal. Following Abidal's diagnosis of a tumor on his liver, Evra returned to the team and was given the starting left-back spot in his first match back. Clichy later admitted that he was frustrated by the decision, but respected the manager's choice. In June 2012, he was named in the 23-man France squad and given the number 22 shirt to compete at UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine as a substitute for Evra. He played the last two group matches against Ukraine and Sweden, as well as the 2–0 loss against Spain in the quarter final at the tournament.
engaged in involved in took part in played a role in contributed to