Jérémy Ménez
Jérémy Ménez is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. Ménez has been described as an ambipedal, technically skilled, pacy playmaker.
Ménez began his career spending time with various clubs in the Île-de-France region such as the Centre de Formation de Paris and CSF Brétigny. In 2001, he secured a move to Sochaux and spent four years in the club's youth academy. In March 2004, Ménez became the youngest professional football player in the history of Ligue 1 after signing a professional contract and made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season. With Sochaux, he played European football for the first time after participating in the 2004–05 edition of the UEFA Cup. After two seasons at the club, he joined Monaco. At Monaco, Ménez developed into a playmaking midfielder under the tutelage of Brazilian manager Ricardo Gomes. After two successful seasons in Monaco, he signed for Serie A club Roma on a four-year contract. With Roma, Ménez featured in the UEFA Champions League for the first time and scored 12 goals in over 100 appearances with the club. In July 2011, after three seasons with Roma, Ménez returned to France signing a three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain. He was then signed by AC Milan on a free transfer in June 2014, signing a three-year contract.
Ménez 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 in the under-17 team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Ménez made his senior international debut in August 2010 in a friendly match against Norway. He represented his country at the Euro 2012.
Club career
Early career
Ménez was born in Longjumeau, Essonne. As a child, he grew up in Vitry-sur-Seine, not far from his birthplace, and supported hometown club Paris Saint-Germain. Ménez became attracted to football through his father and older brother who were football players themselves. Ménez began his career at local club CA Vitry. After a year at the club, Ménez joined the Centre de Formation de Paris, a youth sporting club designed to cater only to football players under the age of 19. While at C.F.F.P, Ménez developed and honed his technical skills and was placed into the playmaker position by his coaches. After five years at the academy, he departed the club after developing friction with the academy coaches. After leaving CFFP, Ménez joined CSF Brétigny, a local Parisian club that also trained French internationals Patrice Evra and Jimmy Briand. He spent only a year at the club before securing a move to professional club Sochaux in Franche-Comté.Sochaux
Upon his arrival at Sochaux, Ménez entered the club's youth academy and began attending the sports department's elite high school, Vignes de Seloncourt, with ambitions of becoming an accountant. While in the club's academy, Ménez was adept both on and off the field earning good grades in school. On 24 March 2004, at the age of 16, he signed his first professional contract with Sochaux, agreeing to a three-year deal until June 2007. Upon signing the contract, he became the youngest professional football player in the history of Ligue 1. Ménez was subsequently promoted to the club's senior team and assigned the number 26 shirt by manager Guy Lacombe. Prior to signing his contract, Ménez drew strong interest from English clubs Arsenal and Manchester United. The latter club's manager at the time, Sir Alex Ferguson, was later accused by Sochaux's former president Jean-Claude Plessis of tapping up Ménez; he accused Ferguson of meeting with the player's parents in Paris and offering them financial favours. Manchester United denied the accusations. Ménez travelled to Manchester and visited the team's facilities and Old Trafford, the club's stadium, before deciding to remain in France.On 7 August 2004, Ménez made his professional debut in the club's opening match of the 2004–05 season against Ajaccio. He started the match and played 57 minutes before being substituted for in a 1–0 win. Despite being so young, Ménez was a regular within the team, often rotating between the bench and starting XI. On 20 November, he scored his first professional goal in a 3–1 victory over Monaco. Two months later, Ménez became the youngest player in league history to score a hat-trick after recording one in the team's 4–0 victory over Bordeaux. He scored the goals in a seven-minute span to assure Sochaux of victory. Ménez was a regular during the team's 2004–05 UEFA Cup campaign, appearing in six matches with the club. Sochaux suffered elimination in the Round of 32 at the hands of Greek club Olympiacos. Following the season, Ménez was nominated for the UNFP Young Player of the Year award but lost out to Nantes midfielder Jérémy Toulalan.
For the 2005–06 season, Ménez switched to the number 11 shirt and was given a more prominent role within the team by new manager Dominique Bijotat. He appeared in 31 league matches, fifth-best on the team, and scored three goals. Ménez scored his first goal on 15 October 2005 in a 1–1 draw against Bordeaux. At the beginning of the new year, Ménez scored his final two goals in another 1–1 draw with Nice and a 4–0 victory over Saint-Étienne. Sochaux finished the season in a disappointing 15th position after finishing the four previous seasons in the top ten. This led Ménez to become unsettled and to declare his desire to leave the club. On 8 June 2006, Sochaux chairman Dassier announced that he would consider offers for the player with Ligue 1 clubs Paris Saint-Germain, Bordeaux, Monaco and English club Arsenal reported to be interested.
Monaco
On 22 June 2006, Sochaux announced on its website that it had reached an agreement with fellow Ligue 1 club Monaco for the transfer of Ménez. He signed a four-year contract, with the transfer fee undisclosed. Ménez was given the number 10 shirt by manager László Bölöni and inserted into his preferred left-winger position. He made his club debut on 19 August in the team's 1–1 draw with Rennes, appearing as a substitute. On 30 September, Ménez scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win over Le Mans, netting the game-winner ten minutes from time. Following the firing of Bölöni and the arrival of new manager Ricardo Gomes, Ménez struggled to get consistent playing time and grew frustrated, which led to interest abroad from Manchester United and Liverpool. On 11 November, however, he was re-inserted into the starting line-up and scored the equalising goal in a 2–2 draw with Lorient. Ménez maintained his form into the new year, but struggled for fitness in February due to a groin injury. The injury required surgery and Ménez missed two months of play. He returned to the team in April and scored goals in three-straight matches against Lille, Valenciennes and Marseille. Ménez finished the 2006–07 campaign by scoring the only goal in a win over the champions Lyon.Despite summer interest from English Premier League clubs, Ménez opted to remain at Monaco. In the 2007–08 campaign, he scored his first goal in the team's 3–0 victory over his former club Sochaux. The following week, he netted again, this time in a 3–1 win over Le Mans. On 15 December, Ménez scored a double in a 3–1 victory against Lens. It was his first multi-goal game since his hat-trick three years prior. The following month, Ménez scored both of the team's goal in a 2–0 away win against Metz. On 23 February 2008, he suffered an injury in a league match against Paris-Saint Germain, which led to him leaving the match at half-time. The injury was discovered to be serious and Ménez missed three months before returning for the final two matches of the season, making obligatory substitute appearances.
Roma
After featuring in Monaco's first three league matches of the season, it was reported on 27 August 2008 that Ménez had signed a four-year contract with Italian club Roma. The transfer fee was priced at €10.5 million with Monaco set to receive another €1.5 million in incentives. Ménez was announced as the replacement for departed wingers Mancini and Ludovic Giuly and selected the number 24 shirt, the former number of club legend Marco Delvecchio. He made his debut for the club on 31 August in the team's Serie A match against Napoli, appearing as a substitute in the 63rd minute. Ménez made his UEFA Champions League debut in the team's group stage match against Bordeaux, playing 51 minutes in a 3–1 victory. On 6 December, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 victory over Chievo. For the majority of the campaign, however, Ménez struggled for consistent playing time, rarely lasting an entire match and often starting on the bench for consecutive matches under Luciano Spalletti. On 24 May 2009, he appeared as a substitute in the 75th minute against AC Milan. After five minutes on the field, Ménez scored a goal to put Roma up 2–1; the capital club went on to win the match 3–2. The following week, he started the match and scored a goal in a 3–2 win over Torino.For the 2009–10 season, Ménez switched to the unusual number 94 shirt. He scored his first goal against Milan on 18 October 2009. On 6 January 2010, he drew the ire of new manager Claudio Ranieri and several teammates, who criticised him for his substitute appearance against Cagliari in which he gave a somewhat lackadaisical effort. Following the criticism, Ménez stated, "I touched the lowest point of my career in that game away to Cagliari," and, "My teammates were right to criticise me." On 11 January, Ménez issued an apology to coach Ranieri and his teammates and brushed off rumours of him issuing a transfer request by declaring himself fully committed to the team. On 30 January, midfielder Simone Perrotta stated that Ménez simply needed a confidence boost. After appearing as a substitute for four consecutive matches after the Cagliari match, Ménez made his first start since December 2009 in a league match against Catania on 21 February. He capped the return by assisting on the game-winning goal scored by Mirko Vučinić. Ménez finished the campaign by starting eight of the final ten league matches as Roma finished the season in second place and qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
In the 2010–11 season, Ménez began the season as a starter under Ranieri after his successful end to the previous season. Despite being a starter, however, Ranieri continued to undermine Ménez's durability as he consistently substituted the player out in every match he started. On 3 November, Ménez scored his first goal of the campaign in a 3–2 Champions League victory over Swiss club Basel. A week later, he assisted on a Marco Borriello goal in a 3–2 win over Fiorentina. On 13 November, for the first time in the season, Ménez played an entire match after playing in a 1–1 draw with Juventus. In the team's next league match against Udinese, he scored his first league goal and also assisted on a goal in a 2–0 win. After going scoreless in December, on 22 January 2011, Ménez scored the final goal in a 3–0 win over Cagliari. On 16 February, Ménez scored a goal in Roma's first leg of its Champions League first knockout round tie with Shakhtar Donetsk. Five days later, Ranieri resigned from his position as manager and replaced with Vincenzo Montella. Under Montella, Ménez appeared in the manager's first three matches as a substitute. On 13 March, he made his first start under Montella in a league match against Lazio, but was substitute out after 55 minutes. On 23 March, in an interview with French newspaper L'Equipe, Ménez admitted that he was frustrated with his playing time under Montella. The frustration reached its zenith when, on 21 April, Ménez and Montella got into an altercation during a morning training session after Montella reportedly "spent a quarter of an hour berating the France international" for his lack of commitment. Later that night, following the team's Coppa Italia tie with Inter Milan, while leaving the Stadio Olimpico in his vehicle, Ménez was attacked by stone-throwing "thugs", which resulted in his car windshield being smashed.