Jérémy Mathieu (born 29 October 1983) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or a left-back..

Mathieu made 172 Ligue 1 appearances across seven seasons, split equally between Sochaux and Toulouse. He played five seasons in La Liga with Valencia before joining Barcelona in 2014, where he won the treble in his first season.

An international for France from 2011 to 2016, Mathieu was selected in the squad to represent France at UEFA Euro 2016 but dropped out with injury.

Club career Sochaux Born in Luxeuil-les-Bains, Haute-Saône, Mathieu started his career with the biggest club in the Franche-Comté region, Sochaux. When he was 16, AC Milan were interested in signing him, but Sochaux's coach Jean Fernandez advised him to stay because mentally he still wasn't strong enough.

He made his Ligue 1 debut, during the 2002–03 season, in a league match against Sedan coming on as a late-match substitute.Sedan v. Sochaux Match Report. Lfp.fr. Retrieved on 31 December 2012. Despite being 18, he was inserted into the starting 11, and quickly provided an impact scoring his first professional goal in just his third league match in a 2–2 draw against Rennes.Rennes v. Sochaux Match Report. Lfp.fr. Retrieved on 31 December 2012. He made 23 league appearances that season scoring four goals, which included an equalising goal against Paris Saint-Germain,PSG v. Sochaux Match Report . Lfp.fr. Retrieved on 31 December 2012. and two game-winning goals against NantesNantes v. Sochaux Match Report. Lfp.fr. Retrieved on 31 December 2012. and Le Havre.Sochaux v. Le Havre Match Report . Lfp.fr. Retrieved on 31 December 2012. His play, along with the team itself, was a main factor in the club finishing 5th and qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

Over the next two seasons, Mathieu continued his great form appearing in 63 league matches and scoring six league goals. He also performed well in Europe appearing in 14 matches and scoring two goals. He also helped Sochaux win the Coupe de la Ligue in 2004. His performances at Sochaux led to strong interest from Italian club Juventus,Juve watch Sochaux stars. Sky Sports (23 December 2012). Retrieved on 31 December 2012. English clubs Newcastle United, Everton, and Southampton.Patrick Haond . Sochaux starlet in demand. Sky Sports. Retrieved on 31 December 2012.

Toulouse

After announcing his desire to move to another club and only having one year left on his current deal, Sochaux agreed to listen to offers for the player.Patrick Haond . Sochaux open Mathieu talks. Sky Sports (23 December 2012). Retrieved on 31 December 2012. Eventually, he agreed to join Toulouse after agreeing to a four-year deal. He made his league debut for Toulouse against his former club Sochaux playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory.Sochaux v. Toulouse Match Report . Lfp.fr. Retrieved on 31 December 2012. He continued this positive play appearing in 36 league matches and scoring two goals against Ajaccio and Troyes. The following season, he made 32 league appearances and score another two goals helping Toulouse qualify for the UEFA Champions League. However, both Mathieu and Toulouse had a horrible 2007–08 season with Mathieu fracturing a bone in his foot, which forced him to miss half the season,James Dall (9 September 2007) Mathieu to undergo surgery. Sky Sports. Retrieved on 31 December 2012. and Toulouse finishing just one spot short of relegation. This led to Mathieu pondering his future with the Midi-Pyrénées-based side.Aurélien Léger-Moëc (24 February 2009) une destination surprise pour Jérémy Mathieu?. Footmercato.net. Retrieved on 31 December 2012.

Despite heavy interest from Italian side Roma and other Italian outfits,Jeremy Mathieu (14 June 2008) Mathieu eyes Roma move. Sky Sports. Retrieved on 31 December 2012.Fiorentina, Palermo chasing Toulouse wing-back Mathieu . Tribalfootball.com (3 November 2009). Retrieved on 31 December 2012.Genoa closing in on Mathieu. Ontheminute.com (26 February 2009). Retrieved on 31 December 2012. Toulouse refused to budge with efforts to get Mathieu to remain at the club. Mathieu responded by turning down a contract extension, which effectively allowed him to leave on a free transfer at the end of the 2008–09 season. Eventually it was agreed by Toulouse and Mathieu that the player would see out the season at Toulouse, after Toulouse turned down a €4.5 million move to Bordeaux.Toulouse block Mathieu move. Sky Sports.

Despite the ongoing transfer situation, Mathieu remained civil in regards to playing. He made 31 league appearances during the 2008–09 season, contributing to Toulouse's successful league campaign, as well as the team's success in the Coupe de France, where they were eliminated in the semi-finals by the eventual champions Guingamp.

Valencia On 10 June 2009, Mathieu signed for La Liga club Valencia on a three-year contract. The transfer came into effect on 1 July 2009.Jeremy Mathieu, nuevo jugador del VCF . Valenciacf.com (13 June 2009). Retrieved on 31 December 2012. He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 win over Sevilla FC.

On 1 May 2014, Mathieu looked to have scored the goal to send Valencia through to the 2014 UEFA Europa League Final when he scored off of Ricardo Costa's lay-off, making the score 3−0 against Sevilla (3−2 on aggregate) but Stéphane Mbia scored a 94th-minute header to win the semi-final on away goals for the Andalusian side. Three days later, Mathieu headed in a corner to send Valencia into a 1−0 lead at the Santiago Bernabéu but Real Madrid battled back to secure a 2−2 draw as Valencia conceded another late stoppage time goal.

Barcelona

On 23 July 2014, Mathieu signed a contract with La Liga club Barcelona for the next four seasons, with an optional season. The cost of the transfer was €20 million and the buyout clause was set at €50 million. Mathieu claims that he would rather have stayed as Valencia's captain rather than risking "polishing the bench" in Barcelona but that he decided to move after Valencia's chairman Amadeo Salvo rejected his demand for an intermediate figure between his pay in Valencia and Barcelona's proposal.

On 15 January 2015, he scored his first goal for Barcelona in a 4–0 Copa del Rey away win against Elche (9–0 on aggregate) from a free kick. Mathieu scored his first La Liga goal for the club against rivals Real Madrid in a 2–1 El Clásico win at the Camp Nou on 22 March 2015. In the team's next fixture, Mathieu scored the only goal in a 1–0 win at Celta Vigo, to keep his team four points clear at the top of the league. These two winning goals were important for the attainment of Barcelona's 23rd League title, as the team won it by a 2-point advantage over Real Madrid.

In the 2015 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla in Tbilisi, he conceded a penalty with a foul on Vitolo, which was converted by Kevin Gameiro as the opponents came from 1–4 down to take the game into extra time; Barcelona nonetheless triumphed 5–4.

Sporting CP On 7 July 2017, Portuguese club Sporting CP announced the signing of Mathieu on a free transfer for two seasons. He scored his first goal for the club on his sixth appearance, in a 2–0 home win against Tondela. Upon his return to the Camp Nou, Mathieu netted an own goal for Sporting in a 2–0 loss in their final game of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage.

On 24 June 2020, Mathieu suffered an injury to his left knee during training, which ultimately put an end to his career.

International career Mathieu has received caps with all of France's youth teams beginning with the under-15s. Though, he was a regular with the under-21 squad leading up to the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, he was not selected to participate in the event. He received his first call-up to the senior squad for their friendly against Slovakia. However, he played with the second team, France B, who were playing Slovakia B.

He made his national team debut in a friendly against the United States at the Stade de France on 11 November 2011, playing the full 90 minutes.

Mathieu was named in France's squad for their hosting of UEFA Euro 2016, but dropped out with injury on 28 May, to be replaced by Samuel Umtiti.

Career statistics Club Source:

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSochaux2002–03Ligue 12343000—2642003–04Ligue 12933261—3862004–05Ligue 13422181—444Total869831420010814Toulouse2005–06Ligue 136220——3822006–07Ligue 15220——722007–08Ligue 11410020—1612008–09Ligue 131040——350Total865802000965Valencia2009–10La Liga1711060—2412010–11La Liga2912070—3812011–12La Liga31060130—5002012–13La Liga1716010—2412013–14La Liga32340101—464Total1266190371001827Barcelona2014–15La Liga2826170—4132015–16La Liga2107030303402016–17La Liga131002010161Total62313112040914Sporting CP2017–18Primeira Liga29271120—4832018–19Primeira Liga2437020—3332019–20Primeira Liga181213110243Total716162171101059Career total431296468245058239

International Source:

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsFrance201110201200201310201420201500201610Total50

Honours Sochaux Coupe de la Ligue: 2003–04

Barcelona La Liga: 2014–15, 2015–16 Copa del Rey: 2014–15, 2015–16 Supercopa de España: 2016 UEFA Champions League: 2014–15 UEFA Super Cup: 2015 FIFA Club World Cup: 2015

Sporting CP Taça de Portugal: 2018–19 Taça da Liga: 2017–18, 2018–19

Individual Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2018–19

References

External links