Jérémy Ménez facts for kids
Ménez playing for Bordeaux in 2016
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jérémy Ménez | ||
| Date of birth | 7 May 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Longjumeau, France | ||
| Height | 1.83 m | ||
| Playing position | Forward, winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1995 | CA Vitry | ||
| 1995–2000 | CFF Paris | ||
| 2000–2001 | CSF Brétigny | ||
| 2001–2004 | Sochaux | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2006 | Sochaux | 55 | (7) |
| 2006–2008 | Monaco | 57 | (14) |
| 2008–2011 | Roma | 84 | (7) |
| 2011–2014 | Paris Saint-Germain | 79 | (14) |
| 2014–2016 | AC Milan | 43 | (18) |
| 2016–2017 | Bordeaux | 26 | (3) |
| 2017–2018 | Antalyaspor | 7 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | América | 18 | (5) |
| 2019–2020 | Paris FC | 17 | (4) |
| 2020–2023 | Reggina | 67 | (13) |
| 2023–2024 | Bari | 10 | (0) |
| Total | 463 | (85) | |
| National team | |||
| 2007–2008 | France U21 | 9 | (2) |
| 2010–2013 | France | 24 | (2) |
|
|||
Jérémy Ménez (born on May 7, 1987) is a French former professional football player. He played as a forward, which means he was usually at the front of the team, trying to score goals. People often described Ménez as a very skilled player who could use both feet well and was very fast at dribbling the ball.
Ménez started his football journey playing for different clubs in the Île-de-France area. In 2001, he joined Sochaux and spent four years learning in their youth academy. In March 2004, Ménez became the youngest professional football player ever in Ligue 1, France's top league. He made his first professional appearance in the 2004–05 season.
With Sochaux, he played in a European competition for the first time. After two seasons, he moved to Monaco. There, he became a key player who helped set up goals. After two good seasons in Monaco, he signed a four-year contract with the Italian club Roma. At Roma, Ménez played in the UEFA Champions League for the first time. He scored 12 goals in over 100 games for the club.
In July 2011, after three seasons with Roma, Ménez returned to France. He signed a three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain. Then, in June 2014, he joined AC Milan for free, signing another three-year contract.
Ménez also played for the French youth teams at every level. Before joining the senior team, he was part of the under-17 team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Ménez made his debut for the senior French national team in August 2010. He also represented his country at the Euro 2012 tournament.
Contents
Club Career
Starting Out
Jérémy Ménez was born in Longjumeau, France. As a child, he grew up in Vitry-sur-Seine and supported his local team, Paris Saint-Germain. He became interested in football because his father and older brother both played.
Ménez began his career at a local club called CA Vitry. After one year, he joined the Centre de Formation de Paris (C.F.F.P). This was a youth sports club just for football players under 19. At C.F.F.P, Ménez improved his skills and coaches made him a playmaker. After five years, he left the club due to disagreements with the coaches.
After leaving CFFP, Ménez joined CSF Brétigny, another local Parisian club. Famous French players like Patrice Evra and Jimmy Briand also trained there. He stayed for only a year before moving to the professional club Sochaux.
Time at Sochaux
When Ménez arrived at Sochaux, he joined the club's youth academy. He also attended a special high school for athletes, hoping to become an accountant. Ménez did well both on and off the field, getting good grades in school.
On March 24, 2004, when he was just 16, he signed his first professional contract with Sochaux. This was a three-year deal. By signing, he became the youngest professional football player in the history of Ligue 1. He then joined the club's main team and was given the number 26 shirt.
Before signing, big English clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United were very interested in Ménez. Manchester United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, was even accused of trying to get Ménez to join his club unfairly. Ménez visited Manchester but decided to stay in France.
On August 7, 2004, Ménez played his first professional game for Sochaux. It was the first match of the 2004–05 season against Ajaccio. He started the game and played for 57 minutes in a 1–0 win. Even though he was very young, Ménez played regularly for the team.
On November 20, he scored his first professional goal in a 3–1 win over Monaco. Two months later, Ménez became the youngest player in the league to score three goals in one game (a hat-trick). This happened in a 4–0 victory against Bordeaux. He scored these goals in just seven minutes! Ménez also played in six matches during the team's 2004–05 UEFA Cup run. Sochaux was knocked out in the Round of 32.
For the 2005–06 season, Ménez changed his shirt number to 11. He was given a more important role by the new manager. He played in 31 league matches and scored three goals. Sochaux finished the season in 15th place, which was disappointing. This made Ménez want to leave the club. On June 8, 2006, Sochaux's chairman said he would consider offers for the player.
Moving to Monaco
On June 22, 2006, Sochaux announced that Ménez would be moving to Monaco. He signed a four-year contract. Ménez was given the number 10 shirt and played as a left-winger. He made his debut for Monaco on August 19 in a 1–1 draw against Rennes.
On September 30, Ménez scored his first goal for Monaco in a 2–1 win over Le Mans. After the manager was changed, Ménez found it hard to play regularly. This led to interest from other big clubs. However, he started playing more consistently later in the season. He scored goals in three straight matches in April. Ménez finished the 2006–07 season by scoring the only goal in a win against the champions, Lyon.
Ménez decided to stay at Monaco for the 2007–08 season. He scored his first goal of the season against his old club, Sochaux, in a 3–0 victory. The next week, he scored again. On December 15, Ménez scored two goals in a 3–1 win against Lens. This was his first time scoring more than one goal in a game since his hat-trick three years earlier. In February 2008, he got injured and missed three months of play.
Playing for Roma
After playing in Monaco's first three league matches of the 2008–09 season, Ménez signed a four-year contract with the Italian club Roma on August 27, 2008. The transfer fee was about €10.5 million. Ménez was brought in to replace other wingers who had left. He chose the number 24 shirt.
He made his debut for Roma on August 31 against Napoli, coming on as a substitute. Ménez played his first UEFA Champions League game against Bordeaux, helping Roma win 3–1. On December 6, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win over Chievo. For most of this season, Ménez struggled to play full matches and often started on the bench.
For the 2009–10 season, Ménez wore the unusual number 94 shirt. He scored his first goal against Milan on October 18, 2009. In January 2010, he faced criticism from his new manager and teammates for not trying hard enough in a game. Ménez later apologized and said he was fully committed to the team. He started playing more regularly towards the end of the season. Roma finished the season in second place and qualified for the Champions League.
In the 2010–11 season, Ménez started well for Roma. On November 3, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3–2 Champions League win. A week later, he helped set up a goal in a 3–2 win over Fiorentina. On November 13, Ménez played a full match for the first time that season. In the next league game, he scored his first league goal and set up another in a 2–0 win. In February, Ménez scored a goal in Roma's Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk. Later, he had some disagreements with his coach about playing time.
Joining Paris Saint-Germain
On July 25, 2011, Paris Saint-Germain announced they had signed Ménez to a three-year contract. The transfer fee was €8 million. He was introduced to the media the same day and was given the number 7 shirt.
Ménez made his first competitive appearance for PSG on August 6, 2011, in a 1–0 league loss to Lorient. The next week, he helped set up the team's first goal in a 1–1 draw. On August 18, in a UEFA Europa League playoff game, Ménez scored a goal and assisted another in a 4–0 away win. Three days later, he again assisted a goal, helping PSG get their first league win of the season. On August 28, Ménez scored his first league goal for PSG in a 3–1 win against Toulouse.
Under his coaches, Ménez had a very good season. He scored seven goals and made 12 assists in 33 league games for PSG, which was his best performance yet. On December 4, 2011, Ménez scored PSG's 2,000th goal in top-flight football during a 3–2 home win.
In the 2012–13 season, Ménez played less in league matches. However, he was very important in the Champions League, scoring two goals and assisting two in five games. He worked well with the new star striker, Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Time at AC Milan
.jpg)
In June 2014, the Italian club AC Milan signed Ménez on a three-year contract. On August 31, 2014, Ménez scored a penalty kick in his debut for Milan against Lazio. He then scored two goals against Parma, helping Milan win the game. His second goal was a very skillful backheel finish. On November 8, Ménez scored another penalty and assisted a goal in a 2–2 draw.
On November 23, Ménez scored a great goal in the Derby della Madonnina against Inter Milan. He then scored two goals and was named man of the match in the next game. Ménez continued his impressive form, scoring a beautiful goal where he dribbled past three defenders to help Milan beat Napoli 2–0. He scored two goals and created an assist in a 3–1 win over Parma on February 1. He also scored two goals in a 3–1 win over Cagliari on March 21. This made it his best goal-scoring season for a single club, with 15 goals. Ménez finished his first season at Milan as the club's top scorer, with 16 goals in all competitions.
In the summer of 2015, Ménez had back problems and needed surgery. He missed the first 26 games of the 2015–16 season due to an infection. He returned to play in February 2016. On March 1, he started a match for the first time since April 2015. He played 76 minutes and scored twice in a 5–0 win, sending Milan to the Coppa Italia final.
Moving to Bordeaux
On August 1, 2016, Bordeaux and Milan agreed for Ménez to transfer. On August 3, just two days after signing, he was involved in an unfortunate incident during a pre-season match. A player accidentally stepped on Ménez's head, causing him to lose part of his right ear. Ménez had to leave the game. The other player apologized for the accident.
Antalyaspor
On June 9, 2017, Ménez joined the Turkish club Antalyaspor.
Club América
On January 5, 2018, it was announced that Ménez had joined the Mexican team Club América. He made his Liga MX debut on January 27. The next week, Ménez scored his first goal for América in a 5–1 win.
On February 10, he scored from a penalty kick to tie the score in a 1–1 draw. On May 2, he scored two penalties in a quarter-final match, which América won 4–1. On August 4, during a friendly match, he suffered a serious knee injury (an anterior cruciate ligament injury). This meant he would be out of play for 6 to 9 months. On August 29, 2019, Ménez and Club América ended their contract by agreement.
Paris FC
On September 27, 2019, he signed a one-year contract with the French club Paris FC. In June 2020, after the season ended, Ménez left Paris FC and became a free agent.
Reggina
On June 23, 2020, Ménez signed a three-year contract with Reggina, a club that had just been promoted to Serie B.
Bari
On July 19, 2023, Ménez joined Bari, another Serie B team, signing a one-year deal. In his debut game on August 18, he suffered another serious knee injury, which ended his season. In March 2024, Ménez left the club after his contract was ended by agreement.
End of Career
On September 28, 2024, Jérémy Ménez announced that he was retiring from professional football.
International Career
Youth Teams
Ménez played for all of France's youth teams. He was part of a special group of players born in 1987, often called the Génération 1987. This group included other famous players like Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema, and Samir Nasri.
Ménez first played for the under-16 team on December 11, 2002, in a friendly game. In that match, Ménez scored a goal in a 6–1 victory. He scored goals in three straight matches at a tournament in Turkey in 2003. Ménez finished his time with the under-16 team with 14 appearances and 12 goals, which was the most on the team.
With the under-17 team, Ménez, Ben Arfa, and Nasri were joined by Karim Benzema. Their goal was to win the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in France. Ménez helped the team win the competition by scoring two goals. He scored one against Turkey and another in the semi-finals against Portugal. In total, he played 17 games and scored 6 goals for the under-17s.
Ménez also played for the under-18 team and the under-19 team. He scored five goals in four matches at the 2005 Meridian Cup, where France won the championship.
Ménez later joined the under-21 team. He made his debut on May 25, 2008, in a friendly win. He played in two important playoff games against Germany in October 2008. France lost and was eliminated, which ended Ménez's under-21 career.
Senior Team
On August 5, 2010, Ménez was called up to the senior team for the first time. This was by the new manager, Laurent Blanc. He made his international debut on August 11, 2010, starting on the right wing in a game France lost 2–1.
On February 9, 2011, Ménez helped set up the only goal in France's 1–0 win over Brazil. He played regularly in the qualifying games for UEFA Euro 2012. On May 29, 2012, Ménez was chosen for the Euro 2012 squad. On June 5, he scored his first international goal in a 4–0 win over Estonia. At Euro 2012, Ménez made his debut in the main competition on June 15. He started the game and scored France's first goal in a 2–0 victory against Ukraine.
Personal Life
Jérémy Ménez has two children: a daughter named Maëlla (born in 2012) and a son named Menzo (born in 2014). Their mother, Émilie Nef Naf, won the third season of the reality TV show Secret Story.
Honours
Paris Saint-Germain
- Ligue 1: 2012–13, 2013–14
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2013–14
América
France U17
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2004
Images for kids
-
Ménez playing for Bordeaux in 2016
-
Ménez with manager Antoine Kombouaré in 2011
-
Ménez with AC Milan in 2015.
-
Ménez (right) playing for France against Ukraine at UEFA Euro 2012.
See also
In Spanish: Jérémy Ménez para niños
