Mathieu Valbuena is a French footballer playing as an attacking midfielder (sometimes playing as a winger) in the Turkish club Fenerbahçe. In the period from 2010 to 2015, he played in the national team of France.
Known for its speed, technical ability and tenacity in building attacks. In the game, he is able to beat several players of the opposite team at once, being close to their penalty area. In addition, Mathieu very quickly finds free zones on the football field, as a result of which he can give an important transfer to a teammate, or open himself to aggravate the attack. Due to his small stature (167 cm), Mathieu received the nickname from his fans le petit vélo, which from French translates as “small bicycle”. It is also due to the fact that Valbuin spent most of his career at the Marseille stadium, which is called the Velodrome.
Biography
Mathieu Valbuin was born on September 28, 1984 in Bruges, France. He began his professional career at the Bordeaux Club, of which he is a pupil. After two seasons, the midfielder joined the Langon-Caste semi-professional club, which played in the regional division of France (fifth division). Here he stayed very briefly - he spent only one season, in which he took part in 9 matches and scored two goals.
In the 2004/05 season, Mathieu Valbouin joined the Libourne-Saint-Serenine club, which played in the fifth and third division of France. During the game year, the midfielder showed good results, and therefore aroused interest from Marseille.
Career at the Marseille Olympic Club
In 2006, Mathieu signed a contract with the "Provencal", which was designed for one year. In the debut season, he spent 18 matches for the club and scored one goal. The leadership of Marseille was satisfied with the game of the newcomer, so he immediately offered him a five-year contract. As part of the “blue and white” Mathieu Valbuena first played in the UEFA Champions League, became the champion of League 1 in the 2009/10 season, won three French cups and one French Super Cup. In total, Marseille played 330 official matches and became the author of 38 goals. In those same years, the midfielder regularly played in the national team of France, as part of which he participated in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland, and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He played 52 official matches for the national team and scored 8 goals.
Transition to the Dynamo Moscow club
In the 2014/15 season, the Frenchman received a tempting offer from Moscow Dynamo from the Premier League. As a result, with the Russian team Mathieu Valbuena signed a contract for a year. As part of Dynamo Moscow, he became the main player, appeared on the field 29 times during the season and scored 6 goals. According to fans of the Moscow club, Valbuena became the best player of the season. At the end of the season, the club began to experience great financial difficulties and lost the fight for European competition. Against the background of these troubles, Mathieu Valbuena began to look for a job in another club.
In August 2015, the midfielder signed a contract with Lyon for 11 million euros. Subsequently, he spent two seasons here. In total, in the T-shirt of the "aristocrats" he spent 56 matches and scored 9 goals.
Mathieu Valbuena at Fenerbahçe
In mid-June 2017, the Frenchman signed a contract with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe. The player’s transfer value has decreased significantly compared to previous transitions - only 1.5 million euros. Currently, as part of the "yellow canaries", Valbuena is a key player in the attacking line.