Hatem Ben Arfa
Hatem Ben Arfa was born in Clamart, Île-de-France, France on March 7th, 1987 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 37, Hatem Ben Arfa biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 37 years old, Hatem Ben Arfa has this physical status:
Hatem Ben Arfa (born 7 March 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger and an attacking midfielder.
Known for his dribbling ability, he has been described as "one of the best-rated talents in France", but has been criticised by the media and players alike for lacking discipline.Ben Arfa's career started in the Île-de-France region, where he trained at AC Boulogne-Billancourt and Versailles.
In 1999, he was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy.
He spent three years there before leaving for Lyon, where he won four Ligue 1 titles.
In his early career at Lyon, he played as a centre forward, but moved into a winger role during the 2007–08 season.
In the summer of 2008, Ben Arfa signed with rivals Marseille for €11 million in a move that required the intervention of the Ligue de Football Professionnel.
With Marseille, he won the 2009–10 league title, his fifth overall, as well as the Coupe de la Ligue in 2010.
After two years at Marseille, Ben Arfa joined English club Newcastle United on loan for the 2010–11 season.
The deal was made permanent later in the season.Ben Arfa spent four years at Newcastle, with a loan spell at Hull City in his final season at the club.
He signed for Nice in January 2015, but was unable to make his debut until August, having already represented Newcastle United Reserves and Hull City the previous season.
He scored seventeen goals in thirty-two league appearances for Nice, attracting the interest of several European clubs, and signed for Paris Saint-Germain on 1 July 2016.
After failing to make a competitive appearance in the 2017–18 season, Ben Arfa signed for Stade Rennais F.C. where he won the 2018-19 Coupe de France over Paris Saint-German.Ben Arfa is a former French youth international and has played at all levels for France.
At the under-17 level, he was a part of the team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
Ben Arfa was called up to the senior team for the first time in October 2007 for a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against the Faroe Islands.
He has made fifteen appearances for France, scoring twice.
Personal life
Ben Arfa was born in the Paris suburb of Clamart and was raised in Châtenay-Malabry. His father, Kamel Ben Arfa, a former Tunisian international footballer, arrived in France in 1973, settling in Saint-Michel, Aisne to work in a foundry. He later starred for a local club in the commune. Ben Arfa describes himself as a moderately practising Muslim.
Early career
Ben Arfa was born into a football-mad family. Kamel Ben Arfa, the former Tunisian international footballer, was his father. Ben Arfa began his career in France with ASV Châtenay-Malabry. After two years with the club, he moved a few miles north to Montrouge CF 92. Ben Arfa was born in 1998 and moved to Boulogne-Billancourt, a national football team. He was accepted into the Clairefontaine academy the following year. During his time at Clairefontaine, he was a member of A la Clairefontaine, a documentary film that chronicled the lives of some of France's top young footballers during their time at the academy. An episode of Ben Arfa showing an altercation with Abou Diaby was included in the series. He played for FC Versailles 78 on weekends while training at Clairefontaine during the weekdays.
Club career
At the age of 15, Ben Arfa joined Lyon, the club that had just won its first ever Ligue 1 championship. Despite late interest from English club Chelsea and Dutch outfit Ajax, he signed his first professional contract in August 2004, after two years in the Lyon academy's youth divisions, committing to a three-year contract. He was promoted to the senior squad and was given the number 34 shirt by fellow youth player Karim Benzema.
On the first day of the 2004–05 season against Nice, Ben Arfa made his professional debut. Lyon won the match 1–0 with a goal from Giovane Élber, just a few minutes after Ben Arfa had come on. He got off to a good start on September 11, 2004, beating Rennes in 56 minutes after making only a few substitute appearances. Ben Arfa scored his first professional goal against Lille two months later, converting from the penalty spot in extra time to give Lyon a 2–1 lead, but Lille defeated Lyon 3–2. Sidney Govou's first appearance in a group stage match against Manchester United came as a replacement for him.
Ben Arfa earned his first appearance as a replacement in the upcoming season, but his replacement-to-start ratio was still high. He was a winner of the 2005 Trophée des Champions and scored as Lyon took home the trophy. In a 2–1 victory over Norwegian club Rosenborg, he got his first Champions League start, while Fred assisted with the game-winning goal scored by Fred in the last minutes of the game. Ben Arfa scored his first league goal against Sedan just before halftime in the 2006–07 season. Lyon defeated Lyon 1–0, with the goal being the champion.
After Florent Malouda and Sylvain Wiltord's departures, new boss Alain Perrin favoured the more modern 4–3–3 configuration, moving Ben Arfa to left wing for the 2007–08 season. Ben Arfa adapted to the position and scored his first goal in a 5–1 demolition of Metz on September 15th, but his results were dominated by a Benzema hat trick. Arguably his best performances in a Lyon shirt came during a 12 days in which he appeared in a league match against Paris Saint-Germain and a Champions League match against German club VfB Stuttgart on Saturday. In each match, he scored two goals, with both goals in favor of Lyon. He was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year following the year.
Despite rumors of a mismatch between himself and Benzema, Ben Arfa signed a deal extension with Lyon in March 2008. Nevertheless, his Lyon career came to a halt after he collided with Sébastien Squillaci during a training session.
Despite claims of a move to rivals Marseille, Everton, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Spanish club Real Madrid, rumors of a move to rivals appeared. Lyon reported on June 28, 2008, that a planned transfer to Marseille had been postponed for the time being. On the other hand, Ben Arfa confirmed to the local La Provence newspaper on June 29 that he had signed for the southern coast club but did not return to Lyon for pre-season training the following day. Ben Arfa had actually missed training in Lyon on June 30th, according to La Provence, who confirmed his intentions.
After an agreement was reached between Marseille and Lyon in a meeting arranged by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, Ben Arfa officially joined Marseille on July 1st for €12 million, with future incentives included later. In December 2008, Ben Arfa told the local Lyon newspaper Le Progrès that his former staff lacked expertise and wasn't a good team as a result of the transfer disagreement. Ben Arfa was introduced to the media and had his first training session with the club the same day. He was given the number 20 shirt. Ben Arfa was involved in another training session bust-up on July 16, this time with striker and France international player Djibril Cissé. Cissé joined Sunderland on loan later this season.
In a 4–4 draw with Rennes, Ben Arfa made his league debut on the first day of the season. In that match, he scored his first goal for Les Marseillais. In his first 11 matches, he maintained his form, scoring six times. However, his name for scandal remained haunted when he was involved in another controversy, this time with Cameroon international player Modeste M'bami during a warm-up session ahead of the club's UEFA Champions League match against Liverpool. Ronald Zubar had to separate the two men from the rest of them. Following Marseille's 4–2 loss to Le Classique's Paris-Saint Germain, confusion reigned. After refusing to leave the bench to warm up, manager Eric Gerets retaliated. Ben Arfa later stated that he was wounded much to Gerets' chagrin, but that he later apologized for the incident to the media and Gerets himself. In a 3–1 victory over Saint-Étienne, Ben Arfa returned to the squad by scoring a goal and giving the assists on both the other goals.
In a 2–0 away victory over Grenoble as a replacement in the 68th minute, Ben Arfa wore the number 10 shirt for the 2009–10 season, marking his debut on the first match day of the season. He made his first appearance of the season against Lille this week and assisted in the winning goal scored by Brando. However, controversy erupted again on October 8, 2009, when Ben Arfa was fined €10,000 by the club for missing a training session. During the international break, Ben Arfa blamed airport delays as he was in Tunisia visiting family members. During a training session for which Ben Arfa later regretted, he burst into a tense discussion with manager Didier Deschamps. Ben Arfa appeared in 15 of the club's 20 league games and only played the full 90 minutes in two matches, a 2–1 loss to Monaco, and a 2–0 loss to Auxerre in the first half of the season.
Both Deschamps and sporting director José Anigo praised Ben Arfa's play during the 2010 season. Ben Arfa scored his first goal of the season against Trélissac, an amateur team in the Coupe de France on January 10. He was instrumental in Marseille's 5–1 victory over Valenciennes assisting on Lucho González's first goal. Ben Arfa scored an away goal in the first leg of the club's UEFA Europa League match against Danish club Copenhagen later this month. Ben Arfa scored the first goal in the 43rd minute on the return leg in Marseille. Marseille defeated the match 3-1 and 6–2 on aggregate, with the tie tied 6–2. In a 3–0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on February 27, he scored his first league goal of the season. When Ben Arfa was named UNFP Player of the Month, his participation in the month of February was confirmed. Marseille won all four of the league games that the team played, with Ben Arfa winning all of them. In a 3–0 victory over Sochaux on Saturday, Ben Arfa converted a penalty. The win put the club at the top of the table, and the club stayed there for the remainder of the season until defeating Rennes on May 5th. Ben Arfa was used as a substitute in the match.
According to reports, Newcastle United and English club Newcastle United were trying to sign Ben Arfa. Newcastle's boss Chris Hughton denied the allegations after being interrogated. Newcastle's agent, as well as German clubs Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen, Turkish club Galatasaray, and Italian club AC Milan, all expressed an interest in the player five days later. A season-long loan with the possibility of making the move permanent was being discussed between the two clubs on August 9th; however, a loan-fee was not reached, with Newcastle offering £650,000; £350,000 less than Marseille. On August 12, Marseille president Jean-Claude Dassier announced that Ben Arfa would not be moving to Newcastle, even going as far as to say that the club's offer was not even existed.
Ben Arfa responded to the criticism by not telling French sports newspaper L'Équipe that he would not be returning to La Commanderie, Marseille's training center, and that he did not continue with the team for the remainder of the season. He also said that his Deschamps friendship had gone sour and was beyond repair. Ben Arfa confirmed his intentions by flying to Newcastle upon Tyne, despite being denied entry, with the hopes that Newcastle and Marseille would come to an agreement. He missed several training sessions with his parent club and was, eventually, kept off the match day squad for two league matches against Valenciennes and Lorient after returning to Marseille. Ben Arfa's number ten was later given to André-Pierre Gignac, a new signing, hinting at a transfer was imminent.
Despite rumors that Werder Bremen offered Marseille a transfer fee of €8 million, a suggested move to Werder Bremen fell off after the club's sporting director Klaus Allofs said that the club was not interested in Ben Arfa. Dassier reported on August 27th that the club had reached an agreement on a loan fee with Newcastle for the transfer of Ben Arfa, with personal terms being the only stumbling block in the transaction. Marseille has agreed to a £2 million loan repayment. If Ben Arfa had made 25 club appearances in the 2010–11 season, Newcastle would have paid Marseille another £5 million, effectively ending the transfer.
Ben Arfa agreed to personal terms with Newcastle on August 27, 2010, and the club announced that it had signed Ben Arfa on a season-long loan the next day. On September 11, 2010, he made his debut in a 2–0 loss at home to Blackpool as a substitute. On his full debut against Everton on September 18, he scored his first goal for Newcastle on his first appearance on his debut in the 1–0 win over Everton. While playing in a league match against Manchester City on October 3, Ben Arfa sustained a fractured tibia and fibula in his left leg. Nigel de Jong, a midfielder, sustained the injury. Marseille and Newcastle had both announced on their websites on Monday that they had signed a deal for Ben Arfa's permanent transfer to Newcastle, despite the player's commitment to a four-and-a-year deal. The transfer fee was undisclosed.
Ben Arfa spent the bulk of his recovery in his home city of Paris, recuperating at the Clairefontaine academy. Newcastle manager Alan Pardew reported on February 23 that Ben Arfa was running and that he might return to the team in April. Pardew later confirmed that he was not able to expedite the player's recovery process and that Ben Arfa would not be available until May. I can't just throw him in." On April 5, Ben Arfa returned to training with Newcastle. He was fully engaged in warm-ups with the first team but the bulk of the training session was spent doing light training and fitness exercises. Ben Arfa made no more appearances with the team in the 2010-11 season.
Ben Arfa began participating in friendly matches with the senior team while recovering during his recovery in the summer. In a match against Darlington on July 15, he made his return to the team on July 15th. In a match against Sporting Kansas City five days later, he sustained an ankle injury in the team's pre-season tour of the United States. On September 18, Ben Arfa returned to his home country to recover from the injury and returned to Newcastle. He was later announced on the first team to play in the team's Football League Cup match against Nottingham Forest on September 21. In the match against Nottingham Forest as a replacement, Ben Arfa made his season debut. In a 3–1 victory over Blackburn Rovers, he made his Premier League return three days later, starting as a replacement. Ben Arfa scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 home victory over Bolton on December 26, 2011 after going the majority of the fall season without scoring a single goal.
Newcastle defeated Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup third round on Sunday, with Ben Arfa scoring Newcastle's opening goal. The goal, which BBC Sport has dubbed "magical," drew the match 1–1 and Newcastle went on to win the tie 2–1. In Newcastle's 5–2 loss to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, Ben Arfa scored. In Newcastle's away league match against Arsenal, Ben Arfa scored the opener two months later. The hosts, on the other hand, won the match 2–1. In a 3–1 victory over West Brom on March 25, he scored one goal and gave the assists on the other two goals. Ben Arfa scored again against Bolton Wanderers on Easter Monday, just two weeks later. Newcastle won the match 2–0 after the goal was described as "a moment of genius" by British publication The Independent, as he turned and speed past 4 Bolton players, showing remarkable control in doing so.
Despite being unable to start pre-season due to his participation in Euro 2012, Ben Arfa got off to a promising start to the new Premier League season. He won and converted a penalty that gave Newcastle a 2–1 win over Tottenham on the first weekend of the season. Newcastle earned Newcastle a point over a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa two weeks later on a spectacular 25-yard drive on his weaker right foot. In a Europa League match against Martimo, he strained his hamstring, losing by 2–1 to Fulham, in which he scored Newcastle's only goal. However, he aggravated the injury during the game and did not appear in a Europa League Round of 16 matches against Anzhachhachachhachhachchukhacha until March 7, 2013. (His 26th birthday) was his first appearance. He injured his hamstring, keeping him out of the team until the second leg of the Europa League quarter final against Benfica on April 11, where he came on as a second-half replacement. Newcastle announced their Premier League status for the next season on May 12th, with Ben Arfa scoring the equalizer in a 2–1 away victory at Loftus Road from the penalty spot.
Ben Arfa began the 2013-14 season in a strong vein of form, winning Newcastle's first game of the season by scoring an individual goal against Fulham, assisting in the following game against Aston Villa. Newcastle defeated Newcastle by a score of 3–0 on Ben Arfa's third goal of the season as a result of his late penalty.
Ben Arfa signed for Hull City on a season-long loan on September 2, 2014. He made his debut on September 15th, beating West Ham United in the final 11 minutes. Ben Arfa left England in December 2014, but Hull boss Steve Bruce said he didn't know where the player was and that his Hull career seemed to be over.
Ben Arfa was released from his Newcastle United contract on January 4, 2015.
Ben Arfa announced on January 5th, 2015, that "Even if Real Madrid had called at the time, my mind was made up." "I've returned to France because there are people here who trust me, but some people do not bother to judge me through the media," says the author.
Since playing for both Newcastle United Reserves and Hull City, Ben Arfa will be ineligible to play for the club due to a statute that a player can only play for two clubs in a single season. Ben Arfa's contract with Nice had been terminated at a press conference on February 3rd, but Nice would re-sign Ben Arfa on June 9th, marking the start of the 2015–16 Ligue 1 season.
On August 8, 2015 at the Allianz Riviera, Ben Arfa made his debut for Nice against Monaco in Nice's first Ligue 1 match of the season. In Nice's second Ligue 1 match of the season, he scored his first goal for his new club against Troyes from the penalty spot. Ben Arfa scored a solo goal in Nice's upcoming Ligue 1 match against Caen on August 22.
Ben Arfa signed for Nice on a two-year contract after his deal came to an end at Nice, on July 1, 2016, amid widespread excitement across Europe. Ben Arfa scored in the 34th minute in a 4–1 victory over Lyon in the 2016 Trophée des Champions on August 6, 2016. Ben Arfa scored a goal while contributing two others in a 4–0 away win over Rennes in the 2016-17 Coupe de France's round 32. Ben Arfa was off to a good start in the Coupe de France's quarter-finals on Saturday, scoring two goals and contributing to Javier Pastore. He left the team after struggling to make one single competitive appearance for PSG in the 2017-18 season, before he left the club on the expiration of his deal in June 2018.
Ben Arfa joined Rennes on a two-year contract on September 2, 2018. Ben Arfa made his competitive debut for Rennes in the Europa League Group K2–1 home victory over Jablonec on September 20th; he was in his first competitive match since April 5th, 2017. In a 2–1 away victory over Monaco on October 7th, Ben Arfa scored his last goal in the 77th minute (his first Ligue 1 goal for Rennes) after his 14th minute corner contributed to Damien Da Silva's goal in his first Ligue 1 goal. Ben Arfa scored the final goal in the 89th minute in his 89th minute after setting up Benjamin Bourgeaud's goal in a 2–0 Ligue 1 home win over Dijon on December 8th. Rennes defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the final on penalties on Saturday, Ben Arfa won the Coupe de France on April 27th.
Ben Arfa was signed to Real Valladolid, a La Liga club, on a six-month deal on January 28, 2020. He chose the number 3 jersey, which is an unusual shirt number for an attacker, and explained his pick by saying, "on the shirt, it looks pretty." However, his appearances were ineffective, and after a mere five appearances, he left the team as a free agent.
Ben Arfa joined Bordeaux, France, on a one-year deal on October 7, 2020. On November 20, he scored his first goal for the club against Rennes, his former club. Ben Arfa had a "strong start to the season" by scoring two goals and giving five assists in 2020 with Bordeaux. However, he had a tough second half of the season, marred by injuries and injuries in the locker room with several teammates, most notably captain Laurent Koscielny. He also had a deteriorating working relationship with manager Jean-Louis Gasset. Ben Arfa will leave the club at the end of his deal, according to sporting director Alain Roche on May 26, 2021. He said that the option for a further year in Ben Arfa's contract was "conditioned upon sporting conditions" that were not fulfilled.
Ben Arfa joined Lille's reigning Ligue 1 champions on a six-month deal on January 1922. In a 2–0 loss to Brest three days later, he made his debut as a replacement. Ben Arfa scored for Sven Botman's goal in Les Dogues' 5–1 loss to PSG on his first day for the club on February 6th.
Following a 0–0 draw to Bordeaux, Ben Arfa was suspended from the Lille squad in early April after a tense exchange with boss Jocelyn Gourvennec. Ben Arfa had apparently sluggish the way the team was assembled, and he told Gourvennec that "this isn't Guingamp"—a squad he had formerly coached. In an Instagram story, he later insulted Gourvennec and Lille president Olivier Létang, calling them "twisted," a word used by Gourvennec earlier in the day. Following the match, Gourvennec confessed to having "never seen that in [of his] career," referring to Ben Arfa's inappropriate conduct in the dressing room.
International career
Ben Arfa has played for all of France's youth teams. He made ten appearances on the under-16 team, scoring seven goals. At the 2003 version of the Aegean Cup in Turkey, Ben Arfa made his debut with the team. In a 3–2 victory over Belgium on January 12, he scored his first goal in the tournament. With the victory, France moved to a third-place finish. Ben Arfa scored a team-leading six goals at the Montaigu Tournament. In the team's 8-0 victory over Gabon in the first round, he scored two goals. Ben Arfa scored the final goal in the team's 3–0 victory over Russia and claimed another double in a 3–1 victory over England in the final group stage match. He captained the tournament by scoring a goal against Italy in the final, but France lost 5–1.
In a 5–2 victory over Sweden, Ben Arfa made his debut with the under-17 squad in the first game of the season, beating Sweden converting a first-trick victory. France defeated France 3-0 in the Tournio de Val-de-Marne, with Ben Arfa scoring two goals. Ben Arfa, joined by colleagues Samir Nasri, Benzema, and Jérémy Menez, all participated in the success of the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Ben Arfa appeared in all five games and scored goals against Northern Ireland, Turkey, and Portugal. He made 17 appearances and scored a team-high 11 goals while under the age of 17. Ben Arfa missed a significant amount of his playing time with Lyon due to his increased playing time with the under-18 team. He made his debut on March 15, 2005, playing in a 3–3 draw with Germany. Ben Arfa appeared in the team's final three games of the season, bringing his overall number to four. He scored no goals.
Ben Arfa, Nasri, Benzema, and Menez are back in international play together for under 19 years. With the aim of winning the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, the four were joined by Issiar Dia, Blaise Matuidi, and Serge Gakpé. As France advanced through the round undefeated, Ben Arfa scored his lone goal in the first round of qualifying for the tournament. Ben Arfa was ruled out of the tournament's final round due to injury, and France was eliminated after being defeated on points by Scotland. Ben Arfa made just one competitive appearance with the under-21 team in 2009 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualification match against Romania.
Ben Arfa had the opportunity to represent Tunisia and was given a spot in the 2006 World Cup in Germany before representing France. Sami Khedira turned down the opportunity and decided to continue his career with the French national team. Ben Arfa was called up to the senior team by Raymond Domenech on October 10, 2007, to replace the injured Louis Saha, and he competed in the Euro 2008 qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania. Critics of Domenech were stunned as they awaited striker David Trezeguet to get the call-up. Ben Arfa made his debut on October 13th when he came on for Franck Ribéry in the 64th minute and scored the final goal in France's 6–0 victory over the Faroe Islands. Ben Arfa was, on the other hand, dropped from Domenech's final 23-man Euro 2008 squad on May 28.
After being called up to France's friendly match against Spain on March 3, 2010, Ben Arfa and colleagues returned to the squad on Friday, following a long time without a call-up. On May 11, he was selected by Domenech to participate in the 2010 World Cup but he failed to make the final 23.
Ben Arfa was called up to the senior team by Laurent Blanc in August 2010, after going nearly two years without representing France internationally. In the game, Ben Arfa made his return to the team as a half-time replacement for Moussa Sissoko. In a 2–1 loss, he scored the first goal of the match. Ben Arfa was included in France's 23 man squad for UEFA Euro 2012, his first appearance in Group D's final game, losing 2–0 to Sweden on May 29, 2012.
Ben Arfa was selected on the standby list for France's UEFA Euro 2016 squad on May 12, 2016.
Career statistics
Source:
France's goal came in first in terms of scores and results.