Adrien Rabiot
Adrien Rabiot
Adrien Thibault Marie Rabiot is a French professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie A club Juventus and the France national team.Rabiot spent most of his career with Paris Saint-Germain, making his debut with the first team in 2012 and winning eighteen major honors, including five Ligue 1 titles and a domestic treble in 2015–16 and 2017–18. In 2019, Rabiot signed for Juventus on a free transfer, winning the Serie A title during his first season with the club and the Coppa Italia in his second.Rabiot was capped 53 times for France at youth level, and made his debut for the senior team in 2016, later taking part in UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Paris Saint-Germain
Rabiot was born in Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne. He played youth football for several teams, including two spells at Créteil-Lusitanos and a few months at Manchester City.On 2 July 2012, after excelling at the Camp des Loges, he signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain.Rabiot was promoted to the senior team by manager Carlo Ancelotti ahead of the 2012–13 season. In the club's pre-season, he started in the penalty shootout defeat to Barcelona, and, on 26 August, played his first game in Ligue 1, a 0–0 home draw against Bordeaux.
Rabiot made his UEFA Champions League debut on 6 November 2012, playing during injury time in a 4–0 group stage home win over Dinamo Zagreb. In January of the following year, he was loaned to fellow league side Toulouse, scoring his first professional goal on 9 March 2013, which was the game's only goal at Brest, from 25 yards.Returning to PSG, Rabiot contributed with 46 matches and six goals combined as the team won back-to-back domestic leagues from 2013 to 2015, but seemed to be on the verge of leaving the club as his mother Véronique acted as his main advisor during negotiations for a better contract.He started the 2015–16 campaign by getting sent off for two yellow cards after only 29 minutes, in the opening fixture against Lille.
Rabiot scored his first goal in European competition on 25 November 2015 to open a 5–0 Champions League group win at Malmö, and repeated the feat the following 9 March in a 2–1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, putting PSG into the quarter-finals 4–2 on aggregate. Four days later, he scored in a 9–0 routing at bottom team Troyes that sealed the league title with eight matches remaining.
On 23 April 2016, Rabiot was sent off in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, a 2–1 win over Lille. The following two seasons combined, he scored four times from 60 appearances and conquered the national championship in 2017–18.In late October 2018, both Rabiot and Kylian Mbappé were dropped from the starting XI by newly appointed manager Thomas Tuchel after they arrived late to a pre-match meeting.The following January, after refusing to renew his contract and failing to appear for the first team since the previous month, the former midfielder was forced to train with the reserves.On 14 March 2019, Rabiot was suspended by PSG until the end of the month for going to a nightclub after a 3–1 loss to Manchester United in the Champions League round of 16, which knocked them out of the competition, and for liking an Instagram post by Patrice Evra celebrating United's win.
Juventus
On 1 July 2019, Rabiot signed for Italian Serie A champions Juventus on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club on 24 August, in the team's opening match of the 2019–20 Serie A season, coming on as a second-half substitute for Sami Khedira in a 1–0 away win over Parma.He scored his first goal for the club on 7 July 2020 – the opening goal in a 4–2 away loss to Milan in Serie A – with a spectacular finish from the edge of the box – after running with the ball from his own half.On 9 March 2021, he scored his first Champions League goal with Juventus in a 3–2 win after extra-time against FC Porto in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League round of 16; however, Juventus were eliminated on away goals.On 27 June 2023, he signed a one-year contract extension with the club until 2024. On 30 December, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Roma.
Rabiot was a member of the France U19 side that reached the final of the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Lithuania, losing out to Serbia.On 13 August 2013, aged just 18, Rabiot made his first appearance for the French under-21 team, starting in a 0–0 friendly draw with Germany in Freiburg. He was on standby for the full side's UEFA Euro 2016 squad, but did not make the final cut.
Rabiot made his senior debut for France on 15 November 2016 against Ivory Coast, starting and being replaced by Thomas Lemar after 78 minutes of the 0–0 friendly home draw, due to a hamstring injury. On 17 May 2018, he was put on the reserve list by manager Didier Deschamps for the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad.
However, he controversially refused to be put on the standby list, emailing the coach and saying he would not be able to follow the training program. Noël Le Graët, president of the French Football Federation, commented: He made a bad decision. He penalizes himself and sanctions himself alone.
On 18 May 2021, Rabiot was included in France's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. He came on as an emergency left-back in the final group game against Portugal due to injuries to Lucas Hernandez and Lucas Digne and retained a starting role as a left-wing back in an untested 3–5–2 formation against Switzerland in the last 16; his side lost in a penalty shootout after a 3–3 draw.On 13 November, Rabiot scored his first international goal in an 8–0 home win over Kazakhstan, allowing France to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.On 22 November 2022, playing against Australia, Rabiot scored France's first goal of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
A tall, strong, and elegant left-footed midfielder, Rabiot is recognized for his promising skills that emerged during his youth. Combining impressive physical qualities with good technique, he is known for his mobility, hard work, quick possession play, and the capability to make well-timed attacking runs into the penalty box through intelligent movement. Rabiot is a composed passer with excellent link-up play and dribbling skills in tight spaces, enabling him to create scoring opportunities for teammates.
References
- "Squad List: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: France (FRA)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 12. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Adrien Rabiot: Profile". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Rabiot Adrien" (in French). Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017.
- a b "Serbia climb on to Under-19 honours board". UEFA.com. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- a b Haslam, Andrew (1 August 2013). "Rabiot rues France's missed final chance". UEFA.com. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ "Adrien Rabiot". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Adrien Rabiot: "Quelque chose de grand"" [Adrien Rabiot: "Something great"]. Le Parisien (in French). 9 July 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ^ "PSG : Quand Rabiot jouait pour Manchester City". 3 April 2016.
- ^ "Premier contrat professionnel pour Adrien Rabiot" [First professional contract for Adrien Rabiot] (in French). Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ "Rabiot, la dernière surprise signée Ancelotti" [Rabiot, the last surprise signed Ancelotti] (in French). Le 10 Sport. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ "PSG: Le fabuleux destin d'Adrien Rabiot" [PSG: The fabulous destiny of Adrien Rabiot]. Le Parisien (in French). 8 August 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ "Rabiot, la révélation parisienne!" [Rabiot, the Parisian revelation!] (in French). Football.fr. 28 August 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2015.