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Sat 02 April 2022 | 16:30

Top facts about Louis Saha, Petit Louis

Louis Saha was a brilliant striker who didn’t achieve as much in his career as he might have expected, but he was truly sensational during his time at Fulham. Read on to find out more facts about Louis Saha, former Man Utd and France Striker.

Louis Laurent Saha (born August 8, 1978) is a former striker for the French national football team. Saha was a member of the France national team for 20 games and scored four goals. He began his career at Metz before going on loan to

Newcastle United

.

Louis Saha’s age

is 43.

The first fact about Louis Saha is that he was a former Clairefontaine football academy scholar. Saha moved to Fulham before the start of the 2000–01 season, where he established himself as the first-choice striker and helped the club gain promotion to the Premier League in his first season there.

His performances drew Manchester United's attention, and he was eventually signed for around £12.4 million midway through the 2003–04 season. His Old Trafford career was marred by injuries, but he did win the Premier League twice, the UEFA Champions League in 2007–08, and the League Cup six times, including one in the final.

Despite Saha's injury problems,

Wayne Rooney

, United's captain, said on Sky Sports that Saha was one of his favorite strike partners.

Everton took him to Goodison Park after four and a half years at United, where he opened the scoring in the 2009 FA Cup Final after 25 seconds, breaking the record for the fastest goal scored in FA Cup Final history. In the January 2012 transfer window, he joined Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer.

Top facts about Louis Saha:

An important fact about Louis Saha is that he made his France debut in a 2–0 win against Belgium in 2004. He was a member of the French national team in the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, when they reached the final.

Louis Saha early life

Louis Saha was born in the city of Paris. His grandparents still live on the island of Guadeloupe (a French department), where his parents were born.

He has two younger siblings: a younger sister and a younger brother. Saha also said that he and his siblings were raised in a strict Caribbean environment.

Speaking of

Louis Saha’s parents

, it should be mentioned that his father worked as an airplane mechanic, and his mother as a nurse. Regarding

Louis Saha’s childhood

, it is worth mentioning that he was born in a poor household in Paris, which taught him to "never take anything for granted."

In exchange, he purchased his parents a property in the West Indies and paid off their debt. Saha claimed that his father attempted to balance his football with the rest of his schooling, but that he pushed him to make sure he "received enough education away from football" and that he backed him "all the way in helping him evolve as a player and as a man."

Louis Saha personal life

In addition to French, Saha is a native English speaker. He learnt the language after coming to Fulham in 2000, where he struggled at first but eventually improved. Stanley, Enzo, and Lou are Saha's three children from his previous relationship.

After they retired, they parted up. He moved to the south of France after previously residing in Manchester, North West England.

Louis Saha professional career

Louis Saha started his professional career in 1997 with French side

Metz

and went on to make 492 first-team appearances for eight sides including Fulham, where he won promotion to the top-tier in 2001 and Manchester United, where he won two Premier League titles, the League Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.

Internationally, Saha represented

France

at various age-levels and went on to win 22 caps for the senior side between 2004 and 2008.

After a distinguished playing career which took in six Premier League sides, Louis Saha retired from playing in 2013 after a short spell playing in Serie A with Lazio.

Louis Saha club career

Before joining Clairefontaine, Saha played for FC Soisy-Andilly-Margency in the commune of Soisy-sous-Montmorency. At the age of 15, he traveled to Metz, where he signed his first professional contract at the age of 17.

Metz

In 1997, Saha was promoted to the senior team. In August 8, 1997, Saha made his Metz debut, coming on as a late substitution against Bordeaux and scoring the club's fourth goal in a 4–1 triumph.

This is his sole goal of the season, as FC Metz finished second in the league behind RC Lens due to goal differential. He made a total of 25 appearances in all competitions. Saha's first team opportunity came in the 1998–99 season, when he only made six appearances across all competitions.

A notable

fact about Louis Saha

is that he joined Newcastle United on loan in January 1999, scoring once against Coventry City and appearing in 11 league games. He also scored once in Newcastle's journey to the 1999 FA Cup Final, netting the game's lone goal against Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round.

Manager

Ruud Gullit

, on the other hand, left Saha completely out of the cup final team. Later, he spoke about his time at Newcastle United, claiming that it taught him how hard he needs to work as a player and helped him develop confidence.

Saha returned to Metz at the end of the 1998–99 season, where he made an immediate impression, scoring seven goals in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup against MK Ilina, Lokeren, Polonia Warsaw, and West Ham.

Saha scored his first goal for the club on August 7, 1999, in a 3–0 victory against AJ Auxerre. Saha scored three more goals in 1999–2000, totaling 33 appearances and 11 goals across all competitions.

Despite his goal-scoring form, Saha said that the club wanted him to "take on a lot more defensive tasks," a request for which he pondered retiring from the game. Saha had scored five goals in 47 games in a two-year stay with the club before he departed at the conclusion of the 1999–2000 season.

Fulham

In 2000, Saha returned to England and was sold to Fulham for £2.1 million. Saha made an immediate impression on his Fulham debut, netting his first goal of the season in a 2–0 victory against Crewe Alexandra in the season's first game.

Following that, he scored in a 3–1 triumph against Birmingham City. Saha immediately established himself in the first squad, becoming the club's first-choice striker, and his performance, along with those of John Collins and Lee Clark, was dubbed "world class" by the Evening Standard.

Between 5 and 16 September 2000, he scored eight goals in four matches, scoring twice against Northampton Town, a hat–trick against Barnsley, a hat–trick against Burnley, and two goals against

Nottingham Forest

.

With three goals in two games against Grimsby Town on November 25 and Derby County on November 29, 2000, he maintained his goal-scoring run.

Between the 13th and the 20th of January 2001, Saha scored two goals in two matches against Norwich City and

Watford

. On March 30, 2001, he scored twice for the team in a 4–1 triumph against Tranmere Rovers.

Between April 21 and April 24, 2001, Saha scored three goals in two games against Portsmouth and

Wolverhampton Wanderers

. During Fulham's promotion to the Premier League in 2000–01, Saha scored 27 league goals, making him the league's leading scorer.

By the conclusion of the 2000–01 season, he had made 48 appearances in all competitions, scoring 32 times. Saha was awarded PFA Team of the Year for his efforts.

An important

fact about Louis Saha

is that he scored three goals in the first two league matches of the 2001–02 season, against Manchester United and Sunderland, respectively. He was voted Premier League Player of the Month in his maiden month in the top division.

Throughout the 2001–02 season, Saha regained his spot as the club's first choice striker, developing a combination with Barry Hayles.

After scoring in a League Cup encounter against Derby County on October 10, 2001, Saha spent three months without scoring in the league until scoring against Newcastle United on November 17, 2001, in a 3–1 victory.

Saha's goal-scoring form, on the other hand, continued to deteriorate throughout the 2001–02 season. Despite this, later in the 2001–02 season, he scored four more goals, including a brace against Chelsea. Saha went on to make 44 appearances and score nine goals in all competitions at the conclusion of the season.

Saha played in every UEFA Intertoto Cup match from the start of the 2002–03 season to the final, scoring just once, against Egaleo on July 20, 2002.

He started both legs of the Intertoto Cup finals against Bologna, which they won 5–3 and qualified for the UEFA Cup.

An important fact about Louis Saha is that he scored his first league goal of the season, a penalty kick, in a 4–1 triumph against Bolton Wanderers in the season's first game.

However, he was sidelined for the remainder of 2002 due to a hamstring injury. It wasn't until 5 January 2003 that Saha scored his first goal since his comeback, in a 3–1 FA Cup third-round victory against Birmingham City. His comeback was cut short when he sustained another injury that forced him to miss two games.

Saha did not return to the first team until 1 February 2003, when he came in as a 69th-minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat to

Arsenal

. In a 3–0 victory against West Bromwich Albion, he scored his fourth goal of the season.

After his comeback, Saha was able to reclaim his first-team spot in the striker position for the remainder of the 2002–03 season. He scored three additional goals in the 2002–03 season, including two goals in two games against Sunderland and Southampton between March 1 and March 15, 2003.

As a consequence, he scored seven goals in 28 appearances across all competitions in the 2002–03 season.

The club stated before of the 2003–04 season that Saha would be staying put. He got off to a good start, scoring in the season's first game, a 3–2 victory against Middlesbrough. Between September 14 and September 28, 2003, Saha scored three goals in three matches, scoring against Birmingham City,

Manchester City

, and Blackburn Rovers.

During the first part of the season, he was a regular in Fulham's first team, playing in the striker position. By the conclusion of the year, he had maintained his goal-scoring prowess, netting three braces. As a consequence, Saha was selected December's Player of the Month.

A notable fact about Louis Saha is that he scored 15 goals in his 22 appearances for Fulham in his last season before departing in the January transfer window.

The club declared on December 23, 2003 that they had turned down a deal from Manchester United to sign Saha, stating that he was not for sale.

It occurred after his performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2003 was said to have influenced

Alex Ferguson

's decision to recruit him in 2004.

Saha said around this time that he had a falling out with Fulham manager Chris Coleman as a consequence of pressing his way out of the club. Saha scored 63 goals in all during his almost four-year stay with the club.

Manchester United

An important fact about Louis Saha is that he was sold to Manchester United for £12.4 million in 2004 after scoring 15 goals for Fulham and impressing Alex Ferguson in a 3–1 victory at Old Trafford. Fulham were hesitant to trade Saha, but he persisted, and the transfer was completed on January 23, 2004.

FC Metz, on the other hand, filed their case to FIFA (and eventually the Court of Arbitration for Sport) a month later, claiming that they are entitled to a portion of Fulham's transfer fee as a consequence of Saha's transfer. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favor of FC Metz two years later, and Fulham was compelled to pay.

Saha had an immediate impact, scoring seven goals in ten starts during the 2003–04 season and scored on his debut against Southampton. Manager Ferguson hailed his effort after the game.

In the next match, a 4–3 triumph against Everton, Saha and

Ruud van Nistelrooy

both scored two goals.He played his previous side for the first time on February 28, 2004, scoring the sole goal for United in a 1–1 tie.

Saha was booed and jeered by Fulham fans throughout the game. He then appeared in both legs of Manchester United's UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match against Porto, which they lost 3–2 on aggregate.

A notable

fact about Louis Saha

is that he returned to the first team after missing two matches due to an Achilles ailment and scored in the next two matches against Arsenal and

Birmingham City

.

He didn't make his first appearance of the season until August 28, 2004, when he came in as a second-half replacement in a 1–1 tie against Blackburn Rovers. However, Saha suffered a month-long knee injury when playing for France against the Faroe Islands.

He didn't return to the first squad until October 16, 2004, when he started the whole game in a 0–0 draw against Birmingham City.

On November 10, 2004, Saha scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 victory against Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the League Cup. He picked up the injury again shortly after, this time while playing for the national team and missing almost two months.

Saha suffered another hamstring strain over the summer, which forced him to miss the first three months of the 2005–06 season.

It wasn't until 30 November 2005, in a 3–1 victory against West Bromwich Albion that he scored on his first appearance of the season, as well as setting up the club's third goal of the game.

Following his return, Saha gradually re-entered the team as a substitute, appearing in League Cup matches. To many people's surprise, the French striker regained his earlier form and began scoring goals.

His six goals in the League Cup run saw him overtake Van Nistelrooy as Wayne Rooney's first-choice attack partner. Saha was picked a starting in the final against Wigan Athletic, ahead of Van Nistelrooy, and scored a goal.

Despite an injury, he scored four additional goals in the 2005–06 season, including a hat trick against West Bromwich Albion on March 18, 2006.

By the conclusion of the 2005–06 season, Saha had made 30 appearances in all competitions, scoring 15 times.

After Van Nistelrooy left for Real Madrid during the summer transfer window, Ferguson picked Saha to join Rooney for the next season.

An important fact about Louis Saha is that he scored his first goal of the 2006–07 season barely seven minutes into the game against Fulham. He then went on to score his second goal of the season, as well as set up the club's second goal, in a 3–0 victory against Charlton Athletic.

In a 3–2 triumph against Celtic in the UEFA Champions League, Saha scored twice for the team and set up the club's third goal of the game.

In the UEFA Champions League, he scored the game-winning goal away against Benfica and then scored in the rematch.

Saha's goal-scoring run lasted the remainder of the year. As a consequence, he signed a contract extension that ran through 2010, although he quickly started to suffer from further physical issues.

In Chelsea's first game under Avram Grant, Saha earned and converted a penalty against Chelsea on September 23, 2007. The game ended in a 2–0 victory for United.

As a result of this, Saha was called back to the French national squad after a year away. In a 2–2 tie with Arsenal, Saha came on to replace

Carlos Tevez

, who was underperforming. He was instrumental in setting up Cristiano Ronaldo's goal, which gave United a 2–1 lead.

A notable fact about Louis Saha is that he continued to make substitute appearances, but when Wayne Rooney was ruled out for a few weeks, he was paired up front with Tevez. On Boxing Day, he started against Sunderland and scored twice, including a penalty, as Manchester United won 2–0, putting them in first place in the Premier League.

Following a month on the sidelines due to a knee injury, Saha made his FA Cup comeback against Arsenal on February 16, 2008, winning 4–0.

He came in as a replacement for Ronaldo the next weekend, scoring the game's last goal in a 5–1 demolition of Newcastle United.

After almost regaining full health, Saha's injury woes reappeared, forcing him to leave United's victory against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford with a hamstring strain. Saha was declared out for many weeks and missed numerous critical games as a result.

Despite battling with injuries in portions of the 2004–05 season, as well as the later stages of the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons, Saha still managed to score 42 goals in 120 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions.

Everton

Saha signed a two-year 'pay-as-you-play' agreement with Everton in 2008 for an unknown price. Because he was not match-fit at the time of signing, Saha promised to train for free while injured.

Saha made his

Everton

debut on September 22, coming on as a substitute in a league match against Hull City, before scoring his first goal on November 1 against his previous side Fulham at Goodison Park.

He then went on to score a brace and set up the club's opening goal of the game in a 3–1 victory against West Ham United. However, he sustained a knee injury in a 1–0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur on November 30, 2008, and was replaced in the 60th minute.

It was then stated that Saha will be sidelined for two months. Saha did not return to the first team until February 22, 2009, when he came in as a 74th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw against Newcastle United.

He then scored his fourth league goal of the season in a 2–0 victory against

West Bromwich Albion

. A week later, on March 8, 2009, he scored the game-winning goal in Everton's FA Cup quarter-final against Middlesbrough, enabling the club reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1995.

Saha scored twice for the second time this season against West Ham United on May 16, 2009, as the team triumphed 3–1.

In the FA Cup final two weeks later, Saha scored the quickest goal in FA Cup final history only 25 seconds, however Chelsea fought back to win 2–1. This surpassed Bob Chatt's 114-year-old record established in the 1895 Final.

It was also the quickest goal scored in any competition at the new Wembley Stadium, surpassing Giampaolo Pazzini's mark set in an under-21 international for Italy in March 2007.

He established himself in the starting 11 during the 2008–09 season, creating a strong relationship with Yakubu. Saha went on to make 29 appearances and score eight goals in all competitions before the conclusion of the 2008–09 season.

After coming in as a substitute, Saha scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season on the opening day of the season against Arsenal in a 6–1 loss at Goodison Park.

For the following two months, his goal-scoring streak continued, with seven goals against Sigma Olomouc (twice), Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers (twice), and Portsmouth. By the conclusion of the year, he had scored seven goals in seven games in all competitions. In the next two months, Saha received two Player of the Month awards from the club.

On February 5, 2010, Saha extended his contract with Everton for another two years, keeping him with the club until the conclusion of the 2011–12 season. He scored a brace for the team in a 2–1 victory against Chelsea five days later, on February 10, 2010.

He established himself in the starting 11 for the 2009–10 season, playing in the striker position, although his goal-scoring record dropped as the season went. Despite battling from injuries during the season, Saha appeared in 40 games and scored 15 goals in all competitions (13 in the league).

Saha proceeded to reclaim his first team spot throughout the first four matches of the 2010–11 season, netting his first goal in a 5–1 triumph against Huddersfield Town in the League Cup second round. However, while on international service, he had an injury that forced him to miss a month.

Saha did not return to the first team until October 23, 2010, when he came in as a 61st-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw against

Tottenham Hotspur

.

Following his comeback from injury, he spent the following three months with the first team, albeit he failed to rediscover his goal-scoring form. This lasted until Saha injured his thigh and had to miss a match.

On 29 January 2011, Saha scored his ninth goal in five starts against Chelsea, and he maintained his good form against Blackpool on 5 February, scoring four goals in a 5–3 triumph. His hat-trick was his first in the Premier League.

Saha resumed his scoring streak against Chelsea in a League Cup matchup on October 26. He did not score for Everton again, a drought that lasted 942 minutes of league action. Saha scored 35 goals in 115 appearances for Everton.

Tottenham Hotspur

Saha signed a six-month deal with Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer on January 31, 2012. He was handed the number 15 jersey, which had previously belonged to Peter Crouch.

He made his debut against Liverpool less than a week later, coming in as a replacement for Emmanuel Adebayor in a 0–0 tie.

He made his complete league debut against Newcastle United the following week, scoring twice in a 5–0 victory. He scored the first goal in Tottenham's 5-2 loss to Arsenal in the North London derby on February 26, 2012, making it three goals in three games for his new club.

He scored his fourth goal for the club in all competitions against Bolton Wanderers with the last kick of the game to make it 3–1 and put Tottenham into the FA Cup semi-finals against London rivals Chelsea.

After a successful brief period at Tottenham, Saha said that he was anxious to sign a long-term contract at White Hart Lane, crediting Harry Redknapp as a major component in his improvement. Saha was released on July 13, 2012, when his contract with the team ended at the conclusion of the season.

Sunderland
Sunderland

announced the signing of Saha on a one-year contract on August 16, 2012. Two days later, he made his debut as a substitute in a 0–0 tie with Arsenal.

 On transfer deadline day in January 2013, his contract was amicably cancelled. Saha only made 14 appearances for Sunderland and did not score a single goal during his tenure there.

Lazio

Saha signed a six-month deal with Lazio in Italy on February 6, 2013. He was introduced by the club the next day. In 9 February 2013, Saha made his Lazio debut, coming on as a substitute in a match against Napoli.

However, he was only given minimal playing time, usually as a substitute, and only made six appearances for the club. Despite his desire to continue at the club beyond the 2012–13 season, Saha was released after his short-term contract expired.

Louis Saha after retirement

Saha announced his retirement from professional football on Twitter on August 8, 2013, his birthday. On May 12, 2014, Saha joined other retired players for a Testimonial match for former Spurs teammate Ledley King.

He scored a hat-trick against a line-up of current Tottenham players after coming in as a second-half replacement. Three years later, on September 2, 2017, he joined other retired Manchester United players for a charity match against Barcelona, which Manchester United won 3–0.

After retiring from professional football, Saha founded AxisStars, a private network for elite sportsmen and entertainers.

Saha said in December 2015 that he will be suing a UK bank after it was found that he had lost "approximately six figures" as a consequence of a failed investment program. In addition, he released his first book, "Thinking Inside the Box?"

Louis Saha international playing career

Saha played for France at several junior levels and scored the game-winning goal against Portugal in the 1997 UEFA European Under-18 Championship.

Saha stated that he wanted to play for France and that he had put his name on the short list to be called up to the national squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but due to a drop in goal scoring form during the 2001–02 season, Saha acknowledged that he would be unlikely to be selected for the tournament, which proved to be correct.

Saha did not receive his first full cap until 2004, when he scored a goal in a 2–0 victory against Belgium on February 18, 2004. He was also included to the UEFA Euro 2004 team that summer. On May 28, 2004, Saha scored his second goal for France, as well as the national team's third goal of the game, in a 4–0 triumph against Andorra.

After being an unused replacement in the first two Group Stage matches, he made his first appearance of the tournament against Switzerland, coming in as a 75th-minute substitution and setting up a goal for Thierry Henry to score the national team's second goal of the game, winning 3–1.

Saha, on the other hand, only played 18 minutes after coming in as a 72nd-minute replacement as France fell 1–0 to Greece in the UEFA Euro quarter-finals, therefore eliminating the national team from the competition.

Saha was called up to the national team for the FIFA World Cup two years later, his first call-up in over a year. On May 31, 2006, he made his first appearance for France in over a year, beginning a match against Denmark and setting up France's opening goal in a 2–0 victory.

Saha made his World Cup debut in a 0–0 draw against Switerzland, coming in as a 69th-minute replacement.

Saha helped France reach the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final, but after earning a yellow card in the semi-final win against

Portugal

, he was banned for the final against Italy.

After the World Cup, Saha was called up to the France team for the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which he started the whole game and helped France to a 2–1 victory.

Saha subsequently scored in a 3–0 triumph over Georgia in his second outing for the national team. He scored his fourth goal for France in a 5–0 triumph against the Faroe Islands a month later, on October 11, 2006.

Saha was nominated to France's Euro 2012 qualifying squad in September 2011, with goalkeeper

Hugo Lloris

, Chelsea's Florent Malouda, and nine other players who played in the country's disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign.

Prior to this, he had not represented his country since November 2006. In September 3, 2010, Saha made his first appearance for France in four years, coming on as a 79th-minute replacement in a 1–0 defeat to Belarus. He returned to the national team two years later, on February 29, 2012, in a 2–1 victory against Germany, in what turned out to be his last appearance for France.

Louis Saha social media

Regarding

Louis Saha social media

, it should be mentioned that he has an Instagram page (

@louissaha

) with 127k followers. In the page we can see various pictures of him with the fans and his family.

He also has a Twitter account (

@louissaha

) with more than 420k followers. He rarely posts new stuff on his Twitter page.

Louis Saha body measurements

Speaking about

Louis Saha body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the former player is 185 cm and 69 kg.

Louis Saha net worth and salary

Louis Saha's net worth

is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.

Despite the fact that he made a lot of money through the sport, his great business sense has helped him obtain even more. He founded AxisStars, a startup similar to Tinder and Uber. It enables athletes to connect with sponsors while sharing their experiences, which may lead to endorsement possibilities for the players.

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