Steven Nzonzi Biography

Steven Nzonzi, born 15 December 1988 in La Garenne-Colombes, is a French footballer of Congolese origin who plays in the midfield position for the Qatari club Al-Rayyan SC. Nzonzi started his professional career at the second-league club Amiens SC. On 7 December 2007, he played his debut in Ligue 2 in a 1:3 lost match against FC Nantes.

He played 3 league games in the 2007/2008 season in the colours of Amiens. Starting from the next season he became a key player at the club. He scored his first goal in his professional career on 8 May 2009 in a 1:2 defeat against RC Strasbourg. While at Amiens, he played the rest of the 2008/2009 season, making 37 league appearances and scoring one goal.

He signed a contract with English Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2009. His transfer fee amounted to 500 thousand pounds. He made his Premier League debut on 15 August 2009 in a 0:2 defeat against Manchester City. Following Blackburn Rovers' relegation from the Premier League on 31 August 2012, Nzonzi joined Stoke City as a player. He was voted the club's best player of the season in 2014/15.

On 9 July 2015, he moved to the Spanish side Sevilla, where he remained for three seasons, where he played a total of 90 league matches and scored 6 goals, before signing for the Italian top club AS Roma in the summer of 2018.

All You Need To Know About Steven Nzonzi Biography

During his first season at Roma, he played a total of 30 league matches, scoring one goal. He was loaned out to Turkish club Galatasaray for the 2019/20 season and spent the next season on loan at Rennes. After his contract at Roma was expired, he joined Qatari club Al-Rayyan SC on 5 September 2021.

Steven Nzonzi Information

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Steven Nzonzi biography

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Steven Nzonzi Bio

• Full Name: Steven Nkemboanza Mike Christopher Nzonzi

• Nickname: N/A

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Steven Nzonzi Physical Stats

• Weight: 87 Kg

• Height: 1.96 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Dark Brown

Steven Nzonzi Football Information

• Position: Defensive midfielder

• Jersey Number: 15

• Professional Debut: 2007

Steven Nzonzi Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 15 December 1988

• Birth Place: La Garenne-Colombes, France

• Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

• Nationality: French

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Steven Nzonzi childhood

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Steven Nzonzi Early Life

Steven Nzonzi started out playing football at Racing Club de France. Then he moved to

and stayed there for 3 seasons. However, he was not accepted into the training academy as he was thought to be physically too weak.

Instead, Steven Nzonzi went to CA Lisieux, in Calvados. Besides attending special football classes at school, he was part of the amateur club's 14-year-old federal team. Following a season, Steven moved to the SM

youth academy, although only for one year as he was not selected for further training.

He grew 30 cm taller during his time at Caen and was injured frequently. Nzonzi moved to AS Beauvais Oise in 2004 to train with the national 16s before joining

.

Steven Nzonzi Profile

Steven Nzonzi moved to Amiens SC, a Ligue 2 professional team, in 2005. By the end of the 2007-2008 season, coach Ludovic Batelli brought him into the professional squad for a visit to AC Le Havre. Subsequently, he played a full match at Libourne. In early May 2008, Steven Nzonzi signed his first professional contract for three years, until June 2011.

For the next season, Steven Nzonzi was a regular member of the Amiens squad. At the start of the 2008-2009 season, he benefited from Maxime Brillault's injury and the change of Carl Tourenne's position as a central defender to become a key member of the team.

His first goal for Amiens SC came in the 2-1 defeat at RC Strasbourg on 8 May 2009, with a header from the corner of the box past Stéphane Cassard. The team was relegated to the National 4 at the end of the season.

As a result of this relegation and following 40 games and one goal with the club from Picardy, Steven Nzonzi transferred to English Premier League club,

. Now stay tuned to this section of Steven Nzonzi biography as we want to share some more information about his career in England.

Blackburn Rovers

Nzonzi penned a four-year contract with

side Blackburn Rovers on 28 June 200910. His tall physique at first raised questions about his ability to handle the physical challenges of England, but coach

had faith in him from the very first league game.

He scored a fourth-minute opener against Arsenal on 4 October, but Blackburn lost 6-2. Steven Nzonzi said he was amazed at how quickly he was integrated into the team. He was voted best player of the 2009-10 season by Rovers fans on 10 May 2010.

However, the start of the 2010-2011 season was more challenging for the Frenchman. The performances of Phil Jones and Vince Grella relegated him to the bench. Nzonzi was sent off for the first time in his career on 2 April 2011 in a 0-0 draw with Arsenal, after tackling Laurent Koscielny with both feet off the ground. He was suspended for four matches.

Steven Nzonzi intentionally elbowed Ryan Shawcross in the head on 26 November 2011 against Stoke City. He was suspended for three matches. He scored his first goal of the season on 11 February 2012 and gave an assist to Yakubu Aiyegbeni in a 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers.

His second goal of the season came in a 2-1 loss to Bolton on 24 March 2012. Blackburn was relegated at the end of the season for the first time in 11 years and Steven Nzonzi made a request to leave the club.

Stoke City

He signed for

, then coached by Welshman Tony Pulis, on 31 August 2012 for a fee of £3 million. He debuted on 15 September 2012 in a 1-1 draw with Manchester City. He was named the man of the match. During the 2012-13 season he played in 38 games and by the end of the season announced that he was not happy at the Potters.

His request to leave the team was rejected and he remained at the club under a new coach, Welshman Mark Hughes, and was elected man of the match against West Ham on 31 August 2013. He scored a goal and provided an assist against Sunderland on 23 November 2013. He ended the 2013-2014 season with 40 appearances.

Steven Nzonzi made 42 appearances in the 2014/15 season and scored 4 goals, one of which came in a 6-1 win over Liverpool in the final game. They finished ninth in the league again and he was voted Stoke's best player of the season.

As of June 2014, Mark Hughes was trying to extend his contract with the player entering his final year. However, his efforts were in vain, and the club agreed to a £7m transfer offer from FC Sevilla. Altogether, Steven Nzonzi spent three seasons at Stoke City, playing 120 games and scoring 7 goals.

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career.

Sevilla

After three years at Stoke City, Nzonzi joined Sevilla on 9 July 2015 for a club-record fee of approximately £7 million. He signed a four-year contract with the Spanish club, which included a €30 million (£21.5m) termination clause. Nzonzi made his debut in a goalless draw with Málaga on 22 August.

At first, he experienced difficulties in the intense Andalusian heat, and a possession-based style of play based on technical ability, but he managed to adapt in the second half of the season and helped Sevilla win the UEFA Europa League final against Liverpool in Basel.

On 30 January 2017, he signed a new contract with Sevilla F.C. until 30 June 2020 with a termination clause of 40 million euros. During February of the same year he was awarded La Liga's best player of the month for January.

AS Roma

He joined

for four seasons on 14 August 2018. In a complicated match in October, where Empoli had some genuine chances, AS Roma won thanks to a goal from Nzonzi and Edin Džeko, by doing so, the Frenchman, who arrived this summer from Sevilla, scored his first goal for Roma.

Loan to Galatasaray

Steven Nzonzi was loaned out to

on 16 August 201954 for one season. The following 13 December, Galatasaray released an official statement to announce the player's suspension until further notice.

According to the Turkish club, the player was 'suspended for disciplinary reasons for his conduct during the last training session'. He played fifteen games for the Turkish club before being recalled by AS Roma in January 2020.

Loan to Stade Rennais FC

Steven Nzonzi joined Stade Rennais FC on loan for six months (with an option for a further year) on 31 January 2020. He played his first match for Stade Rennais FC on 8 February 2020, when he came on in the 65th minute against Stade Brestois 29.

Steven Nzonzi's loan was automatically renewed for another year on 30 April 2020 when

reached the

. Nzonzi's loan in Brittany ended on 19 June 2021.

Al-Rayyan SC

After Roma decided not to renew his expiring contract after his return from a loan, Nzonzi decided to pursue his career in Asia and joined the Qatari

club in September 2021.

National team

Steven Nzonzi played his first game for the French U-21 team on 9 October 2009, when he came on during the match against Malta. Having a Congolese background through his father, Steven Nzonzi was asked to defend the colours of the Democratic Republic of Congo for several years.

The Congolese national team's sporting director and ambassador for local football, Ariza Makukula, told SFR Sport in April 2017 that he had Steven Nzonzi on his radar and that he had often pushed to convince him to join the Leopards.

However, on 2 November 2017, Steven Nzonzi received his first call-up to the French national team by Didier Deschamps for two friendly games. He appeared at half-time on 10 November 2017 against Wales at the Stade de

, replacing Corentin Tolisso for his first cap. This was followed by a second appearance against Germany three days later in Cologne.

He was one of the twenty-three French players picked to play in the 2018

in Russia on 17 May 2018, when the coach made a surprise decision to select him over Adrien Rabiot. During the tournament, he played in five of France's seven matches.

He sat out the first game against Australia, entered in the 89th minute against Peru as a replacement for Paul Pogba, and was a starter in the final group game against Denmark, where the qualification for the Round of 16 was achieved and several starters were rested.

He missed the next game against Argentina but was brought on in the 80th minute of the quarter-final against Uruguay, substituting for Corentin Tolisso, and played the final minutes of the semi-final against Belgium, coming on for Olivier Giroud.

During the 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final, he came on for N'Golo Kanté in the 55th minute with France leading by just one goal (2-1). It was a remarkable performance, as it kept the Croatians from getting close to the French goal.

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Steven Nzonzi biography

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Style of Play

Having played as a striker in his younger days, he became a midfielder who can play as an inside player in a 3-man midfield and in a 2-man midfield. With his 196cm height, he has excellent aerial skills and good vision (which makes him a good ball catcher) but lacks dynamism.

Reception

After proving himself to be a talented defensive midfielder in the French league before moving to English Premier League, but it was on Sevilla that he was able to establish himself as one of the best defensive midfielders at the time and even got called up to French national team and won the 2018 World Cup. But after signing for Roma, his performances declined and at a rather young age, many believe that he has passed his peak.

Goal Celebration

Most of the time after scoring goals, Steven Nzonzi rushes to the fans or his teammates to share his happiness with them and he does not have a signature goal celebration to his name.

Steven Nzonzi outside Football

Nzonzi has devoted his life to football at the moment and there are not much know about his private life and life outside football. He is a Christian.

Steven Nzonzi Personal Life

In this section of Steven Nzonzi biography, we will take a deeper look into his personal life and share some information about things like

Steven Nzonzi life story

and

Steven Nzonzi religion

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Family, Children and Relationships

In 2013, Steven Nzonzi married his wife Lynda. However, a few months after the birth of their child Ayden, the couple had problems and she accused Steven of assaulting her. The couple divorced each other a few months later and now his son is living with his mother.

Philanthropy

During his time at Stoke City, Steven Nzonzi always took part in the many different charity activities organized by the English club.

Legal Issues

While he was playing for Sevilla, in his first season, Steven Nzonzi had to appear in court as he was accused of hitting his wife, however, around two months later, Steven was cleared of all charges against him.

Steven Nzonzi Career Statistics

In this section of Steven Nzonzi biography, get ready as we are going to share some information about his career stats both on the club and international level.

Club

Since the 2007-08 season, when he started his career at Amiens in the French Ligue 2, until now that he is residing for Al-Rayyan in Qatar, Steven Nzonzi has played a total of 493 matches for many clubs in France, Italy, England, Spain, Turkey and now in Qatar, however, he has not played yet in the Middle Eastern country.

International

Between 2017 and 2020, Nzonzi has played a total of 20 matches for the French national team and was part of the squad which was crowned World Champions under the guidance of

.

Steven Nzonzi Honors

On the club level, he has won the UEFA Europa League while he was playing for Sevilla. On the International level, his only achievement and perhaps his most important one is the 2018 FIFA World Cup that he won with the France national team.

Of his individual awards, we can include Blackburn Rovers Player of the Year, Stoke City Player of the Year, UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season and the French Knight of the Legion of Honour.

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