Adil Rami

In the opening match of the season, against Lorient, Rami featured in the match until the 69th minute, when he suffered an injury to ligaments in one of his knees.

Adil Rami (born 27 December 1985) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Rami began his football career playing for amateur club Étoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, then known as ES Fréjus.

Due to only playing the sport as a hobby, he spent three seasons at the club playing in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth division of French football.

Rami registered as a youth player for Étoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, then known as ES Fréjus, in 1994 at the age of nine.

Despite harbouring ambitions of playing football professionally, Rami only played the sport as a hobby and worked for city hall to support himself.

He made his amateur debut for the club during the 2003–04 season while Fréjus were playing in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth division of French football.

He appeared in four matches in his first season.

In the 2004–05 season, Rami appeared in 24 matches as Fréjus finished mid-table.

Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Rami switched to playing in central defence.

He initially played as an offensive player often in the midfield, but following an injury to a teammate, whom Rami described as his best friend, his coaches inserted him into defence.

The transition was a success, with Rami appearing in 30 matches with Fréjus finishing mid-table for the third consecutive season.

Midway through the campaign, Rami was offered a trial by professional club Lille.

Eager to leave the amateur club, he took the opportunity and after a week's training session with Lille, which Rami described as "hard", he was signed to an amateur contract with Fréjus receiving €10,000.

Upon his arrival to the club, Rami was inserted onto the club's Championnat de France amateur team and was supervised by coach Pascal Planque, who Rami stated gave him the best opportunity to grow as a player.

Rami appeared in 27 matches as the team finished in third position, the highest finish amongst professional clubs' reserve team's playing in the group.

In 2006, Rami ascended three divisions after signing with Ligue 1 club Lille.

With two months remaining in the 2006–07 Ligue 1 season, Rami was called up to the senior team by manager Claude Puel.

At Lille, Rami developed into a starter, making his professional debut in May 2007.

He is nicknamed "Shrek" by teammates and Lille supporters.

He made his professional debut on 19 May 2007 in a Ligue 1 match against Auxerre, starting at centre-back.

The following week, Rami started again, against Rennes.

In the 2007–08 season, Rami was declared a starter by Puel and inserted at centre-back, alongside captain Grégory Tafforeau.

He subsequently missed three-and-a-half months due to the injury, returning in November 2007.

Upon his return, Rami featured in every remaining match for Lille, save for one league match.

Lille finished the campaign in seventh position, one spot out of Europe.

After the season, Rami signed a two-year contract extension with the club.

He was in the preliminary list to play for France at the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals but did not make the final squad.

Rami made his senior debut on 11 August 2010 in a friendly match against Norway.

Rami was born in the city of Bastia on the island of Corsica to Moroccan parents.

He holds French and Moroccan nationalities.

As a youth, his family moved to the mainland, eventually settling in the southern coast city of Fréjus, where his mother worked as a member of the city council.

Rami is the third of four children and has two sisters and one brother.

While training to become a professional football player, Rami worked for the city after his family grew concerned for his future.

He often did odd-jobs such as taking care of the maintenance and cleanliness of the city.

On 4 June, Rami signed his first professional contract after agreeing to a three-year deal lasting until 2010.

He was then promoted to the senior squad on a permanent basis and assigned the number 23 shirt.

In January 2011, Rami joined Spanish club Valencia on a four-year contract.

However, he was immediately loaned back to his previous club and was a part of the Lille team which won the league and cup double.

Despite constant early inquiries from Morocco prior to his first selection, Rami chose to play for his home country of France.