André-Pierre Gignac

André-Pierre Christian Gignac (born 5 December 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Tigres UANL.

Gignac began his career in his home department of Bouches-du-Rhône, playing for local club Fos and Martigues.

In 2002, he ventured to the Brittany region to join professional club Lorient.

He starred for the club for two seasons, which included a loan stint at amateur club Pau.

After developing in the club's academy for two seasons, Gignac was promoted to the club's senior team for the 2004–05 Ligue 2 season by manager Christian Gourcuff.

Gignac made his professional debut with Lorient on 13 August 2004, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute with the score tied 1–1 against Châteauroux.

Within seconds of coming on, he scored the winning goal to bring Lorient a 2–1 victory.

An elated Gignac later said after scoring the match-winning goal that he "thought he was Ronaldo".

In subsequent matches, Gignac was minor presence within the team featuring primarily as a substitute.

Gignac scored his only other goal in the season against Reims in a 4–1 victory on 29 October.

The following week he made his first professional start, in a 2–1 defeat to Le Mans, playing 70 minutes.

The following season, Lorient achieved promotion to Ligue 1, though without Gignac's services as he was loaned out to Championnat National club Pau during the winter transfer period.

Prior to the loan, Gignac had appeared in only one match for the club in the season.

At Pau, Gignac featured as a starter for the first time in his career.

He appeared in 20 league matches for the club and scored eight goals.

Notable appearances with the team included a double in a victory over Toulon and a hat-trick against Châtellerault.

The week before the match against Châtellerault, Gignac scored the equalizing goal against Romorantin in a 1–1 draw.

Gignac's newfound confidence saw the player return to Lorient senior team for the 2006–07 Ligue 1 season where he was inserted as starter.

Initially, he began the season as a substitute, appearing as a replacement in the first three league matches.

In the team's fourth league match against Derby Breton rivals Nantes, Gignac started the match and repaid manager Gourcuff by converting a hat-trick in 27 minutes in a 3–1 victory.

On 4 November 2006, he scored the match-winning goal away to Marseille and, in December, scored goals in back-to-back matches against Sedan and Auxerre.

Gignac finished the campaign with 37 appearances in the league and nine goals, a club best.

Gignac joined Toulouse in 2007, amid controversial circumstances.

On 25 June 2007, it was announced Gignac had signed a four-year deal with Toulouse.

However, it was revealed soon after that Lorient had accepted a €4.5 million bid from Lille and that the player had already agreed to a pre-contract with the Northern side, putting his move to Toulouse in jeopardy.

After early struggles, he reached prominence during the 2008–09 season, becoming the league's top scorer with 24 goals.

After a sub-par 2009–10 season with Toulouse, Gignac joined the defending champions Marseille in August 2010 on a five-year contract.

Gignac is a France international and made his debut with the team in April 2009 against Lithuania as a result of his good form with Toulouse.

He scored his first international goal five months later against the Faroe Islands.

Gignac made his first major international appearance for his country at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, featuring in all three matches the team contested.

He scored 77 goals in 186 matches across all competitions for OM, winning two consecutive Coupe de la Ligue titles and the 2011 Trophée des Champions.

After his contract expired, he moved to Mexico to play for Tigres UANL, where he has become the club's all-time top scorer in all competitions.

He also represented his country at UEFA Euro 2016, playing in several matches including the final, which France lost to Portugal after extra time.

Gignac was born in the city of Martigues in Bouches-du-Rhône in the south of France.

Gignac is of partial Romani descent, but in an interview with French football magazine So Foot he stated he considers himself to be an adopted Manouche.

He is the cousin of former defender Jacques Abardonado and winger Yohan Mollo.

Gignac began his career with local club ES Fos-sur-Mer.

He spent five years at the club before joining hometown club Martigues.

After almost seven years at the club, Gignac was released after being informed he needed to bulk up.

He, subsequently, moved over 1000 km to the Brittany region to join the youth academy of professional club Lorient.