Gabriel Obertan

Player

Birthday February 26, 1989

Birth Sign Pisces

Birthplace Paris, France

Age 35 years old

Nationality France

Height 1.86 m

#44322 Most Popular

1922

On 22 September, Obertan made his return from injury, replacing Javier Hernández in the 68th minute of United's 5–2 away League Cup win over Scunthorpe United.

Obertan's first official goal for United came on 2 November, netting the second of a 3–0 away win over Bursaspor in the Champions League, this also being Obertan's first European goal.

1989

Gabriel Antoine Obertan (born 26 February 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for USL League One side Charlotte Independence.

A former attendee of the famous Clairefontaine academy, Obertan began his professional career playing for Bordeaux in France.

2002

Obertan began his career playing for his local club Paris-Pantin before moving to a higher level joining Paris FC in 2002.

After spending a year there, he did what most youths at Paris FC often do and joined Paris-Saint Germain.

Following another year of training, he moved to the famed Clairefontaine academy in order to further his development.

It was here where he was first spotted by Bordeaux scouts and after one year at Clairefontaine, he moved to Bordeaux to begin training with them.

2006

After spending only a year in the reserves, in the 2006–07 season Obertan signed his first professional contract where he was given the number 26 shirt for the senior squad, signing a three-year contract.

On 30 September 2006, at the age of 17 he made his professional debut, playing the last 15 minutes of a 2–0 defeat to Valenciennes and made his Champions League debut a month later, in a 3–0 loss against Liverpool.

2007

He scored his first goal on 22 April 2007 against Saint-Étienne in a 2–0 away league victory, netting during injury time to seal the win.

He made 17 league appearances and a total of 23 matches scoring one goal during his debut season.

The following season, he signed a contract extension and his playing time increased to 37 matches and three goals, though he was still limited to mostly substitute appearances.

2008

For the first half of the 2008–09 season, his play was limited again, though he impressed as he scored a brace in Bordeaux's 4–2 win over Guingamp in the Coupe de la Ligue on 11 November 2008.

With Bordeaux contending for a title and Obertan not likely to receive playing time, Blanc decided to loan him out to fellow Ligue 1 side Lorient for the rest of the season, where Blanc believed the player would receive more playing time.

Bordeaux went on to win the 2008–09 Ligue 1 title in Obertan's absence, though he had already contributed 11 league appearances before he departed on loan.

2009

He then joined Manchester United in July 2009 for an undisclosed fee, before signing for Newcastle United for another undisclosed fee in August 2011.

Obertan scored his first goal for Lorient on 24 January 2009, netting the first in a 2–1 home win over Tours in the Coupe de France campaign.

Obertan netted his only league goal for Lorient in a 3–1 away win over Grenoble on 4 April.

During his loan spell at Lorient, Obertan made a total of 17 appearances scoring two goals.

On 6 July 2009, French newspaper L'Equipe announced that Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud had reached an agreement with English club Manchester United for the transfer of Obertan with Triaud stating that an agreement had been reached several weeks ago and that the player had agreed contract terms.

The following day, Obertan successfully passed his medical in Manchester and, on 8 July, signed his contract officially making him a Manchester United player.

The transfer fee was undisclosed, but is believed to be in the region of £3 million, with Obertan joining the club on a four-year deal.

However, at the start of the 2009–10 season, Obertan suffered a setback when he suffered a spinal problem that kept him on the sidelines for a month.

Following three games for the Manchester United reserve team, including a 3–0 win over Oldham Athletic on his debut, Obertan made his senior debut in the club's 2–0 away win over Barnsley in the League Cup fourth round on 27 October.

He made his Premier League debut for Manchester United on 31 October, coming on as a substitute in the 2–0 win over Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford.

His Champions League debut came that same week, replacing Federico Macheda in the 82nd minute in the 3–3 home draw against CSKA Moscow on 3 November 2009.

On 8 December, Obertan set up the second of Michael Owen's hat-trick in a 3–1 away victory at Wolfsburg in the Champions League, taking on 3 players before teeing Owen up for a simple tap-in.

2010

Obertan scored his first goal for United in a 1–0 win over Philadelphia Union on 21 July 2010 on the club's pre-season tour of North America.

Just one week later Obertan was forced to miss the start of the new season as he was injured midway through the first half during United's 5–2 victory in the 2010 MLS All-Star Game.

2011

Ahead of the 2011–12 season, with his first team place increasingly limited, Newcastle United confirmed their interest in signing Obertan as a direct replacement for Joey Barton, as Manchester United planned a rebuild of their squad.

Obertan signed for Premier League club Newcastle United on a five-year contract on 9 August 2011, for an undisclosed fee believed to be approximately £3 million.

He made his debut on 13 August as a half-time substitute at home to Arsenal.

Obertan provided an assist for Demba Ba, before being substituted in the 65th minute, in a 3–1 win over Stoke City on 31 October 2011.

After the match, it was revealed that Obertan had an infection in his toe and was sidelined for some weeks.

On 26 November 2011, Obertan returned to Old Trafford with Newcastle in a fixture against Manchester United in a 1–1 draw.

2015

On 15 December, Obertan made his first league start for United, being replaced in the 71st minute by Danny Welbeck in a 3–0 home win over Wolves.

In his first season at Manchester United, Obertan made 13 appearances in all competitions.

2016

Obertan was released by Newcastle in May 2016.

Obertan represented his country at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 level.