Marcel Desailly (born September 7, 1968 in Accra, Ghana) is a Ghanaian football player, currently a citizen of France and a former star for its national team, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

Desailly moved to France after he was adopted as a young child by a French diplomat, and began his career in FC Nantes. In 1992, he moved to Olympique de Marseille, and won the European Cup the following year. In 1994, while a member of AC Milan, he again won the Cup, being the first player to win the Cup in consecutive seasons with different clubs. Although he prefers to be a defender, he also played midfield for some time.

Desailly then moved to the English club, Chelsea FC, where he played centre-back until the end of the 2003-04 season. After Euro 2004, he retired from international football as the all-time leader in appearances for France (116). He currently plays for the Al Gharafa club in Qatar.

Desailly is considered one of the most accomplished players in the game and one of the best players of the past two decades, having won virtually every major team award.

Teams

• FC Nantes Atlantique (1986-92)
• Olympique de Marseille (1992-94)
  • Premier Division Championship 1992/93 (club stripped of title after a match fixing scandal)
  • Champions League 1993
• AC Milan (1994-98)
  • Serie A Championship 1993/94, 1995/96
  • Champions League 1994
  • European Super Cup 1994 1998
• Chelsea F.C. (1998-2004)
  • FA Cup 1999/2000
• Al Gharafa (2004-present)
• France national football team
  • World Cup 1998 2002
  • European Football Championship 2000 2004

External links

• Soccer Europe's profile of Marcel Desailly
• Desailly's official website (in English, French and Italian)