Nicolas Anelka (born 14 March 1979)[2][3] is a French footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League side Chelsea and the France national team. Anelka began his career at Paris Saint-Germain but soon moved to Arsenal. He became a first team regular and won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award the following season. Real Madrid signed him for £22.3 million in 1999, a record fee, but he did not settle in well and returned to Paris Saint-Germain in a £20 million deal. Despite regular first team football in Paris, Anelka set his eyes upon the English Premier League once more; he went on loan to Liverpool in January 2002 but joined Manchester City for £13 million for the start of the 2002–03 season. After three seasons in Manchester he moved to Fenerbahçe for a season before returning to England to join Bolton Wanderers– in deals worth £7 and £8 million respectively. He transferred to Chelsea from Bolton for a reported £15 million in January 2008. As a result, he became the most paid-for player in football history having commanded more than £85 million in transfer fees.[4] Anelka has played many times at international level and won his first international honours with France at Euro 2000, and won the Confederations Cup the following year. His failure to settle at club level limited his international appearances, but he returned to the national team for the Euro 2008 competition.
