André Pierre Gignac

Personal life

Gignac was born in the city of Martigues in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in the south of France. In an interview with French football magazine So Foot, Gignac revealed he is of partial Romani descent, but considers himself to be an adopted Manouche stating, "I grew up with them, my wife is Manouche, so my son is automatically Manouche. My family lived in caravans and worked in the markets. When I am given clothes, I pass them on to my mother-in-law so she can sell them. Sometimes I go with her and stand behind the stall." He is the cousin of former defender Jacques Abardonado and Zenit St. Petersburg winger Yohan Mollo.

Early career

Gignac began his career with local club ES Fos-sur-Mer. He spent five years at the club before joining hometown club FC Martigues. After almost seven years at the club, Gignac was released after being informed he needed to bulk up. He, subsequently, moved over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) to the Brittany region to join the youth academy of professional club FC Lorient. 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.

Lorient

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 giving Lorient a 2–1 victory. An elated Gignac later stated after scoring the game-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 Stade 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. He began the season, initially, as a substitute appearing as a replacement in the first three league matches. In the team's fourth league match against Bretagne rivals Nantes, Gignac started the match and repaid coach Gourcuff by converting a hat-trick in 27 minutes in a 3–1 victory. On 4 November 2006, he scored the game-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, which was a club best.

2007–08 season

At the end of the season, on 25 June 2007, it was announced that 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. Despite this, Toulouse trumped Lille's offer by offering the player more than double the salary he had been offered by Lille. The clubs entered a war of words with Toulouse questioning the legitimacy of Lille's agreement while Gignac and Lille questioned the ethics and tactics of Toulouse. Eventually, Gignac's move to Toulouse was validated.

Gignac made his competitive debut for Toulouse in the first leg of the club's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round match against Liverpool, coming on as a substitute in the 65th minute. Toulouse lost the match 1–0 and conceded the two-legged tie 5–0 on aggregate, thus being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League. On 4 October 2007, after coming on as a substitute for Elmander, Gignac scored a last-minute goal against Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia to cancel out Claudinei's opening goal from the penalty spot and enable Toulouse to progress to the group stages of the UEFA Cup on the away goals rule. Despite the hype, both Gignac and Toulouse had disappointing 2007–08 seasons with Gignac appearing in 28 matches and scoring only two goals. Toulouse finished the season in 17th place, just one place above the relegation zone. Some media outlets attributed Gignac's struggle for form to him playing second fiddle to Swedish striker Johan Elmander. Gignac also struggled with weight problems during the season.

2008–09 season

In the 2008–09 season, Gignac's form blossomed as he became first-choice striker due to the departure of Johan Elmander to Bolton Wanderers. He scored his first goal of the season in just the second match against Le Havre with an 88th-minute strike to seal a 2–1 victory. Over the course of the season, Gignac scored several vital goals for his club notably braces against Sochaux, Grenoble, Saint-Étienne, Marseille, and Nice twice, including his final two goals of the season. He overtook Elmander (Toulouse's top scorer last year with 11 goals) during the 19th match. For his efforts, he was awarded the UNFP Player of the Month award twice for September and March, nominated for the Ligue 1 Player of the Year Award, which was won by Yoann Gourcuff, selected to the Ligue 1 Team of the Year, and received the league's top scorer award.

2009–10 season

Gignac switched to the number 10 shirt for the 2009–10 season and, on 14 August 2009, signed a one-year contract extension tying him to Toulouse until 2013. The extension signaled an end to rumors of a move during the fall transfer window, where the player had been linked with moves to fellow Ligue 1 club Lyon, Premier League clubs Arsenal and Manchester United, and Serie A clubs Juventus and Milan.

Gignac scored his first goal of the season on 15 August 2009 in a 3–1 victory over Saint-Étienne. Five days later, he scored a brace in the first leg of the club's playoff round match against Turkish club Trabzonspor. The 3–1 result in the first leg was enough for Toulouse to reach the group stage of the competition where Gignac struck again, this time against Belgian club Brugge in a 2–2 draw. After going scoreless for seven weeks in the league, on 24 October, Gignac bagged the second goal in the club's 2–0 away win over Lens. Two weeks later, Gignac netted the game-winning goal against Rennes. Two months later, he scored both goals in another 2–0 victory, this time against Sochaux. On 16 January 2010, Gignac provided the assists on all three goals scored by the club in its 3–1 win over Valenciennes. Despite being injured for the majority of the spring campaign, Gignac finished the season as the club's top scorer.

Gignac totalled 34 Ligue 1 goals for Toulouse, remaining their highest scorer in the league in the 21st century until September 2014, when his record was surpassed by Wissam Ben Yedder.

2010–11 season

On 20 August 2010, prior to the start of the press conference for new signing Loïc Rémy, Marseille president Jean-Claude Dassier confirmed that the club had reached a tentative agreement with Toulouse for the transfer of Gignac. Gignac underwent a medical the following day and signed a five-year contract. The transfer fee was undisclosed, but was reported to be within the region of €16–18 million. Gignac was assigned the number 10 shirt and made his club debut nine days after signing in a league match against Bordeaux. He scored his first goal for the club two months later in a 1–1 draw with Saint-Étienne. On 3 November, Gignac scored a hat-trick in the 7–0 away win against Slovak club MŠK Žilina in a Champions League group stage match.

Gignac endured a rough patch for the majority of the fall season, which led to criticism from local media, club supporters, and former club players, most notably Jean-Pierre Papin who stated Gignac's game had "become too predictable". Gignac admitted that the criticism was justified and stated that "you will see the real Gignac in 2011". Following the winter break, Gignac attempted to live up to his declaration by scoring in the team's first league match in a 2–1 win over Bordeaux. Three days later, he scored the second goal in a 2–0 victory over Auxerre in the Coupe de la Ligue. The win sent Marseille to the competition's final match. On 5 February, he scored a goal in a win over Arles-Avignon and, in the following week, scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over Sochaux. He played the full 90 minutes in the 2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final on 23 April, a 1–0 win over Montpellier.

2011–12 season

Gignac was not named in the Marseille squad for the 2011 Trophée des Champions on 27 July, which they won 5–4 against Lille at the Stade de Tanger in Morocco. He was close to a move to English Premier League club Fulham during the transfer window, but this collapsed at the last moment as Marseille failed to bring in Amauri as a replacement. He was also offered as part of a failed bid for Sunderland's Asamoah Gyan. Gignac expressed frustration at the move to Fulham being called off.

On 26 November 2011, Gignac was relegated to Marseille's reserve squad. He made only six league starts during the season, and his only goal came in the penultimate match against Sochaux, when he came on in the 50th minute for Rémy and concluded a 3–0 home victory. He was an unused substitute on 14 April as Marseille won the 2012 Coupe de la Ligue Final against Lyon.

2012–13 season

Despite Marseille finishing tenth in the league, their Coupe de la Ligue win earned them entry into the UEFA Europa League. In the third qualifying round, Gignac scored in each leg of a 4–1 aggregate victory over Eskişehirspor.

Gignac regained his position on the first team, and scored in Marseille's first home game of the season, the first in a 2–0 win over Sochaux. He then scored the only goal of an away victory over league champions Montpellier. Gignac scored two first-half goals against PSG in Le Classique on 7 October, to secure a draw for the home side and to retain the league lead. On 6 January 2013, he scored twice, including the extra-time winner, as Marseille won 2–1 against Guingamp in the last 64 of the Coupe de France. Gignac's 13 goals eventually helped Marseille to second place, behind PSG.

2013–14 season

Gignac scored in each of Marseille's three opening games of the league season, all victories, with the third being the 84th-minute only goal of an away win at Valenciennes on 24 August. In January 2014, he scored braces in consecutive rounds of the Coupe de France: an extra-time double to dispatch Reims in the round of 64 on 5 January, and a further two in a 4–5 home defeat to Nice sixteen days later. On 4 May, he netted twice in a 4–2 win over Lyon, finishing the season with 16 league goals, joint second with four other players behind PSG's Zlatan Ibrahimović.

2014–15 season

Gignac began the season with two goals in a 3–3 draw at Bastia on 9 August 2014, the first being the first goal under new manager Marcelo Bielsa, and the latter a penalty. On 20 September, he scored Marseille's first two goals as they defeated Rennes 3−0 and moved to the top of the Ligue 1 standings. Three days later, he netted another double in a 5–0 thrashing away to Reims.

On 4 January 2015, in the round of 64 of the Coupe de France away to fourth-tier Grenoble, Gignac scored twice in the first half in an eventual 3–3 draw which ended in his team losing on penalties. He scored a further two on 5 April as Marseille hosted rivals PSG, twice putting his team ahead in an eventual 2–3 loss. The 2014–15 season saw Gignac get his best goal return for Marseille, netting 23 times in all competitions and 21 in Ligue 1 play as he finished runner-up to Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette for the league's golden boot.

Tigres UANL

On 1 June 2015, Gignac signed with Mexican club Tigres UANL, ending rumours of alleged interest from several European teams. Upon signing, he stated that his ambition to join the club was to win the domestic league and help his side reach the final of Copa Libertadores. Gignac made his official debut with Tigres on 15 July in the away game of semifinals of the 2015 Copa Libertadores against Internacional at the Estádio Beira-Rio, a 2–1 defeat. In the second leg, he scored his first goal to open a 3–1 victory, taking his team into the finals against River Plate.

After losing the 2015 Copa Libertadores finals, Gignac debuted in the Apertura 2015 season of Liga MX on 9 August, scoring in a 2–2 draw against C.D. Guadalajara at the Estadio Universitario. Six days later, he recorded a hat-trick in a 4–1 home win over Jaguares de Chiapas for the first win of the season for the Nuevo León-based team. He made his debut in the Clásico Regiomontano by scoring the second goal of the 3–1 home victory over arch-rival CF Monterrey on 19 September. Gignac's 11 goals contributed to the team reaching the championship stage, in which he scored in each leg of a 3–1 aggregate win over Chiapas in the quarter-finals. He repeated the feat in the 4–4 draw against UNAM in the final, also converting his attempt as they won in a penalty shootout.

The following 30 January, Gignac scored his second hat-trick for Tigres, as they won 3–1 at home against Club León in the Clausura 2016 season. He netted against Querétaro F.C. for his 5th consecutive match of the season, in a 2–2 draw. Gignac scored 13 goals in regular season and finished as the top goal scorer of the Clausura 2016.

On 2 March 2016, Gignac scored a late goal against Real Salt Lake in a 1–1 away draw, for a 3–1 aggregate win in the quarter-finals of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League. On 5 April, he scored twice in the final six minutes of a 2–0 home win over Querétaro (same score aggregate) to advance his team to the final, where on 27 April in the second leg of the finals against Club América at the Estadio Azteca, he scored the goal of the 2–1 defeat (losing the aggregate by 4–1).

Gignac scored a hat-trick in quarterfinals of the Apertura 2016 season playoffs against Pumas UNAM. He scored one goal in each, first and second leg of semi-finals against León. In the first leg of the finals against América he scored the goal of the 1-1 draw, also converting his attempt as they won in a penalty shootout in the second leg.

International career

Gignac received his first international call-up for France for World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania. He missed the first match due to injury, but was fit enough to earn his first cap on 1 April 2009 coming on as a substitute in the 69th minute and providing the assist to Franck Ribéry's goal in the 1–0 victory. On 12 August 2009, Gignac scored France's lone goal after 42 minutes when set up by Florent Malouda against last-place Faroe Islands in a World Cup qualifier in Tórshavn. On 10 October, he scored a brace in a five-minute span, again against the Faroes, in France's 5–0 rout in Guingamp, securing a place in the play-offs. Four days later, Gignac struck against Austria, scoring the final goal in France's 3–1 victory after appearing as a substitute for Thierry Henry in the second half.

On 11 May 2010, Gignac was named to Domenech's 30-man preliminary squad to participate in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He was later named in the 23-man team to compete in the competition, and was handed the number 11 shirt for the tournament. On 11 June 2010, Gignac made his FIFA World Cup debut in the team's opening group stage match against Uruguay appearing as a substitute in the second half, replacing Sidney Govou in the 85th minute of a goalless draw. He also appeared in the final two group stage matches, which included a start against the hosts South Africa. France lost the match 2–1, which resulted in the team's elimination from the competition.

On 6 September 2013, Gignac made his first appearance for France in three years during a 0–0 draw with Georgia in qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. His next appearance came as a late substitute in a friendly against Portugal on 11 October 2014. Three days later, he was selected to start in France's away friendly against Armenia, scoring his first international goal in five years from a penalty kick in a 3–0 win, after Paul Pogba was brought down by Varazdat Haroyan. On 13 November 2015, he scored France's second goal in a 2–0 home friendly victory over defending world champions Germany, a powerful header from a Blaise Matuidi cross. He was named in Didier Deschamps' squad for their hosting of UEFA Euro 2016.

Club

International

International goals

Club

Individual