Chelsea career

Signed on a three-year contract in the summer of 2007, an undisclosed fee was paid to Lyon for the then 27-year-old French international winger who was one of Jose Mourinho's final purchases for the club.

The first year started brightly with an excellently-taken Community Shield goal at Wembley and another strike in the first league game. He completed his first Chelsea campaign with four goals from 29 starts and nine sub appearances, before Luiz Felipe Scolari arrived in the summer of 2008 announcing he wanted to see the same Malouda at Chelsea he had seen at Lyon, with direct running and a stronger eye for goal.

The Frenchman made Carlo Ancelotti's early selections and by the end of the 2009/10 season he had cemented his place in the starting line-up. He was instrumental in a number of historic wins and netted 15 goals throughout an industrious campaign. He ended the 2009/10 season with another FA Cup Final appearance and a winners' medal to add the Premier League one handed out a week earlier. He was Chelsea Players' Player of the Year.

Both his and the team's form were carried over to the commencement of 2010/11 and a couple of months in, Florent was the Premier League's top scorer. The 2011-12 season has seen the Frenchman still very much involved in first-team affairs, with over 30 appearances, although perhaps more frustrating was his limited number of league starts. He scored our final goal in a 6-1 drubbing of Queens Park Rangers at the Bridge in April, while coming off the bench to replace Ryan Bertrand in the Champions League Final. In betwen he was a late substitute in our FA Cup Final win over Liverpool.

Pre-Chelsea

Lyon was Florent's third club. He began his career in Paris with lower league Châteauroux where he played two seasons before moving up the ladder to Guingamp. In Brittany he teamed up with Didier Drogba and his impressive form over three seasons attracted the attention of Lyon.

Arriving at his new club the same season as Michael Essien, the two shared in championship success, Florent staying at the Stade Gerland long enough to win a hat-trick of league titles while starring in Champions League displays.

International career

Florent quickly became a regular for France after making his debut against Poland in November 2004. He was a prominent member of the French team that reached the final of the 2006 World Cup, winning the penalty that Zinedine Zidane converted to open the scoring in a match that they would eventually lose on penalties.

He remained a fixture in and around the French XI, and was a key part of the Euro 2008 qualification campaign although, similar to many of his compatriots, he endured a disappointing tournament, losing his place for the final group game as the team ended bottom. He netted the only goal in France's dismal 2010 World Cup campaign, pulling a goal back against South Africa to make it 1-2. In September 2010 he stood in as captain against Belarus due to Patrice Evra's five-game suspension that came out of summer tournament.

Malouda was named in France's 23-man squad to take part at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, though he struggled to make a significant impact as his side were eliminated by eventual winners Spain in the quarter-finals.