Jeremy Menez born 7 May 1987 is a French football player who currently plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. He plays many positions in the attacking midfield, usually as a winger and a playmaker. Menez has been described as a ambidextrous technically skilled playmaker with undeniable pace.Menez began his career spending time with various clubs in the Île-de-France region such as the Centre de Formation de Paris and CSF Brétigny. In 2001, he secured a move to Sochaux and spent four years in the club's youth academy. In March 2004, Ménez became the youngest professional football player in the history of Ligue 1 after signing a professional contract and made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season. With Sochaux, he played European football for the first time after participating in the 2005–05 edition of the UEFA Cup. After two seasons at the club, he joined Monaco. At Monaco, Ménez developed into a play-making midfielder under the tutelage of Brazilian manager Ricardo Gomes. After two successful seasons in Monaco, he signed for Serie A club Roma on a four-year contract. With Roma, Ménez featured in the UEFA Champions League for the first time and scored 12 goals in over 100 appearances with the club. In July 2011, after three seasons with Roma, Ménez returned to France signing a three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain.
Ménez is a former French youth international and has represented his nation at every level for which he was eligible. Prior to playing for the senior team, he played in the under-17 team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Ménez made his senior international debut in August 2010 in a friendly match against Norway.
Ménez has earned caps with all of France's youth teams. He made his youth international debut with the under-16 team on 11 December 2002 in a friendly match against Greece, playing alongside Samir Nasri and Hatem Ben Arfa. In the match, Ménez scored the fifth goal of a 6–1 victory. At the 2003 Aegean Cup in Turkey, he scored goals in three consecutive matches. Ménez scored goals against the Ukraine and Israel and netted his final goal in the third-place match against Belgium.At the Tournio de Montaigu, Ménez scored three goals, second-best on the team behind Ben Arfa. He scored a goal in the team's 8–0 win over Gabon in the team's opening group match and, in the following match, scored the opening goal in the team's 3–0 win over Russia. In the team's final group stage match against England, Ménez netted another goal in a 3–1 victory. At a regional tournament in Salerno, Italy, Ménez led the team to the title by scoring a double in the final match against the hosts.He also scored two goals in the group matches against Japan and Finland. Ménez finished the under-16 campaign with 14 appearances and a team-leading 12 goals.
With the under-17 team, Menez, Ben Arfa, and Nasri were joined by Karim Benzema and tasked with the goal of winning the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship on home soil. Ménez made his debut with the team in the opening match of the season against Sweden. In the Tournio de Val-de-Marne, he scored one goal. France were crowned champions without conceding a goal. At the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, Ménez contributed to the team's winning the competition by scoring two goals, netting one against Turkey in the group stage and a second in the semi-finals against Portugal. In total with the under-17s, he made 17 appearances and scored six goals. Due to increased playing time at his parent club Sochaux, Ménez's stint with the under-18 team was uneventful. Ménez did appear with the team at the 2005 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup, scoring five goals in four matches as France were crowned champions.
The foursome of Ben Arfa, Nasri, Benzema, and Ménez returned to international play together for under-19 duty. The four were joined by Issiar Dia, Blaise Matuidi, and Serge Gakpé with the objective of winning the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. In the first round of qualification for the tournament, Ménez went scoreless as France advanced through the round undefeated. In the final round of qualification, he scored a double against Bulgaria in a 4–0 win. However, despite finishing the round undefeated, France were eliminated after being beaten on points by Scotland. Ménez was absent from the under-21 team during his early eligibility term but made his debut on 25 May 2008 in the team's 2–1 friendly match win over the Netherlands. He went months without a call-up before finally returning to the team ahead of the important two-legged playoff against Germany in qualification for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in October 2008. Ménez appeared in both legs as France were defeated 2–1 on aggregate. The 1–0 loss in the second leg eliminated France from the competition and also ended Ménez's under-21 career.
On 5 August 2010, Ménez was called up to the senior team for the first time by new manager Laurent Blanc for the team's friendly match against Norway on 11 August 2010. He made his international debut in the match starting on the right wing as France were defeated 2–1. On 9 February 2011, Ménez assisted on the only goal, scored by Benzema, in the team's 1–0 win over Brazil at the Stade de France.
PLAYER DETAILS
Full name: Jeremy MenezDate of birth: 7 May 1987
Place of birth: Longjumeau, France
Height: 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position: WingerCurrent club Paris Saint-Germain
Number: 7
Youth career
1994–1995 CA Vitry
1995–2000 CFF Paris
2000–2001 CSF Brétigny
2001–2004 Sochaux
Senior career
2004–2006 Sochaux 55 (7)
2006–2008 Monaco 57 (14)
2008–2011 Roma 82 (7)
2011– Paris Saint-Germain 0 (0)
National team‡
2002–2003 France U16 14 (12)
2003–2004 France U17 17 (6)
2005 France U18 6 (6)
2005–2006 France U19 9 (3)
2008 France U21 3 (0)
2010– France 5 (0)
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