Djibril CISSÉ (Al Gharafa)

D.O.B.

12/08/1981

Birthplace

Arles, France

Height

1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)

Weight

12st 4lbs (78.0kg)

Position

SC

Signed

31/01/2012

Fee

Undisclosed

Former Clubs

Arles-Avignon, Nîmes, Auxerre, Liverpool, Marseille, Sunderland (L), Panathinaikos, Lazio

International

France

Pen Pic

French forward Djibril Cissé started his professional career at Auxerre and after a slow start excelled at Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps.

He was Ligue 1's top goalscorer on two occasions, eventually netting 70 goals in 128 appearances for the French side. He was then sold to Liverpool in a deal worth £14m.

His spell in England was blighted by injury, having received a broken leg while playing against Blackburn Rovers. He did return to play a part in Liverpool's Champions League success, netting a penalty in the winning shoot-out.

Cissé scored 13 goals in 49 appearances for Liverpool, before moving to Marseille on loan before a resultant permanent deal was agreed. A second broken leg had threatened to quash the deal but he eventually penned a deal back in France.

He penned a loan deal back in England with Sunderland but following the departure of Roy Keane, Sunderland refused to take up the option on signing the Frenchman, while Manchester City also remained interested in the striker.

He eventually left Marseille and hit red hot form in Greece with Panathinaikos - 43 goals in 61 games earned him a move to Serie A and Lazio, but sadly this move did not prove beneficial.

One goal in 18 appearances saw him make the move away from Rome and back to England with Queens Park Rangers on January Transfer Deadline Day 2012 - he scored on his debut against Aston Villa and inspired QPR to safety in 2011-12, with a decisive goal against Stoke City.

Following the departure of Mark Hughes, Cissé struggled to feature under Harry Redknapp and was loaned out to Al Gharafa in Qatar.