David Bellion (born 27 November 1982) is a French former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who played as a striker. His previous clubs include

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

and

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

Club career

Cannes

Bellion was born in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

, Hauts-de-Seine, to a Senegalese father and French mother. He started his career at

at the age of 14, and earned a move to English club

in the summer of 2001. In his youth, he was a talented athlete, competing in the 2001 National Indoor Youth Championships, where he won the

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

Sunderland

Bellion signed for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club

in July 2001. He made his debut at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

in August 2001, coming on as a substitute. His first senior goal was against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...

at the Stadium of Light which gave Sunderland a 1–0 win in September 2002. It was his only Premier League goal for Sunderland. Following the goal, Bellion became a first-team regular at Sunderland, although he was unable to save them from relegation with the third-lowest Premier League points tally ever. During the 2002–03 season, Sunderland offered a new contract, but he turned it down as he wanted to leave the club. He agreed a move to

in July 2003, although the transfer was completed amid " tapping up" allegations that were resolved by Sunderland, receiving a compensation payment of £2 million, rising to £3 million depending on appearances, in an out-of-court agreement.

Manchester United

Bellion scored on his Manchester United debut against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

on the club's pre-season American tour. His first competitive goal came at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, and he scored two goals in the 2003–04 season, against Everton and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, both at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...

. During the season, he made his Champions League debut when he came on as a substitute in the 5–0 win over Panathinaikos in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

. Despite being compared to

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...

and early-season goals against Norwich City and

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...

, the 2004–05 campaign proved frustrating for Bellion as he found himself increasingly frozen out of the first-team squad. His season was curtailed in early May, when he suffered a fractured

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity ...

against Charlton Athletic Reserves. During 2004–05, Bellion scored his first Champions League goal (not including qualifiers) in a 6–2 win over Fenerbahçe and was involved in the squad for the

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA C ...

in a 3–1 loss against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

. Bellion spent time on loan at

at the beginning of the 2005–06 season. He scored on his debut, a League Cup win over

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

on 20 September 2005. After the match, manager

Alan Pardew Alan Scott Pardew (born 18 July 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who is the current manager of Greek Super League club Aris. Pardew's highest achievements in the sport include reaching the FA Cup Final ...

praised Bellion, believing he could make an impact at the club. However, he never flourished and his first-team opportunities were limited and he went on to make just ten appearances for the club, mostly as a substitute.

Nice

He returned to France on 9 January 2006, joining

on loan until the end of the season, a move that was later made permanent in June 2006. Speaking of his move, Bellion said it was good to be home in France, and he settled quickly at the club. Shortly after his move, Bellion made his debut, coming on as a substitute and receiving a yellow card, in a 0–0 draw against

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. Bellion scored in the quarter-final of

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

in a 2–1 win over

on 17 January 2006. The club advanced to the semi-final and then progressed to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

but lost against Nancy on 22 April 2006. On 14 February 2006, he scored his first goal, the only goal in the match, against

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the ...

. Toward the end of the season, he scored three goals in three matches against

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the '' Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsic ...

and

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. At the end of the season, Bellion signed a permanent deal with the club. After finally leaving Manchester United, Bellion said he had no hard feelings toward the club, and also said his experience in English football was "frustrating". In his first permanent season at Nice, Bellion's form dropped. He made several critical errors and misjudgements, and scored eight goals. Following an injury on 23 December 2006, in a 2–1 loss against

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

, it was announced that Bellion would be out for three weeks. Soon after, he had another injury on his right fibula. He completed his recovery on 9 March 2007 after three months on the sidelines. Despite this, Bellion finished his first season with eight goals, making him the club's joint top scorer in the league along with Bakari Koné.

Bordeaux

Bellion joined Bordeaux on 15 July 2007, signing a four-year deal for a fee rumoured to total €4.5 million. He was signed as a replacement for

Jean-Claude Darcheville Jean-Claude Jacques Ducan Darcheville (; born 25 July 1975) is a French Guianese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for various clubs in France, England, Scotland, and Greece. He represented French Guiana at the ...

. He marked his first match by scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over

. Up until the second half of the season, he was in impressive form, scoring eight goals in twelve matches. However, in the second half, he only scored four goals. The club would end up in second place behind

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, who won their seventh title. Despite failing to win the league and his faltering form in the latter half, Bellion said it was his best season. The following 2008–09 season, Bellion became third-choice striker behind

Marouane Chamakh Marouane Chamakh (; ar, مروان الشماخ; born 10 January 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is described as a prototypical target man and is noted for his "link-up play", "tall stature" and "excelle ...

and Fernando Cavenaghi, limiting his first-team opportunities. He managed to score four goals this season while mostly playing off the bench. In the UEFA Cup third round against Galatasaray, he scored past

Morgan De Sanctis Morgan De Sanctis (; born 26 March 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He last played for Ligue 1 club Monaco, and currently works as sporting director for Salernitana. De Sanctis played for several It ...

in just eleven seconds, the fastest goal in the history of the UEFA Cup, but Bordeaux lost 4–3. Towards the end of the season, the club would win not only the

but also the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

. At the start of the 2009–10 season, Bellion signed a three-year contract with the club, keeping him there until 2014. He did not regret this, when asked by ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor ...

'' after the season ended whether he regretted signing a contract in the interview. Bellion spoken out of his first team, saying he had become more increasingly frustrated at the club, due to lack of regular football. However, in three seasons, Bellion was barely used in the first team and stayed on the substitutes bench, even upon his return on loan from Nice and also his own injury concerns. In an interview with Goal.com, Bellion claims that he was ignored by the team's management. In December 2010, Bellion returned to Nice on loan until the end of the season, to gain first-team experience. Shortly after moving, he believed the move would relaunch his career. However, his time at Nice was 'forgettable', due to his lack of goals, goals that he had produced four years ago, and much to the fans' dismay and also his own injury concerns, like being injured in a taxi for example. He departed back to Bordeaux at the end of the season. Bellion scored his first goal in two years since September 2010 in the Europa League in a 1–0 win over Marítimo on 8 November 2012. After the match, Bellion spoke of his first goal as "running a rhythm" to score. He scored again, in the second round of

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

, in a 2–1 win to Moulins. A few weeks later, Bellion scored his first league in over four years, in a 2–0 win against

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

. After the match, Bellion described his first goal in over a year as "mini relief and a small reward". However, towards the end of the season, Bellion was soon less included, especially missing out from the squad, when the club won the Coupe de France. In June 2013, Bellion was linked with a move to the United States, where he trained with the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

on trial. Eventually, his trial with them ended after he rejected a move, and he travelled back to Bordeaux.

Red Star

In July 2014, after his contract with Bordeaux expired, Bellion joined

Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...

club

. He registered a consolation goal on his first appearance on 8 August 2014 to

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, as Red Star were defeated 3–1. Bellion's goals helped Red Star win the league and gain promotion to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue ...

after beating

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location ...

with a 4–0 victory at home on 8 May 2015. After ending his playing career in 2016, Bellion remained with the club after being appointed their creative director, building links between the club and the world of culture and the arts.

Honours

Manchester United *

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

Bordeaux *

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

: 2008–09 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

: 2008–09 Red Star *

: 2014–15 Individual * UNFP Player of the Month: August 2007

References

External links

*
David Bellion
at ManUtd.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellion, David 1982 births Living people People from Sèvres Footballers from Hauts-de-Seine French footballers France men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football forwards AS Cannes players Sunderland A.F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players OGC Nice players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Red Star F.C. players Ligue 1 players Premier League players French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in England French Christians French sportspeople of Senegalese descent