Habib Frédéric Beye (born 19 October 1977) is a 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, rugby lea ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He is currently the manager of French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. Formed at

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

, where he was only a reserve, he played in

for

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. From 2007, he spent five years in England, with

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, and

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

. Born and raised in France, Beye represented the Senegal national team, earning 45

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

between 2001 and 2008. He was part of their squads at the

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

(runners-up),

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

(semi-finalists) and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, as well as a quarter-finalist at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Early and personal life

Beye was born in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, Hauts-de-Seine, and grew up in Le Port-Marly. He is a Muslim.

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Beye joined

in 1997, though he progressed no further than the reserve side, playing in the national fifth division. He transferred at the end of the season to

in 1998 for an undisclosed amount.

Strasbourg

Following his summer move to Strasbourg in 1998, Beye made his league debut on 8 August 1998 in a home 0–0 draw against

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, and played a total of 23 times in his first season at the club. He missed just five league matches in the following season, and netted for the first time on 2 October 1999 in a 2–2 home draw with

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. He was a member of the Strasbourg side that won the 2001 French Cup, eventually defeating third division

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

in a penalty shoot-out, which helped his team achieve

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

qualification in the following season. He appeared a total of 134 times in the league for Strasbourg, scoring 8 goals.

Marseille

On 6 August 2003, Beye signed a three-year contract at

under manager

Alain Perrin Alain André Christian Perrin (; born 7 October 1956) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. Perrin made his managerial breakthrough at Troyes AC, Troyes, whom he took from t ...

, for a reported fee of €1.2 million. He said that despite his Parisian upbringing, he had always supported the club. He was in the side that reached the

2004 UEFA Cup Final The 2004 UEFA Cup Final was an association football match that took place on 19 May 2004 at Ullevi in Gothenburg, Sweden, contested between Spanish side Valencia and French side Olympique de Marseille. Valencia won the match 2–0, with goals from ...

, a run which involved a performance as a central defender against

. He ended up on the losing side as Marseille lost the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

2–0. He missed only one game in the

2004–05 Ligue 1 The 2004–05 season of Ligue 1 was a very close-run battle. Separating fourth placed Rennes, who enter the UEFA Cup and 18th placed Caen, who get relegated to Ligue 2, were just 13 points. Lyon were long time leaders and had won the league back ...

season as his team came fifth, and then extended his contract to 2008. He was also a beaten finalist in the 2006 Coupe de France final against former club Paris Saint-Germain, a match which his team lost 2–1, and again in 2007, when his Marseille team lost on penalties to

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy ...

. He was voted the fans’ Player of the Year in 2006. He was captain of the club for two years prior to his move to Newcastle United.

Newcastle United

Beye signed for Newcastle United for a fee of £2 million (€3 million) on 31 August 2007, during the closing minutes of the summer transfer window. He signed a three-year contract, with then Newcastle manager

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (born 19 October 1954) is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football League, as well as brief spells in the North ...

declaring that he was very pleased with the transfer. Allardyce said in a later interview on the club's website that he felt he acquired Beye for a "bargain" price and that he and his international colleague who also signed with him,

Abdoulaye Faye Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye (born 26 February 1978), known as Abdoulaye Faye, is a Senegalese former footballer who played as a defender. Faye began his career playing for ASEC Ndiambour and Jeanne d'Arc in his native Senegal before moving to Fren ...

, would be excellent signings for Newcastle. He made his Newcastle debut on 17 September 2007, as a substitute in the 1–0 defeat at

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. He then made his full debut at home to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. He scored his only Premier League goal for Newcastle in the 2–1 win against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

on 8 December, with a near-post header in second-half injury time. The Newcastle fans chanted his name to the tune of the ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'' theme. On 22 May 2008, Beye was named Newcastle player of the season based on fan votes to a poll organised by the ''

Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to in print as ''The Chronicle'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Evening Chronic ...

'', he was then named the official Newcastle player of the season on 23 May 2008, as well as being named the Newcastle United Disabled Supporters Association Player of the Season on 22 August. After missing the start of the 2008–09 season from injury, Beye started against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

on 20 October 2008. He was sent off after only 12 minutes for a challenge on

Robinho Robson de Souza (; born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer and convicted rapist who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In 1997, at 12 years of age, Robin ...

, the first red card of his Newcastle career. Newcastle appealed the red card and on 23 October the claim of wrongful dismissal was upheld. After Newcastle were relegated from the Premier League at the conclusion of the 2008–09 season, an article on the club's official website stated Beye's intention to remain at the club to help get them back into the Premier League. However, the continuing problems behind the scenes at Newcastle would lead to Beye stating that he would have to leave the club in order to save his career.

Aston Villa

Despite Hull City chairman Paul Duffen revealing that the ''Tigers'' had agreed a fee with Newcastle United to sign Beye on 6 August 2009, it was announced the following day that Beye had signed for

. Beye was substituted late into his Villa debut on the opening day of the 2009–10 season, a 2–0 defeat by

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

. He was sent off near the end of his third game for Villa in an away tie against

. Beye found it hard to break into the Villa first team with the likes of

Carlos Cuéllar Carlos Javier Cuéllar Jiménez (; born 23 August 1981) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer. Mainly a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, central defender, he could also operate as a Defender (association ...

and Luke Young ahead of him in the pecking order and often found himself restricted to bench appearances. In February 2012, it was announced that Beye's contract had been cancelled by mutual consent.

Doncaster Rovers

After making just nine league appearances for Aston Villa since the summer of 2009 and being surplus to requirements, Beye signed on loan for

in November 2011, in a hope to revive his career after a turbulent two years spell in Aston Villa. After his first three games for the club, he received big praise from Rovers fans and Rovers manager

Dean Saunders Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker in a career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the 1990s, and ...

following some impressive displays in the centre of defence. He helped Doncaster to two home clean sheets in a row, whilst winning the sponsors man of the match award in both games (against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

) and has been a regular starter in the team. On 22 January 2012, Beye was sent off during a match against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

in a Championship game which ended in a 2–1 defeat, resulting in a three-match ban. Following his release by Aston Villa, Beye signed an 18-month deal to permanently join Rovers on 13 February 2012. After completing his domestic three-game ban, he played his first game after signing permanently against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

in a 1–1 draw on 25 February 2012. He scored his first goal for the club against fellow relegation candidates

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

on 14 April. At the same time, he was sent off for the second time this season for a foul on Portsmouth's Dave Kitson, which conceded a penalty for the opposing side. That result ended 4–3 in favour of Portsmouth and Birmingham City's 2–2 draw against Bristol City confirmed Doncaster's relegation to League One for the upcoming 2012–13 season. He returned from suspension on 28 April, and scored a late consolation goal for Doncaster Rovers, in a 3–2 defeat by Ipswich Town on the final day of the season. Beye retired from football after his contract ended.

International career

Beye played in the Senegal national squad from 2001 to 2008, winning 45 caps and scoring one goal. His debut came on 6 May 2001 in a 1–0 loss away to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

. He was part of the squad that finished runners-up at the

2002 Africa Cup of Nations The 2002 African Cup of Nations was the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (Confederation of African Football, CAF). It was hosted by Mali. Just like in 2000 African Cup of Nations, 2000, th ...

and then became quarter-finalists at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, making substitute appearances against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. At the

2004 Africa Cup of Nations The 2004 African Cup of Nations was held from January 24, 24 January to February 14, 14 February 2004 in Tunisia. It was the 24th edition of the biennial international men's football championship of Africa, organized by the Confederation of Afri ...

in Tunisia, Beye scored his only international goal, equalising in a 1–1 draw with neighbours

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. At the following edition in 2006 in Egypt, where his team were semi-finalists, he was sent off for an off-the-ball clash with

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

's Laryea Kingston in a group-stage draw. Both players were fined US$1,000 by the

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...

and banned for four games, ruling each out for the remainder of the tournament. Beye retired from international football in an effort to concentrate on his club career following a first-round exit at the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confede ...

Managerial career

Red Star

After retiring, Beye became a pundit on France's

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

. In May 2021, he was named assistant manager at Paris-based

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. ...

in the third-tier

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

, as assistant to Vincent Bordot. He was put in interim charge in September after Bordot's dismissal following six games of the season. On his debut on 17 September, the team lost 1–0 at home to Villefranche; he took them to the last 64 of the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

where they were defeated 2–0 by

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

at the Stade Bauer. Having saved the team from relegation with an 11th-place finish, his contract was extended to 2024 in May 2022. In the 2022–23 Championnat National, Red Star came third, two points off the promoted pair of

Concarneau Concarneau (, meaning "Bay of Cornouaille") is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in Northwestern France. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie ...

and

Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

. The following season, Beye led Red Star to promotion to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...

for the first time in six years, and then allowed his contract to expire.

Rennes

On 30 January 2025, Beye signed with

side

, until the end of the season with the option for one more campaign. He joined the club with them in the relegation play-off place in 16th, after Jorge Sampaoli had left by mutual consent. Three days later, in his first game as a top-flight manager, his team won 1–0 at home to

with a late goal by Ludovic Blas.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Strasbourg *

: 2000–01 Marseille *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

*Coupe de France runner-up: 2005–06, 2006–07 *

runner-up: 2003–04 Aston Villa *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up: 2009–10 Individual * Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2004–05 *

Player of the Year: 2007–08

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beye, Habib 1977 births Living people Footballers from Suresnes French men's footballers Senegalese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Paris Saint-Germain FC players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Olympique de Marseille players Newcastle United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Ligue 1 players Premier League players English Football League players Senegal men's international footballers 2002 African Cup of Nations players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players French expatriate men's footballers Senegalese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in England Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in England French football managers Senegalese football managers Red Star FC managers Stade Rennais FC managers Championnat National managers Ligue 1 managers French Muslims Senegalese Muslims Black French sportspeople French sportspeople of Senegalese descent 21st-century Senegalese sportsmen