David Bellion

David Bellion

Personal information
Full name	David Bellion
Date of birth	27 November 1982 (1982-11-27) (age 28)
Place of birth	Sèvres, France
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Bordeaux
Number	11
Youth career
1996–1998	Cannes
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2001	Cannes	0	(0)
2001–2003	Sunderland	20	(1)
2003–2006	Manchester United	24	(4)
2005–2006	→ West Ham United (loan)	8	(0)
2006	→ Nice (loan)	15	(5)
2006–2007	Nice	30	(7)
2007–	Bordeaux	86	(19)
2010–2011	→ Nice (loan)	10	(0)
National team‡
2002–2003	France U21	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 09:44, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

David Bellion (born 27 November 1982 in Paris) is a French footballer who currently plays for FC Girondins de Bordeaux. He is of Senegalese origin.

Club career

Cannes

Bellion started his career at Cannes at the age of 14, and earned a move to English side Sunderland in the summer of 2001. In his youth he was a talented athlete, competing in the 2001 National Indoor Youth Championships he won the 60 metres.^[1]

Sunderland

He made his Sunderland senior debut at Fulham in August 2001, coming on as a substitute. The Frenchman's first senior goal was against Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light which gave Sunderland a 1–0 win in September 2002.^[2] Following the goal, Bellion found himself a first team regular at Sunderland, although was unable to save them from relegation with the third-lowest Premier League points tally ever. Towards the end of the season, Bellion attracted interest from Manchester United, and angered many fans by going AWOL to France at a time when the Black Cats needed him most. Upon returning, Bellion claimed he had been visiting his sick grandmother, and made himself temporarily unavailable for selection, claiming he was "mentally unfit" to be playing in a relegation battle. At the time, speculation was rife that Bellion had been "tapped up" by United, although Manchester United and Bellion's agent firmly denied this. Despite this, Bellion agreed a move to the "Red Devils" after his contract expired in June 2003, although the transfer was not without controversy. As Bellion was under the age of 23, Sunderland were eligible for compensation, and a fee of £2 million, rising to £3 million depending on appearances, was agreed out of court. The fee was agreed on the basis that Sunderland chairman Bob Murray signed a "confidentiality agreement" and did not launch a complaint against Manchester United over the alleged "tapping up" of Bellion, after former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein claimed Bellion had been offered to Arsenal by his agent illegally,^{[citation needed]} and that United had been paying for Bellion's mobile phone bills whilst still at Sunderland.^{[citation needed]}

Manchester United

Bellion moved to Old Trafford in August 2003 and scored on his debut against Celtic on the club's pre-season American tour. His first competitive goal came at Leeds United in the League Cup,^[3] and the striker scored two goals in the 2003–04 season – against Everton^[4] and Tottenham Hotspur,^[5] both at Old Trafford.

Despite a smattering of early-season goals against Norwich City^[6] and Bolton Wanderers,^[7] the 2004–05 campaign proved equally frustrating for Bellion as he found himself increasingly frozen out of the first team picture. A fruitful spell in the Reserves followed, but Bellion's season was curtailed in early May when he suffered a fractured fibula against Charlton Reserves. Bellion spent time on loan at West Ham United at the beginning of the 2005–06 season, returning to Sunderland for the first time as an unused substitute for the Hammers in October 2005, where he was booed whilst warming up. He scored on his debut, a League Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday on 20 September 2005,^[8] and went on to make ten appearances for the club, mostly as substitute.

Nice

He returned to France on 9 January 2006, joining Nice, a loan until the end of the season that was made a permanent move in June 2006.

Bordeaux

Bellion joined Bordeaux on 15 July 2007, signing a four-year deal. He marked his first match by scoring the only goal in Bordeaux's 1–0 win over Lens.

Nice

In December 2010, Bellion returned to Nice on loan until the end of the season.^[9]

Honours

Club

Manchester United

• FA Community Shield (1): 2003

Bordeaux

• Ligue 1 (1): 2008–09
• Trophée des Champions (2): 2008, 2009
• Coupe de la Ligue (1): 2009

References

1. ^ http://www.francefootball.fr/FF/breves2007/20070807_141337Dev.html
2. ^ "Sunderland edge to victory". BBC. 28 September 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2272638.stm. Retrieved 27 August 2009. 
3. ^ "Leeds 2–3 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 28 October 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/3204813.stm. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
4. ^ "Man Utd 3–2 Everton". BBC. 26 December 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3316125.stm. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
5. ^ "Man Utd 3–0 Tottenham". BBC Sport. 20 March 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3507784.stm. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
6. ^ "Man Utd 2–1 Norwich". BBC Sport. 21 August 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3564566.stm. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
7. ^ "Bolton 2–2 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 11 September 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3599088.stm. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
8. ^ "Sheff Wed 2–4 West Ham". BBC. 20 September 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/4258504.stm. Retrieved 27 August 2009. 
9. ^ "Accord pour le prêt de Bellion". http://www.ogcnice.com/actualite/news.php?clef=6697. 

External links

• David Bellion career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Bellion, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 November 1982
Place of birth	Paris, France
Date of death
Place of death