Hatem Ben Arfa Football player
Hatem Ben Arfa (Arabic: حاتم بن عرفة, French pronunciation: [atɛm bɛnaʁfa]; born 7 March 1987) is a French footballer who plays as a winger and an attacking midfielder. Currently a free agent, he was last contracted to Nice, but left the club without making an appearance, due to a FIFA ruling that a player can only play for two clubs in a single season. He had been on loan at Hull City from his parent club Newcastle United, and whilst he did not make an appearance for the first team, he did play one match for the reserve side, which was deemed an elgible match by FIFA.Ben Arfa has been described as "one of the best-rated talents in France", but has been criticised by the media and players alike for lacking discipline.Ben Arfa started his career throughout various clubs in the Île-de-France region, having trained at AC Boulogne-Billancourt and Versailles. In 1999, he was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy. Ben Arfa spent three years at the academy and, upon leaving, signed with Lyon, where he won four Ligue 1 titles. In his early career at Lyon, he played as a centre forward, but moved into a winger role during the 2007–08 season. In the summer of 2008, Ben Arfa signed with rivals Marseille for €11 million through a move which required the intervention of the Ligue de Football Professionnel. With Marseille, he won the 2009–10 league title, his fifth overall, as well as the Coupe de la Ligue in 2010. After two years at Marseille, Ben Arfa joined English club Newcastle United on loan for the 2010–11 season; the deal was made permanent later in the season.Ben Arfa is a former French youth international having played at all levels. At under-17 level, he was a part of the team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Ben Arfa was called up to the senior team for the first time in October 2007 for a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against the Faroe Islands. Currently, he has made thirteen appearances for France, scoring twice.
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