Sylvain Distin - TheSportsDB.com

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Name
Sylvain Distin

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60%

Born
1977 (46 years old)

Birth Place

Bagnolet, France

Position
Centre-Back

Status

Ethnicity

Team Number

Height
192 cm

Weight
86 kg

Outfitter

Kit

Side

Agent

Market Value
£5,000,000

Wage Year

Player Manager ID
3506134

Player Cutout

Player Action Render

Sport

Soccer

Team
_Retired Soccer

2nd Team

League
_No League Soccer

Creative Commons Artwork
No

Description
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Sylvain Distin (born 16 December 1977) is a French former professional footballer. He is left-footed and played as a central defender, and was also capable of playing at left-back.

Distin began his career playing for French amateur sides, working his way up to professional sides Gueugnon and subsequently Paris Saint-Germain. He moved to England in 2001, first joining Newcastle United on a loan move from PSG, before signing a permanent contract with Manchester City, where he spent five seasons. He then spent two years at Portsmouth where he won the FA Cup, before joining Everton in 2009. In six seasons at Goodison Park, he made 210 appearances across all competitions, leaving in 2015 for AFC Bournemouth.

After one season with Bournemouth, Distin was released when his contract expired in June 2016. He played fifteen consecutive seasons in the Premier League, with over 450 appearances in England's top flight – the most of any foreign outfield player.

In 2003 Distin represented the L'équipe de l'amitié in a posthumous testimonial game for his former Manchester City teammate, Marc-Vivien Foé, versus the Cameroon national football team.

In addition to France, Distin is also eligible to play for the non-FIFA affiliated nation of Guadeloupe as his father was born in Guadeloupe. Distin was approached to play in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup by the Guadeloupean Federation but rejected the advances as he didn't feel it would be beneficial for his pre-season routine with Everton.

In March 2013, Distin made his 402nd English Premier League appearance, the most of any foreign outfield player, but he never received any international call-ups. Despite this, Distin stated that he has no regrets over his career.

In May 2014, Distin humorously announced his international retirement on Twitter, calling his record of 0 caps for France a "wonderful experience".