Laurent Koscielny

Laurent Koscielny, born on 10 September 1985 in Tulle, is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre back and later became sporting director of the Ligue 1 club Lorient. After youth clubs he joined Guingamp in 2003, moved to Tours, where he helped the club reach Ligue 1 and was named in the Ligue 2 Team of the Season, and then joined Lorient in 2009. Arsenal signed him for 8.45 million pounds the following year, and he became a core part of the first team, scoring an equaliser on the way to the 2014 FA Cup and later winning another FA Cup and the FA Community Shield twice. Though eligible for Poland, he chose France, debuted against Brazil in 2011, played at UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, led France to the final of UEFA Euro 2016, which they lost to Portugal, won 51 caps and retired from international football in 2018.