The hard player: Emile Heskey
Born on 11 January 1978 in Leicester, Emile Heskey is an English striker who rose through the ranks in his home city. He made his name at Leicester City (197 matches, 46 goals) before making the move to Liverpool FC, the defining chapter of his career, where he went on to play 223 matches and score 60 goals.
His journey through English football continued at Birmingham City (78 matches, 16 goals), Wigan Athletic (88 matches, 15 goals) and Aston Villa (110 matches, 14 goals), painting the picture of a striker who kept delivering across the top flight. Heskey also represented England at youth level, lining up four times for the Under-16 side, before going on to earn senior international caps.
Discovering Le Roi des Footix? Identify 3 football players a day, climb the leaderboard, become the Roi des Footix.
PlayThe medium player: Dimitri Payet
Born on 29 March 1987 in Saint-Pierre, on the island of Réunion, Dimitri Payet is a French attacking midfielder and winger. He made his name in Ligue 1 with spells at AS Saint-Étienne (148 matches, 25 goals) and LOSC Lille (95 matches, 19 goals) before becoming a cult figure at Olympique de Marseille, where he racked up 243 matches and 63 goals across his spells at the club.
Payet earned 38 caps for the French national team, netting 8 times, a testament to his technical quality at the highest level. In the later stages of his career, he headed to Brazil to join Vasco da Gama (75 matches, 7 goals), a surprising final chapter for a player who always marched to his own beat.
The easy player: Raphaël Varane
Born on 25 April 1993 in Lille, Raphaël Varane is a French central defender whose rise was meteoric. After an early stint at RC Lens (24 matches, 2 goals), he made the move to Real Madrid, where he went on to play 360 matches and score 17 goals – a remarkable record for a centre-back.
Following his long spell at the Bernabéu, Varane crossed the Channel to join Manchester United, adding 95 appearances and 2 goals to his CV. He also featured for France’s Under-18 side (2 matches, 1 goal), a stepping stone before reaching the very top with the national team.