Players - Bruno Cheyrou

Bruno Cheyrou
Birthdate: 10 May 1978
Birthplace: Suresnes, France
Other clubs: Lille (1997-2002), Olympique Marseille (loan 2004-05), Bordeaux (loan 2005-06), Stade Rennais (2006-10), Anorthosis Famagusta (2010), Nantes (2010-12)
Signed from: Lille
Signed for LFC: £3.7m, 16.05.2002
International debut: 21.08.2002 vs. Tunisia
International caps: 3/0 - 31.03.2004
Liverpool debut: 11.08.2002
Last appearance: 24.04.2004
Debut goal: 02.10.2002
Last goal: 24.01.2004
Contract expiry: 29.06.2006
Win ratio: 47.92% W:23 D:12 L:13
Games/goals ratio: 9.6
League games / goals / assists: 31 / 2 / 0
Total games / goals / assists: 48 / 5 / 0

Player Profile

Cheyrou came with good credentials, but struggled to make an impression at Liverpool. He seemed a bit lost in English Premiership football. Being hailed as "the new Zidane" by Gerard Houllier who had brought him to England became a burden rather than an asset. After struggling to impress in his first season his compatriot was still banging the Cheyrou drum: "For me, Bruno has all the assets to reach the level that separates a good player from a great player. He has a great individual technique, he passes the ball well, he has an excellent touch of the ball and the essential tactical sense," said Houllier. "Like other French players before him, he probably needs a little more time. Remember the first season at Arsenal? Everyone laughed at Robert Pires."

Cheyrou did have a couple of highlights along the way. His excellent goal secured Liverpool's first win in the Premiership at Stamford Bridge on 7 January 2004 and two goals against Newcastle in the FA Cup later that month got him voted the best player of the fourth round. Cheyrou was happy to be finally part of the Liverpool team: "It meant a lot to me when Steven Gerrard came up to me after the game and hugged me,'' said Cheyrou. "This season, I felt I still had to earn the respect of my teammates here. It's a while since my name has been heard in the crowd. I was not the worst player in the world a week ago, and I'm not the best player in the world now."  Unfortunately a month later Cheyrou was back on the bench again. He was loaned out to Marseille in the 2004/05 season and then Bordeaux in 2005/06 with the prospect of making it a permanent transfer. Neither team was sufficiently impressed, but Stade Rennais took the plunge and he became a firm fixture in their starting 11 as a holding midfielder. Cheyrou's record at Lille, prior to arriving at Anfield in the summer of 2002, had been excellent. By the end of the 2007/08 season, he had made nearly as many league appearances for Stade Rennais as he did for Liverpool, Marseille and Bordeaux combined. In January 2010 the 31-year-old moved to Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta. After six months in Cyprus, Cheyrou returned to France, signing a two-year deal with Nantes where he made 41 appearances in two seasons in Ligue 2.

He was released in the summer of 2012 and never played professionally again. He has worked as a consultant for BeIN Sports and in November 2017 was appointed as sporting director for Paris Saint Germain's women's team.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 31 6 2 8 1 48
2002-2003 19 2 2 5 1 29
2003-2004 12 4 0 3 0 19
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
4 218 Chelsea
3 182 Portsmouth
3 182 Bolton Wanderers
3 154 Newcastle United
3 151 Arsenal
2 180 Crystal Palace
2 97 WBA
2 97 Manchester City
2 95 Southampton
2 69 Levski Sofia
2 60 Fulham
2 54 Valencia
2 26 Aston Villa
2 19 Manchester United
1 90 Leeds United
1 90 Everton
1 90 Tottenham
1 90 Basel
1 84 Birmingham City
1 82 Spartak Moscow
1 75 Wolves
1 70 Leicester City
1 24 Sheffield United
1 21 Marseille
1 17 Charlton Athletic
1 12 West Ham United
1 9 Vitesse Arnhem
1 8 Yeovil Town
Total Started/substitutions
27 Started
25 On the bench
21 Substitute
20 Substituted
Total Venue
25 Home
22 Away
1 Neutral
Total Competition
31 Premier League
6 FA Cup
4 Champions League
4 UEFA Cup
2 League Cup
1 Community Shield
Total W D L Win % Manager
48 23 12 13 47.9% Gérard Houllier
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 2 2 0 1 0 5
2002-2003 0 0 0 1 0 1
2003-2004 2 2 0 0 0 4
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Total Started/substitutions
5 Started
0 Substitute
Total Competition
2 FA Cup
2 Premier League
1 Champions League
Total Goal minute period
2 1-15 minutes
2 31-45 minutes
1 61-75 minutes
Total Goal origin
5 Open play
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 11.08.2002 Arsenal Millennium Stadium Other
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 15 02.10.2002 Spartak Moscow Anfield Europe
Related Articles
Cheyrou heads Reds through

The Observer report on Liverpool 2 - 1 Newcastle United on 24 January 2004.

Liverpool show their spine

The Telegraph report on Chelsea - Liverpool on 07.01.2004.

Ready......Set......GOAL!!

Liverpool defeated the Toon Army this Saturday at Anfield to progress into the 5th round of the FA Cup. It was Bruno Cheyrou who stole the show as a fantastic, solid performance put Liverpool through.

Related Quotes

"For me, Bruno has all the assets to reach the level that separates a good player from a great player. He has a great individual technique, he passes the ball well, he has an excellent touch of the ball and the essential tactical sense.

Like other French players before him, he probably needs a little more time. Remember the first season at Arsenal? Everyone laughed at Robert Pires. He is still adapting and he must increase his aggressiveness to succeed here and to become outstanding."

Houllier on Bruno Cheyrou in 2003

Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Lille 1998-1999 France 2 6 2 6 2
Lille 1999-2000 France 2 22 5 22 5
Lille 2000-2001 France 1 27 6 27 6
Lille 2001-2002 France 1 27 11 38 15
Marseille 2004-2005 France 1 19 1 19 1
Bordeaux 2005-2006 France 1 26 1 26 1
Stade Rennais 2006-2007 France 1 35 3 35 3
Stade Rennais 2007-2008 France 1 27 0 33 2
Stade Rennais 2008-2009 France 1 23 4 25 4
Stade Rennais 2009-2010 France 1 8 0 8 0
Anorthosis Famagusta 2009-2010 Cyprus 1 11 2 11 2
Nantes 2010-2011 France 2 32 1 32 1
Nantes 2011-2012 France 2 9 0 9 0
Total 272 36 291 42