Track the career of Albion’s first summer signing
1979 (March, 14) – Born Le Chesnay, near Paris, France
1986-93 – Begins youth career at FC Trappes Saint-Quentin
1993-95 – Continues development at INF Clairefontaine
1995 – Joins French giants Paris Saint-Germain
1996 (February) – Makes first-team debut for PSG at Monaco
1997 (February) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger snaps up the young Frenchman for £500,000
1997 (June) – Helped France win the World Youth Championships in Iceland
1998 (April) – Earned his first international cap as France drew 0-0 with Sweden
1998 (May) – Won both the Premier League and the FA Cup as Arsenal claimed a famous double – also earning the PFA Young Player of the Year Award
1998 (August) – Scored in a 3-0 Charity Shield victory over Manchester United at Wembley
1999 (August) – Real Madrid bought the then-20-year-old for £22.3million
2000 (May) – Started Madrid’s 3-0 UEFA Champions League final triumph over Valencia at the Stade de France, Paris
2000 (July) – Won UEFA EURO 2000 with France in Belgium and The Netherlands
2000 (July) – Returned to PSG in a £20million deal
2001 (June) - Won the FIFA Confederations Cup in Japan and South Korea
2001 (December) – Signed for Liverpool on loan until the end of the season
2002 (May) – Joined Kevin Keegan’s Manchester City outfit for £13million – scoring 38 goals in 89 league appearances at Maine Road and the City of Manchester Stadium
2005 (January) – Moved to Turkish outfit Fenerbahçe for £7million and won the Süper Lig five months later
2006 (August) – Made his return to the Premier League with an £8million move to Bolton
2008 (January) – Joined Avram Grant’s Chelsea for £15million – taking his aggregate transfer fees to just under £90million
2008 (May) – Collected a Champions League runners-up medal after Chelsea lost out on penalties to Manchester United in Moscow
2009 (May) – Won the Premier League Golden Boot with 19 goals
2009 (May) – Won the FA Cup with Chelsea – netting four goals in the competition
2009 (August) – Played in Chelsea’s 2-0 Charity Shield triumph over Manchester United
2010 (May) – Collected the second Premier League winners medal of his career
2010 (May) – Completed the second English double of his career with a 1-0 FA Cup final victory over Portsmouth
2011 (August) – Netted his final Chelsea goal in a 2-1 win over Albion at Stamford Bridge
2012 (January) – Signed for Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua and advanced to a player/coach role
2013 (January) – A year later he joined Italian outfit Juventus on a short-term contract
2013 (July) – Signed a one-year contract at The Hawthorns, with a further year’s option in the club’s favour