Ultimate Barclaysmen: Steed Malbranque was the quick-footed Frenchman & big-game player who became a Fulham legend

Malbranque began his career with Lyon, joining the club as a child in 1994. He played for their youth academy until 1997, when he graduated into the first team. At the age of 18, in 1998, he made his first-team debut, and played 96 games for the side in total.

He was hardly prolific but his technique and dribbling ability drew admirers from across Europe; in his first spell at the club, he only scored 10 goals, but that period coincided with Lyon continually qualifying for the Champions League and dominating domestically.

As a result of his performances in Europe, he was briefly linked with a move to Arsenal – a team Lyon played in the 2000-01 season, losing 1-0 at home and drawing 1-1 away. Malbranque rejected the move to the Gunners, however, as he did not believe that he was ready to make the move to the Premier League.

Instead, in 2001, he moved to Fulham in a deal worth around £4.5 million. He swiftly became indispensable.

A truly two-footed footballer, Malbranque became something of a Swiss Army Knife for Fulham, playing as both a right and left winger, as well as an attacking midfielder.

In his first season, the Cottagers were hardly pulling up trees; they finished 13th, a mere eight points clear of the drop zone. But Malbranque impressed, scoring eight league goals, including a strike against the team he could have joined: Arsenal.

His finest season at the Cottagers undoubtedly came in 2003-04, as Malbranque notched six league goals and no fewer than 13 assists in a season that marked him out as one of the most creative footballers in the Premier League.

Capable of cutting inside from the right, operating through the middle, dribbling at players, and slicing defences apart with exceptional through balls, Malbranque was slowly making a name for himself as one of the best players in outside of the top four.

Perhaps his best game at the club came on the 25th of October 2003 at Old Trafford against Manchester United; Malbranque scored once and provided two assists in a 3-1 battering of Sir Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering Red Devils. That came during a run of seven games played and seven assists provided, as well as two goals.

In total, Malbranque played 211 times for Fulham, scoring 44 goals and laying on 22 assists; with a total of 66 goal involvements, he averaged a contribution once every three games.

In 2006, having failed to agree to a new contract, he opted to join Tottenham, despite rival interest from around half the league, for a £2m fee.

He only scored six league goals for Spurs, with nine assists added in 62 games, but he swiftly emerged as a fan favourite, such was his unrivalled work ethic and ability to put his body on the line.

He was a defensive winger for Spurs before the position even existed.

A move to Sunderland followed in 2008, but again, he failed to recapture his Fulham form, and he only managed one league goal, as well as 11 assists. Again seen as a lung-busting workhorse, he failed to marry his skill with his output in the north east.

Malbranque was nothing short of a big-game player.

Every single time Fulham or Spurs or Sunderland headed into a major game, they could rely on Malbranque to give absolutely everything he had.

After a Fulham win against Hajduk Split in the UEFA Cup, in which Malbranque had to retake a penalty (he scored both times), Cottagers assistant Christian Damiano hailed his adaptability.

He said: “I know Steed very well, so I'm not surprised by him. He has a fantastic quality - which is the more difficult the game is, the better he plays."

Amazingly, when the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair was asked to list his favourite football players, the Labour leader included Malbranque on his list, giving a nod to a player capable of playing on both the left and the right equally effectively.

On the same day as the praise from the politician, Malbranque scored twice in a 2-1 win over Manchester City, with his second coming after a jinking run in which he beat centre-back Sylvain Distin and sat goalkeeper David James down before finishing.

In 2011, Malbranque finally left English shores as he was deemed surplus to requirements by then-Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, who revealed at the time that the player's family had moved back to France and he was the Black Cats' highest earner.

Malbranque then embarked on something of a nomadic career thereafter, although his initial period with Saint-Etienne led to plenty of confusion.

Having departed Sunderland, he moved to the French club on a two-year contract. He played for the club just once, in a Ligue 1 fixture against Marseille, in which he was introduced as a substitute.

Reports suggested that the midfielder asked to be released from his contract because his son was suffering from cancer, but both he and the club rejected that assertion, with Malbranque confirming at the time that he did not have a son.

Instead, he was allowed to leave via a mutual termination, in September of 2011. In total, he lasted just one month at the club.

All parties were at pains to disclose that the reporting around his family life was incorrect and had nothing to do with his exit.

Instead, Saint-Etienne said in a statement: "St Etienne and the player would like to strongly deny all the rumours referring to the health of Steed Malbranque or children that accompanied the decision of the individual. This choice is his alone and ASSE fully respects Steed's will.

Following his confusing stint with Saint-Etienne, Malbranque returned to Lyon, squashing rumours that he would instead retire from football altogether.

Initially, his former club took him on trial, but he did enough in that short period to earn a permanent contract, and he remained with the club for four years.

He swiftly returned to his creative best, providing seven assists in his first full league season with his boyhood club, and he would go on to keep setting up his team-mates during his time with the French giants, although they were unable to win Ligue 1 during his time back there.

His influence diminished as his contract ran on and in 2016, he joined Caen as a free agent. He played 15 times for the club, providing one assist, and retired after his brief stint.

However, he was tempted back into the game by amateur side Chasselay MDA, making 20 appearances between 2017 and 2019, and he wound up his career with Limonest in the fifth tier of French football before hanging up his boots for good.

Malbranque is undoubtedly a Fulham legend.

His diminutive stature and lightning-quick feet saw him taken to the hearts of those in west London, and he is also viewed as a fan favourite at Sunderland.

Perhaps underappreciated is his time at Tottenham, although he was a member of the side that won the League Cup in 2008 - still Spurs’ last major trophy - which must earn him some brownie points at White Hart Lane.

To Google his name is to see a raft of articles from Fulham and Sunderland fans espousing just how good, and underrated, Malbranque was for most of his career.

If he were to step out onto the turf at any of his three English clubs, he would be sure to receive a warm ovation, but at Craven Cottage, it would be particularly rapturous.

He became a star at Fulham, and will forever be associated with that white and black kit, and the Pizza Hut sponsor. It was at Craven Cottage that the Frenchman became a proper ‘Barclaysman’.