Hatem Ben Arfa, French football's wasted and controversial talent

When we talk about wasted talent or eternal prospects in football, the name of Hatem Ben Arfa automatically comes to mind. The Frenchman, as brilliant as he is frustrating, has shown the whole world that he could be one of the best players in the game.

Whether in a Newcastle, Lyon or Nice shirt, the player has amazed fans with his mad dribbling, capable of mystifying any defender.

In one-on-one situations, he was simply unstoppable. Unfortunately, however, he belongs to that category of players who have never managed to convince at a high level, due to a lack of consistency.

Ben Arfa's career has also been full of scandals of all kinds. Insults towards his coaches and teammates, lack of ethics, refusal to play... The player has always been the talk of the town, on and off the pitch.

Born in Clamart in 1987, Hatem Ben Arfa (HBA) discovered football at the age of seven, playing for Voltaire Châtenay-Malabry. The player proved his worth and joined France's national football centre INF Clairefontaine. It was there, when he was just 13, that the first bad buzz of his career occurred.

That year, French director Bruno Sevaistre made the documentary series 'À la Clairefontaine' about young French football talents. He captured a clash between HBA and former Arsenal player Abou Diaby, who were filmed insulting each other before being separated by their teammates.

It was a scene that caused a stir at the time, when they were just 13 years old. In an interview with Transversales (SFR Sport 1) in 2017, Abou Diaby said: "It's a shame, because it didn't help either of us. It gave off a bad image, but Hatem and I were extremely close."

At the age of 15, Ben Arfa was recruited by the Olympique Lyonnais youth academy with a €150,000 signing bonus. He played his first match for Lyon in 2004.

Between 2004 and 2008, Lyon ran riot in Ligue 1, winning four consecutive titles. However, the player did not flourish and did not play an important role in the squad, except in his final year, when he won the title of 'Young Player of the Year'.

Ben Arfa is part of the famous '87 generation along with Samir Nasri, Karim Benzema and Jérémy Ménez, extremely talented but highly controversial players.

Read also: Doping, weight gain and a successful reconversion: what happened to Samir Nasri?

In 2008, HBA showed his character by forcing a transfer to Olympique de Marseille, Lyon's rivals. On his arrival at the Phocéens, he even said: "This Velodrome stadium is special. I'm going to enjoy myself here. It's a passionate crowd that pushes you to outdo yourself. Unlike Lyon, you get the feeling that you're playing at home here."

Unfortunately, as much as he loved the club, HBA was never going to make his mark at Marseille. Inconsistent and lacking in confidence, he even clashed with his coach right from the start. When Eric Gerets wanted to bring him on at half-time of the classic between PSG and OM, the player sulked and refused because he had not been a starter.

He finally left the club in 2010 to join Newcastle United. On his first start, he scored a beautiful goal and showed great promise for the future. Unfortunately, he was taken down by Nigel De Jong and suffered a six-month injury.

After a relapse, he finally returned to the pitch in September 2011. On 7 January 2012, HBA shocked the world by scoring a memorable goal against Blackburn, a feat he repeated on 9 April, scoring after a 70-metre run.

Newcastle fans fell in love with the player, who did not stop, putting in a string of good performances and impressive dribbles.

However, in 2014, he came into conflict with his manager Alan Pardew, who urged him to leave, at which point he said, "Everyone knows what an excellent player Ben Arfa can be, but this season was so negative, on and off the pitch, that it was having a negative effect on the rest of the team. And indeed, since he returned to France, things have improved considerably for the team."

Ben Arfa finally landed on the Côte d'Azur, at OGC Nice, where his 2015/16 season was to leave a lasting impression. Flamboyant on the wing, he scored 17 goals and provided six assists in 33 games, helping Les Aiglons to a magnificent third-place finish in Ligue 1.

After this exceptional season, he decided to leave for PSG. It was a controversial decision, with fans believing that the player would squander his potential... and he did!

Ben Arfa quickly became the talk of the town, particularly when he drew attention to himself during a tense exchange with his chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi in front of the emir of Qatar.

Too individual and not defending enough, he was dropped from the squad at the end of the 2016/17 season and did not play a single game in the 2017/18 season. He finally joined Stade Rennais in 2018.

Mocked after his move to the capital, he bounced back well by winning the Coupe de France with Rennes, against PSG. After the match, he declared: "You should never underestimate your opponents, because one day they will come back stronger." Later on, he provoked Al-Khelaïfi by showing him his medal.

In 2019, HBA criticised Stade Rennais and was dropped from the squad. He joined Real Valladolid, but that proved to be a failure. He bounced back at Bordeaux in 2020/21, where he made a good start to the season. However, he eventually picked up an injury and came into conflict with captain Laurent Koscielny, who criticised him for his individualism.

In 2022, he joined LOSC, but played just nine games and ended up criticising his coach (again). As a result, he was dropped and has not found another club since.