Karim Benzema was born in the city of Lyon, France to French nationals of Algerian descent. As a practicing Muslim, he observes fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

His grandfather, Da Lakehal Benzema, lived in the village of Tigzirt, located in the northern town of Beni Djellil in Algeria before migrating to Lyon, where he eventually settled in the 1950s. Benzema’s father, Hafid, was born in Tigzirt, while his mother, Wahida Djebbara, was born and raised in Lyon; her family originated from Oran. Benzema is the third youngest in the family and grew up with eight other siblings in Bron, an eastern suburb of Lyon. His younger brothers Gressy and Sabri are also footballers.

On 3 February 2014, his daughter Mélia was born. On 5 May 2017, his son Ibrahim was born.

Anelka was born in Le Chesnay, Yvelines, to parents who had migrated from Martinique in 1974.

Thereafter, they settled in Trappes, near Paris. His mother is a secretary in the local high school. Anelka is married to Barbara Tausia, a Belgian choreographer. Together, they have two sons, Kais, born in 2008, and Kahil, born in 2010.

After discussing religion with some childhood friends, Anelka converted to Islam in 2004 in the United Arab Emirates, taking the Muslim name of “Abdul-Salam Bilal”.

Anelka has said that he initially fasted during daylight hours as is required for the Muslim month of Ramadan, but “I realized I often got injured just after the period of Ramadan, so I don’t observe it strictly any more”.

Ben Arfa was born in the Paris suburb of Clamart and was raised in Châtenay-Malabry.

His father, Kamel Ben Arfa, a former Tunisian international footballer, arrived in France in 1973, settling in Saint-Michel, Aisne to work in a foundry. He later starred for a local club in the commune.

Ben Arfa describes himself as a moderately practising Muslim. On 29 May 2012 Ben Arfa was included in France’s 23 man squad for UEFA Euro 2012, making his first start in the final game of Group D, losing 2–0 to Sweden.

Kalou has two brothers and eight sisters from the same mother. His brother, Bonaventure Kalou, also played professional football. Kalou joined Feyenoord during the time his brother Bonaventure was playing for the club.

In 2010, Kalou set up The Kalou Foundation, dedicated to providing facilities for social welfare and recreation of those who have need of such facilities by reason of youth, age, infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances and also for the relief of sickness worldwide.

Kalou received much media attention regarding his possible naturalization as a Dutch citizen which, if granted, would allow him to play for the Netherlands national football team.

Having never played for the Ivory Coast team, he would be eligible for the Dutch team if he was naturalized. His brother Bonaventure had advised him to pursue foreign citizenship after frequently experiencing problems with the Ivory Coast football authorities.

PHOTO: SALOMON KALOU ON THE LEFT

Rami is the father of twins, Zayn and Madi (b. 2016), with former companion Sidonie Biémont. In 2017, he began dating Canadian actress Pamela Anderson and as of November 2018, the two were living together in a mansion in Cassis, near Marseille, in the French Riviera.
But in late June 2019, Anderson declared in an Instagram post that she and Rami have ended their relationship.

Rami took part in the finals of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, called up to replace the injured Raphael Varane, Rami played every minute of the first four matches (group stage and round of 16) of the finals, against Romania, Albania, Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland.

However, he did not play the quarter-final, semi-final and final matches against Iceland, Germany and Portugal respectively.

The host-nation France finished as runners-up of the tournament after losing to Portugal 1–0 after extra time in the final.

Nabil Fekir (born 18 July 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Real Betis and the France national team.
An academy graduate of Lyon, he was promoted to the senior squad in July 2013.

Fekir became a first-team regular in his second season, when he was named the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year. He made 192 appearances for Les Gones, scoring 69 goals and also gaining team captaincy in 2017.

Fekir made his debut for France in March 2015 and was chosen in their squad that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Fekir is the older brother of the French footballer, Yassin Fekir, who also made his professional debut at Lyon and transferred with him to Betis. They are both of Algerian descent.

PHOTO: NABIL FEKIR ON THE RIGHT