 Rami lining up forFrance in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adil Rami[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1985-12-27)27 December 1985 (age 39)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bastia, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–2003 | Fréjus | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2006 | Fréjus | 58 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2011 | Lille | 163 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Valencia | 93 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | →AC Milan (loan) | 22 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | AC Milan | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Sevilla | 49 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Marseille | 75 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Fenerbahçe | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Sochi | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Boavista | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Troyes | 39 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 523 | (31) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2018 | France | 36 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Adil Rami (Arabic:عَادِل رَامِي; born 27 December 1985) is a French former professionalfootballer who played as acentre-back.
Rami began his football career playing for amateur clubÉtoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, then known as ES Fréjus. Due to playing the sport as only a hobby, he spent three seasons at the club playing in theChampionnat de France amateur, the fourth division ofFrench football. In 2006, Rami ascended three divisions after signing withLigue 1 clubLille. At Lille, Rami developed into a starter, making his professional debut in May 2007. He is nicknamed"Shrek" by teammates and Lille supporters. In January 2011, Rami joinedSpanish clubValencia on a four-year contract. However, he was immediately loaned back to his previous club and was a part of theLille team which won theleague and cup double.
Despite constant early inquiries fromMorocco prior to his first selection, Rami chose to play for his home country ofFrance. He was in the preliminary list to play forFrance at the2010 FIFA World Cup finals but did not make the final squad. Rami made his senior debut on 11 August 2010 in afriendly match againstNorway.
Rami was born in the city ofBastia on the island ofCorsica to Moroccan parents. He holds dual French and Moroccan citizenship.[4] As a youth, his family moved to the mainland, eventually settling in the southern coast city ofFréjus, where his mother worked as a member of thecity council. Rami is the third of four children and has two sisters and one brother.[5] While training to become a professional football player, Rami worked for the city after his family grew concerned for his future. He often did odd-jobs such as taking care of the maintenance and cleanliness of the city.[5]
Rami registered as a youth player forÉtoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, then known as ES Fréjus, in 1994 at the age of nine. Despite harbouring ambitions of playing football professionally, Rami played the sport as only a hobby and worked forcity hall to support himself.[6] He made his amateur debut for the club during the 2003–04 season while Fréjus were playing in theChampionnat de France amateur, the fourth division ofFrench football. He appeared in four matches in his first season.[7] In the 2004–05 season, Rami appeared in 24 matches as Fréjus finished mid-table.[8]
Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Rami switched to playing in central defence. He initially played as anoffensive player often in themidfield, but following an injury to a teammate, whom Rami described as his best friend, his coaches inserted him into defence.[9] The transition was a success, with Rami appearing in 30 matches with Fréjus finishing mid-table for the third consecutive season.[10] Midway through the campaign, Rami was offered a trial by professional clubLille. Eager to leave the amateur club, he took the opportunity and after a week's training session with Lille, which Rami described as "hard", he was signed to an amateur contract with Fréjus receiving €10,000.[9]
Upon his arrival to the club, Rami was inserted onto the club's Championnat de France amateur team and was supervised by coach Pascal Planque, who Rami stated gave him the best opportunity to grow as a player.[9] Rami appeared in 27 matches as the team finished in third position, the highest finish amongst professional clubs' reserve team's playing in the group.[11] With two months remaining in the2006–07 Ligue 1 season, Rami was called up to the senior team by managerClaude Puel. He made his professional debut on 19 May 2007 in aLigue 1 match againstAuxerre, starting at centre-back. The following week, Rami started again, againstRennes. On 4 June, Rami signed his first professional contract after agreeing to a three-year deal lasting until 2010.[12] He was then promoted to the senior squad on a permanent basis and assigned the number 23 shirt.
In the2007–08 season, Rami was declared a starter by Puel and inserted at centre-back, alongsidecaptainGrégory Tafforeau. In the opening match of the season, againstLorient, Rami featured in the match until the 69th minute, when he suffered an injury to ligaments in one of his knees.[13] He subsequently missed three-and-a-half months due to the injury, returning in November 2007. Upon his return, Rami featured in every remaining match for Lille, save for one league match. Lille finished the campaign in seventh position, one spot out ofEurope. After the season, Rami signed a two-year contract extension with the club.[14]
For the2008–09 season, Rami's Ligue 1 season debut againstNancy was halted in injury time after earning a straightred card.[15] On 18 October 2008, he scored his first professional goal in a 2–2 draw againstLyon.[16] The following month, Rami scored againstMarseille in another 2–2 draw.[17] On 1 February 2009, he scored the would-be game-winner againstBordeaux in the 57th minute. However, the goal was canceled out eight minutes later byYoann Gourcuff to draw the match at 2–2.[18] Rami's fourth and final goal of the season was the team's second goal in a 3–2 win over Nancy on the final day of the league season.[19] The victory secured fifth place for Lille, which resulted in the club qualifying for the newly createdUEFA Europa League.
Following the season, Rami drew considerable interest from several clubs, which included French clubs Marseille and Lyon, English clubsLiverpool andArsenal and Italian clubMilan. Despite suitable offers for the player, Lille chairmanMichel Seydoux declared that Rami was not going to be leaving the club after a reported move to Marseille for €12 million was abruptly canceled in July 2009.[20] The announcement led to a distraught and angry Rami declaring he would see out the rest of his contract with Lille playing in the reserves if he was not transferred. He even went as far as to state that there was a conspiracy between Lille and Lyon, due to the club's easy negotiations during transfers between each other, as well as Seydoux's brother, Jérôme, being ashareholder of Lyon.[21] On 15 August 2009, Rami apologized for the comments and said he would remain at Lille.[22]
Rami began the2009–10 season again as a starter as Lille struggled early on due to its tough schedule, in which the team faced Marseille,Paris Saint-Germain andToulouse in the first four weeks of the season. He made his UEFA Europa League debut on 30 July 2009 in the first leg of the club'sthird qualifying round match.[23] Rami scored his first goal of the season on 19 September in the annualDerby du Nord match againstLens. With Lille trailing 1–0 ininjury time at a hostileStade Félix-Bollaert, Rami connected on a header following a corner kick in the 93rd minute to draw the match at 1–1, which was the final result.[24] On 28 October, he scored his second goal againstSaint-Étienne in a 4–0 victory after delivering a curlingfree-kick from almost 35 metres out.[25][26] On 25 February 2010, Rami scored the aggregate-winning goal in the team's round of 32-second leg tie away toFenerbahçe after connecting on a header five minutes from time.[27]
On 3 January 2011, Spanish clubValencia confirmed on its website it had reached an agreement with Lille for the transfer of Rami, with theLa Liga outfit paying Lille a reported transfer fee believed to be in the range of €6–10 million.[28][29] Rami finished the2010–11 campaign with Lille on loan from Valencia and officially joined his parent club on 13 June after successfully passing a medical.[30]
Rami made his debut for Valencia againstRacing de Santander in a 4–3 home win. In the same match, he scored his first goal for the club from a corner kick, making it 2–3.[31]
On 25 September 2013, Valencia temporarily suspended Rami from his contract after he gave an interview on Radio Valencia in which he openly criticised his teammates and his coach,Miroslav Đukić.[32][33] He was also fined €275,000 (€130,000 net) of his remaining salary owed for the half of the season, the largest ever imposed by Valencia.[34] Meanwhile, Rami left the Spanish club and started training withAC Milan. On 16 October 2013, Valencia gave him permission to train with the Italian club and an agreement was reached between the clubs that the player would be loaned to Milan when the winter transfer window opened, on 3 January 2014, with an option to purchase.[35][36]
On 6 January 2014, Rami made his debut inSerie A, coming on as a substitute forCristián Zapata in a match againstAtalanta, a 3–0 win. On 1 February, he scored his first goal in Serie A, againstTorino. On 23 February, he scored his second goal againstSampdoria. His third and last goal of theSerie A season came on 16 March, againstParma.[citation needed]
On 12 July 2014, Milan signed Rami on a three-year contract with a £3.37 million (€4.25 million) fee to Valencia.[37] Rami personally paid €500,000 to cover the payment difference with Valencia, as Milan refused to pay the original buy-out clause of €7.5 million, only offering €3.75 million.[38][39] He scored his first goal in the2014–15 season on 28 September 2014 with a glancing header in a 1–1 draw withCesena.[40]
On 1 July 2015, Spanish newspaperMarca confirmed thatSevilla had reached an agreement with Milan to sign Rami for four seasons, with the transfer fee believed to be €3.5 million.[41]
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On 13 July 2017, Rami joined Ligue 1 clubOlympique de Marseille on a four-year contract for a €6 million transfer fee.[42] On 27 July, he made his competitive debut for Marseille, in their2017–18 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, first leg match againstOostende at theStade Vélodrome, playing the full 90 minutes of the 4–2 victory. He made his Ligue 1 debut for Marseille on 6 August in their home match againstDijon, again playing the full 90 minutes of the match, which Marseille won 3–0. On 14 September, he headed homeDimitri Payet's corner to score his first competitive goal for Marseille in their2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage 1–0 home win overKonyaspor.[43] On 3 May 2018, he played every minute of theEuropa League semi-final second leg match away toFC Red Bull Salzburg which Marseille lost 2–1 after extra-time but won 3–2 on aggregate to secure a place in the2018 UEFA Europa League Final[44] which was played at theParc Olympique Lyonnais inDécines-Charpieu,Lyon, France on 16 May 2018,[45] againstAtlético Madrid. Rami played the full 90 minutes of the final, which Atlético Madrid won 3–0.
On 11 November 2018, Rami scored his first Ligue 1 goal of the2018-19 season and alsoassisted the opening goal that was scored byLucas Ocampos in the 2–0 home win overDijon.[46] On 19 December, Rami missed the last penalty of thepenalty shoot-out of the2018–19 Coupe de la Ligue round of 16 home match againstStrasbourg, resulting in Marseille's elimination from the competition.[47]
Rami was left out of Marseille's pre-season tour to the United States in the summer of 2019 and left out of the squad for the club's opening competitive match of the 2019–20 season on 10 August 2019 under newly appointed head coachAndré Villas-Boas, a 2–0 Ligue 1 home defeat toStade de Reims. On 13 August 2019, Rami was sacked by Marseille for 'gross misconduct'. He had been under investigation by the club for missing a training session at the end of the 2018–19 season after claiming that he had an injury. But on the same day as the missed training session, Rami took part in the recording of an episode of the French TV game showFort Boyard where contestants compete in a set of challenges to win prize money, including participation in a variation ofmud wrestling and performing demanding physical stunts.[48][49]
On 27 August 2019, 2 weeks after being sacked byOlympique de Marseille for 'gross misconduct' and as afree agent, Rami signed a short-term contract with TurkishSüper Lig clubFenerbahçe that would run until the end of the2019–20 season and included the option of a second season.[50][51]
On 21 February 2020, by mutual agreement with the club, he terminated his contract withFenerbahçe[52] and joined the Russian teamPFC Sochi on the same day. While the championship was stopped because of theCOVID-19 pandemic, his contract was terminated on 27 May 2020 without his having played a single match.[53] Rami claims not to have been paid.[54]
After terminating his contract with Sochi, Rami went to Portugal's top flight by joiningBoavista on a two-year deal on 4 September 2020 meeting his friendRicardo Costa.[55] He played 22 games and left by mutual accord the following 29 July.[56]
On 24 August 2021, Rami signed withLigue 1 sideTroyes on a one-year deal.[57]
Rami is aFrench international, having made his debut on 11 August 2010 in afriendly match againstNorway. Prior to representing France, he drew interest from theMoroccan national team. Ahead of the2008 Africa Cup of Nations, Rami was offered a chance to play with Morocco at the competition by managerHenri Michel. However, Rami declined the offer, citing his ambition to play for France.[6] He has stated on several occasions that he would prefer to "represent Morocco within the France team".[9]
On 20 March 2008, Rami received his first call-up to the France national team by then head coachRaymond Domenech for a friendly match againstEngland. Rami was informed of the call-up by Lille teammate and captainRio Mavuba, which Rami initially considered a joke.[6] The call-up was indeed considered surprising by the French media and supporters, as Rami had only played 17 Ligue 1 matches.[58] Rami featured with theB team in its friendly againstMali on 25 March 2008. Due to the match being unofficial, Rami was again offered the chance to play for Morocco after being called up for the team's friendly match against theCzech Republic on 11 February 2009 by new managerRoger Lemerre. Rami again declined the opportunity. On 19 March, he was called up again by Lemerre for the team'sFIFA World Cup qualification match againstGabon.[59] For the third time, Rami declined the opportunity and later accepted his call-up to the France squad for itsFIFA World Cup qualification matches againstLithuania. On 11 May 2010, despite having not made a single appearance for France, Rami was named to the 30-man preliminary list by Domenech to play in the2010 FIFA World Cup finals, but failed to make the final 23-men squad.
On 5 August 2010, Rami was called up to the senior team by the new managerLaurent Blanc for the team'sfriendly match against Norway on 11 August 2010. He earned his first senior cap in that match, starting at centre-back alongsidePhilippe Mexès. After appearing regularly inUEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, on 29 May 2012, Rami was named to the squad to participate in thefinals of that competition.[60] Two days earlier, he had scored his first international goal in a 3–2 friendly comeback win overIceland.[61] Rami made his debut in the finals of aWorld Cup orUEFA European Championship on 11 June in his team'sEuro 2012 opening match against England. He started and played the entire match, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He also played every minute of France's last three matches of the tournament – the remaining two Group D matches againstUkraine andSweden, and thequarter-final againstdefending champions – andeventual winners –Spain.[62]
Rami took part in the finals of theUEFA Euro 2016 tournament, called up to replace the injuredRaphael Varane,[63] Rami played every minute of the first four matches (group stage and round of 16) of the finals, againstRomania,Albania,Switzerland and theRepublic of Ireland. However, he did not play the quarter-final, semi-final and final matches againstIceland,Germany andPortugal respectively.[64] The host-nation France finished as runners-up of the tournament after losing to Portugal 1–0 after extra time in the final.[65]
On 17 May 2018, Rami was called up to the 23-manFrench squad for the2018 World Cup finals in Russia.[66] He announced his retirement from the national team after winning the trophy. Rami was the only unused outfield player in that tournament.[67]
Despite his retirement announcement, Rami was named in Deschamps' squad for three of the four league phase matches of the inaugural2018–19 UEFA Nations League againstGermany and theNetherlands. He was an unused substitute for all those three matches, with France failing to reach the finals that was held in Portugal.[64][68]
In 2025 Rami was a contestant onseason 14 of Danse avec les stars. He reached the final and came third. Rami was also a contestant on season four of Les Traitress in 2025.[citation needed]
Rami is the father of twins, Zayn and Madi (b. 2016), with former companion Sidonie Biémont.[69] In 2017, he began dating actressPamela Anderson and as of November 2018, the two were living together in a mansion inCassis, nearMarseille, in theFrench Riviera. In June 2019, Anderson accused him of domestic abuse in an Instagram post, and that they had ended their relationship.[70]
Rami is a Muslim,[71] and his parents are Moroccan.[72]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[75] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fréjus | 2003–04 | Championnat National 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | Championnat National 2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||||
| 2005–06 | Championnat National 2 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 58 | 0 | |||||
| Lille | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 5 | |||
| 2009–10 | Ligue 1 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 1 | — | 49 | 5 | ||
| 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 47 | 0 | ||
| Total | 129 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 1 | — | 163 | 10 | |||
| Valencia | 2011–12 | La Liga | 33 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | 13 | 2 | — | 53 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 25 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 6 | 1 | — | 36 | 2 | |||
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 61 | 2 | 12 | 1 | — | 20 | 3 | — | 93 | 6 | ||||
| Milan (loan) | 2013–14 | Serie A | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 22 | 3 | ||
| Milan | 2014–15 | Serie A | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| Total | 39 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 44 | 4 | ||||
| Sevilla | 2015–16 | La Liga | 28 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| Total | 49 | 0 | 9 | 2 | — | 18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 79 | 3 | |||
| Marseille | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 2 |
| 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| Total | 49 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 3 | ||
| Fenerbahçe | 2019–20 | Süper Lig | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Boavista | 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 0 | |||
| Troyes | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 3 | |||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 39 | 3 | |||||
| Career total | 445 | 19 | 46 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 80 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 580 | 29 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2010 | 6 | 0 |
| 2011 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 27 May 2012 | Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes, France |  Iceland | 3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
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