Mathieu Manset (; born 5 August 1989) is a French former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He played for 18 clubs in 8 countries during his career.

Career

Manset was born in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

and started his career in his native France with

Le Havre AC Le Havre Athletic Club (; commonly referred to as Le Havre) is a French association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The club was founded as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, making Le Havre AC the oldest professional French foo ...

. In the 2007–08 season he managed to break into the reserve side, who played in the

Championnat de France amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue ...

, the fourth tier of French football. He went on to play eleven league matches and score one goal for the side during the campaign. In the following season, Manset played a further 12 games for Le Havre Réserve but failed get on the scoresheet. His last appearance for Le Havre came in the 2–1 win over Paris Saint-Germain Réserve at the

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

on 8 May 2009.

Hereford United

Manset was released by Le Havre in the summer of 2009 and was recommended to

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

Guy Ipoua Guy Ipoua (born 14 January 1976) is a former Cameroonian footballer who played as a striker. He previously played for a string of British and Continental clubs. His elder brother, Samuel, represented Cameroon at the 1998 World Cup. Career Born ...

. After a successful trial, he joined Hereford on a free transfer. His debut in English football came in the second round of the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

where he featured as a substitute in the last 20 minutes of the game at home to

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

and scored a late goal to put the Bulls into a 2–1 lead. However, Aldershot quickly equalised and sent the game to a penalty shoot out, which Hereford won 4–3. Manset scored what turned out to be the decisive penalty with a powerful strike into the top left corner of the goal. In the first round of the FA Cup, in the 2–0 win against Sutton United, Manset put Hereford in the lead after six minutes. However, after half an hour of play he was red carded for violent conduct after he reacted badly to a challenge by Alan Pouton. His first goal in League Two came in the 3–1 away win at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

on 1 December 2009. In late 2010 Manset enjoyed a run of goalscoring form under new manager

Jamie Pitman Jamie Pitman (born 6 January 1976) is an English footballer turned football manager, who was the manager of Hereford United until 5 March 2012. Playing career He progressed through the youth system at Swindon Town, eventually making three lea ...

, and was linked with a number of clubs from the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Reading

Manset signed for

team

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year contract on 21 January 2011. Manset made his debut for Reading on 22 January 2011, coming on as a substitute just 21 hours after signing for the club. On 1 February 2011, he scored his first goal for Reading after again coming on as a substitute, scoring what had looked to be an injury-time winner in the 2–2 draw at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. On 4 February 2011, Manset came off the bench against league leaders

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. On 19 March 2011, Manset came off the bench against Barnsley to score the winning goal in the 71st minute to keep Reading's promotion push alive. Manset made his first start against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

on 9 February 2011 in a 4–3 win. On 6 August 2011, Manset came on as a sub for Noel Hunt and scored two goals in three minutes to rescue a 2–2 draw for Reading against Millwall. His first was a 25-yard rocket and his second was a header from Jimmy Kebe's cross. Manset scored his fifth goal for Reading with a back-heel in the last minute of extra time in a 3–2 win over Bristol City.

Shanghai Shenhua (loan)

In 2011–12 season, Manset made six starts and scored two goals. In the last day of the transfer window,

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...

manager Steve Evans revealed that he had tried to sign Manset on a last minute deal only to be rejected. Reading manager Brian McDermott prepared to loan out Manset to afford him regular first-team football. He subsequently signed for Chinese club

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

on loan until 30 June. He scored his first goal for Shenhua on 27 May 2012 during Shenhua's 2–1 victory at home against

Guizhou Renhe Beijing Chengfeng Football Club () was a professional Chinese football club that last participated in the Chinese League One under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Fengtai District, Beijing and their h ...

. Manset scored 1 goal in 9 appearances for Shenhua.

Sion

On 13 July 2012, Manset moved from Reading to

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

on a 3-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Manset made his debut for Sion coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring the only goal from the penalty spot in a 1–0 victory over

Servette Servette is a district of the city of Geneva, Switzerland. The district's name comes from the Latin word for forest, ''silva'', and means "little forest". Its name alludes to Servette's rural past, before Geneva grew beyond its walls and incorpora ...

. On 4 September 2012, Manset was suspended by Sion for 3 weeks after being found in the early hours of the morning in a

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

nightclub the day before Sion's game away to

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

. He made his first appearance for Sion since this suspension against

on 30 September. On 6 January, Manset announced through Twitter that his contract with Sion was terminated due to "irreconcilable differences".

Carlisle United

Following his departure from Sion he had trials at both

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

and

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

, though neither club followed up on their interest. After another brief trial, he joined

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

on 8 March until the end of the season, although the signing was delayed for two weeks waiting for international clearance. Manset finally made his debut against

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

on 23 March, coming on as a second-half substitute and helping Carlisle earn a 3–3 draw with an injury time assist. He made a further six appearances, all as a substitute, before being released at the end of the season following the expiry of his contract.

Coventry City

Manset signed a one-year deal with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

on 7 August 2013 despite Coventry being under a transfer embargo. Having not played for the first team since October, his contract was terminated by mutual consent in January 2014.

Royal Antwerp

On 7 January 2014, Manset signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. His contract was terminated by mutual consent at the end of the season.

Walsall

On 26 August 2014, following a successful trial, Manset signed a one-year contract with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. He scored his first goal for the Saddlers on 7 October 2014 against

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in the Football League Trophy. Manset was released on 2 February 2015 after making twenty four appearances for the Saddlers, scoring one goal.

Cheltenham Town

Manset agreed a deal until the end of the 2014–15 season with

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

on 3 February 2015. After twelve goalless appearances for the Robins, he was released on 4 May 2015 following their relegation from League Two.

Slavia Sofia

In August 2015, Manset signed a three-year contract with Bulgarian A Group team

Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia ( bg, ПФК Славия София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home ground ...

. On 16 August, he made his debut in a 1–0 away win over

Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv ( bg, „Ботев“ Пловдив, ) or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that competes ...

, coming on as a substitute for the last eight minutes. Manset scored his only goal for the club on 7 December, netting a penalty in a 3–0 home win over

Lokomotiv Plovdiv PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv ( bg, ПФК Локомотив Пловдив), commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park ...

. Two days later, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

Bastia

Manset joined

Championnat National 3 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

side

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastiais ( co, Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a Corsican association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football ...

for the 2017–18 season. At the end of the season, he left the club after being unable to agree an extension.

A.C. Vicenza 1902

In August 2018, he was signed by newly founded Italian amateur club "A.C. Vicenza 1902", an illegitimate phoenix club of

Vicenza Calcio L.R. Vicenza, commonly referred to as Vicenza, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Vicenza, Veneto. Founded in 1902 as Associazione del Calcio in Vicenza, they became Lanerossi Vicenza in 1953, then Vicenza Calcio from 1990 ...

. The club, however, did not get a professional licence and let him go on a free transfer to Rotonda Calcio in

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

FC Fleury 91

In January 2019, he moved to FC Fleury 91. In summer 2019, with one year left on his Fleury contract, Manset retired from playing. He started working as player agent.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manset, Mathieu 1989 births Living people Footballers from Metz French footballers French sportspeople of Ivorian descent Men's association football forwards Le Havre AC players Hereford United F.C. players Reading F.C. players Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players FC Sion players Carlisle United F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Royal Antwerp F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players PFC Slavia Sofia players Ħamrun Spartans F.C. players SC Bastia players FC Fleury 91 players English Football League players Swiss Super League players Chinese Super League players Challenger Pro League players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Maltese Premier League players Championnat National players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players Serie D players French expatriate footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate footballers in China French expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Switzerland French expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria French expatriate sportspeople in Malta Expatriate footballers in Malta French expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy