Rudy Philippe Michel Camille Gestede (born 10 October 1988) is a 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 last played as a striker for Iranian club Esteghlal. After coming through the youth ranks at

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 ...

, Gestede spent a year on loan gaining experience with

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

, scoring four goals in 22 appearances, before returning to Metz in 2010. In the summer of 2011, he joined

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 ...

, helping the club to secure promotion to the Premier League. However, he found first team chances limited with Cardiff at the start of 2013–14, prompting a loan move to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

in 2013. In January 2014, he made a permanent transfer to Blackburn and established himself in the first team, forming a prolific partnership with

Jordan Rhodes Jordan Luke Rhodes (born 5 February 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Huddersfield Town and the Scottish national team. He started his career at Ipswich Town and after loan spells at Oxf ...

in attack. Gestede played internationally for France at under-19 level before switching international allegiance to Benin, going on to win 11 caps for the national side since his debut in 2013.

Club career

Metz

Born in Essey-lès-Nancy, Gestede started at youth level at the age of 16, in 2004, where he played for

. A year later, he signed a professional contract with Metz's B Team. In 2007, he was promoted to play for the first team, whilst still also continuing to play for the B team, but in 2010, he ended his five years playing for the B team when he was sent on loan to

Cardiff City

Gestede joined

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

side

on a week-long trial during City's training camp in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, Spain in July 2011. He scored his first goal for Cardiff in the 25th minute of the club’s pre-season friendly against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

on 15 July. On 23 July, Gestede passed his medical and was unveiled as a Cardiff City player three days later. He made his competitive debut for Cardiff on 7 August against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, coming on in the 68th minute in place of

Robert Earnshaw Robert Earnshaw (born 6 April 1981) is a Welsh former international footballer who played as a forward. He is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in the Premier League, all three divisions of the English Football League, the League Cup, ...

, setting up

Kenny Miller Kenneth Miller (born 23 December 1979) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Miller, who played as a striker, is one of only five post-war players to have played for both Rangers and Celtic. Miller began his career at ...

for the match's only goal. Gestede's first start came the following game three days later, on 10 August, against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. He made his 50th appearance in a 5–3 victory over

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

, putting in a man of the match performance. Gestede scored his first goal for Cardiff City against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

in the

, before going on to convert from the penalty spot in his side’s 7-6 penalty shootout victory over Leicester. Gestede's first league goal came on 15 October against Ipswich Town, with the game also marking his first league start for Cardiff. The following game, however, on 21 October, he suffered an hamstring injury, which meant he was ruled out for several weeks. He returned in a goalless draw at

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

on 10 December. Gestede found his third Cardiff goal in a 3–1 win over

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

. He would come on and score a penalty in Cardiff City's semi-final victory against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

in the League Cup. Gestede scored his third goal for Cardiff on 14 February 2012, in a 3–1 win over Peterborough. In the League Cup Final against

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 26 February, City went down 3–2 on penalties, with Gestede missing one of the Bluebirds' spot-kicks. On 19 April, Gestede signed a two-year deal keeping him at

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd) is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team. Following expansion of the Ninian Stand in July 2014 ...

until 2014. Gestede suffered a pre-season injury which kept him out of the first two months of the 2012–13 season. He made his return on 6 October coming on in the second half against Ipswich Town, where he helped the Bluebirds to come back from a one-goal deficit. Gestede's first goal of the season came on 15 December in a 2–1 loss against Peterborough United. In what has been described as his finest performance yet in a Cardiff City shirt, Gestede scored two headers as City beat

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 ...

3–0 at Cardiff City Stadium. He collected a winners' medal as City won 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 ...

title and were promoted to the

in April 2013.

Blackburn Rovers

On 26 November 2013, Gestede joined

on loan until the end of 2013 under an emergency loan arrangement after he found his playing time at Cardiff reduced since their promotion to the Premier League. Blackburn manager

Gary Bowyer Gary David Bowyer (born 22 June 1971) is an English professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Scottish club Dundee. As a player, he made 52 league appearances for Hereford United, Nottingham Forest and Rotherham United ...

stated that Gestede was the type of player the team needed to assist talisman

in an important season for the club. Gestede scored his first goal for Rovers on 1 January 2014 against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

via a header in a 2–1 victory. On 1 January 2014, Gestede signed for the club permanently, on a three-and-a-half-year deal, along with

Tom Cairney Thomas Cairney (born 20 January 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Fulham, whom he captains. Cairney has previously played for Hull City and Blackburn Rovers. Born in England, he made his full international ...

, who was also on loan at Blackburn at the same time as him. On 21 April, Gestede scored a first-half hat-trick, against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. He won the Championship Player of the Month Award for April after scoring six goals in the seven games in that month.

Aston Villa

On 31 July 2015, after intense speculation, Gestede signed for Premier League club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £6 million. He made his debut as a substitute away at

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, heading the winning goal in a 1–0 victory. On 22 September 2015, he scored the winner in a 1–0

victory over archrivals Birmingham City. On 26 September 2015, he scored a brace in a 3–2 defeat to

away at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

Middlesbrough

On 2 January 2017, Aston Villa accepted a bid from

club

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

for Gestede, reported to be in the region of £6m. He officially signed for the club on 4 January 2017. Gestede made his debut for the club and his top-level return in a 0–0 draw against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

on 14 January 2017. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 defeat against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

on 19 March 2017. On 21 August 2017,

rejected a £6 million pound bid for the player from

. He picked up an injury in September 2017, after picking up a dead leg which required surgery after a bleed. He returned from the injury on 2 December 2017 against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, he picked up another injury which almost ended his season when he fractured his ankle against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

in February 2018. He returned on 15 May 2018 for

as a second half substitute in the Championship Playoff Semi Final second leg against

. He was released after the club refused to extend his contract beyond 30 June 2020, along with teammate

Daniel Ayala Daniel Sánchez Ayala (born 7 November 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Blackburn Rovers. His first club was Premier League club Liverpool, where he spent two seasons as a reserve. He joined Norwich ...

Melbourne Victory

On 25 November 2020

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

announced that they had signed Gestede. He was quoted as saying “I am extremely pleased to have signed with Melbourne Victory for this season, after speaking with the club, in particular

Grant Brebner Grant Ian Brebner (born 6 December 1977) is a Scottish football coach and former player who was the head coach at Australian side Melbourne Victory. Born in Edinburgh, Brebner joined Manchester United as a 16-year-old in 1994. While at Manchest ...

, I was very impressed with the vision they outlined around the brand of football they want to play and the role they want me to play.” In his debut season with the Victory, Gestede made 18 appearances, finishing with 5 goals and 2 assists; alongside Jake Brimmer and

Elvis Kamsoba Elvis Kamsoba (born 27 June 1996) is a Burundian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Sepahan and the Burundi national football team.

, Gestede finished as Melbourne Victory's joint top goalscorer for the 2020-21 season.

Panetolikos

After a poor season at Melbourne Victory, he signed a 2-year deal for Greek club Panetolikos, but he only played 3 games (all in the starting eleven) and scored just one goal.

Esteghlal

On 30 October 2021, Gestede signed for Esteghlal on a two-year contract. He was given shirt number 39. Six days later, he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against

Fajr Sepasi Fajr Shahid Sepasi Shiraz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگى ورزشى فجر شهید سپاسی شیراز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Fajr-e Sepasi-ye Shiraz''), commonly known as Fajr Sepasi Shiraz, or Fajr Sepasi, is an Iranian football ...

. On 24 December, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 victory against Shahr Khodro. On 17 March 2022, he scored 2 minutes after coming on as a substitute in a match against

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

, becoming Esteghlal's first non-Iranian player to score in the Tehran Derby. He left the club after his first season following his contract termination by mutual consent.

International career

Gestede played for the France under-19 national team between 2006 and 2008. He was called up for the Benin national team in February 2013 for the

World Cup qualifiers The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

due to a parent being of Beninois origin; he was also eligible for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

through a grandparent. After three years, he was recalled to the national team in August 2019.

Personal life

In the summer of 2012, Rudy's wife, Hawa, gave birth to their first child, Elijah Gestede. He is a Muslim.

Career statistics

Honours

Esteghlal Celebrate IPL Title Win at Azadi Stadium - 058

Cardiff City *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Esteghlal *

Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

: 2021–22 Individual * Football League Championship Player of the Month: April 2014

References

External links