Clubs: FC Lorient, Pau FC (loan), Toulouse FC, Olympique de Marseille

• Gignac played youth football with his home-town club FC Martigues before moving to Brittany and turning professional with Lorient, for whom he made his debut, in Ligue 2, in August 2004.

• Was on loan at Pau when Lorient secured promotion to Ligue 1 in 2006 but returned to the club and played a leading role in the top flight the following season, scoring nine goals, including a hat-trick against local rivals FC Nantes (3-1).

• Involved in a tug-of-war transfer between LOSC Lille Métropole and Toulouse in summer 2007 before eventually joining the latter; made his debut in a UEFA Champions League qualifier against Liverpool FC but he and club endured a difficult season, narrowly avoiding relegation.

• Exploded into life in 2008/09, following the sale of rival striker Johan Elmander and the arrival of coach Alain Casanova, finishing as the Ligue 1 top scorer with a 24-goal haul which helped Toulouse to a fourth-place finish; rewarded with his first cap for France – against Lithuania on 1 April 2009 (1-0).

• After scoring just eight goals in 2009/10 − and appearing in France's FIFA World Cup misadventure in South Africa − he left Toulouse for Marseille; took time to settle but distinguished himself with a UEFA Champions League hat-trick in a record-breaking 7-0 win at MŠK Žilina.