Philippe Mexès (born 30 March 1982) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He represented Auxerre, Roma and AC Milan at club level during a career that spanned between 1999 and 2016. A full international between 2002 and 2012, he won 29 caps and scored one goal for the France national team and represented them at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup as well as UEFA Euro 2012.
Club career
Auxerre
Mexès was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne. He began his youth career at Auxerre, at age 12. He began training at Bastille, the youth team, where he quickly became one of the key players for youth squads in which he captained them to many cups. With the senior squad, he won the 2003 Coupe de France.
Roma
Mexès was signed to a four-year contract by Roma in June 2004. Roma was later found guilty of misconduct, as AJ Auxerre, his previous club, did not agree to the transfer; it was solely the decision of the player. Mexès was suspended, but later the ban was temporarily lifted. Mexès played his first Serie A match on 12 September 2004 against Fiorentina. In February 2005, the appeal on the six-week ban was rejected and Mexès was suspended until April. The saga was eventually settled by Mexès, or Roma would have had to pay Auxerre €7 million.
After a difficult first season with the Capitoline club, Mexès began the 2005–06 campaign on the bench. Roma's transfer misconduct in the purchase of Mexès led to the club's being suspended in 2005 from signing players other than free agents, but the ban temporarily lifted in August. As the club did not sign anyone due to the ban, he became a key player for Luciano Spalletti's squad. Mexès played nine out of a possible ten games for Roma in UEFA Cup competitions. He also played in the final of 2005–06 Coppa Italia. The Giallorossi finished fifth in Serie A, initially qualifying only for the next year's UEFA Cup, but due to the 2006 Italian football scandal, Roma were awarded second, allowing Mexès to play for the first time in the UEFA Champions League.
As one of the key players of Roma, he formed a central defensive partnership with Cristian Chivu. The club reached the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The club faced Inter Milan again at 2006–07 Coppa Italia Final. Mexès, partnering with Matteo Ferrari, Cristian Chivu, and Christian Panucci on defence, helped Roma to a 7–4 aggregate victory, including a 6–2 first leg win. The Giallorossi also finished second in Serie A with the third lowest goals conceded total.
Mexès signed a new five-year contract, in which he would earn €4.5 million in the first year, increasing to €5 million by the last year, in gross annual salary (pre-taxed salary). The Giallorossi reached the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the second straight year, but lost to eventual champions Manchester United for the second time in the same year. In Serie A, Roma narrowed an 11-point gap with Inter and eventually finished second behind Inter, three points back. At the 2008 Coppa Italia Final, Mexès scored the opening goal for Roma, and the Giallorossi went on to win 2–1, defending their title.
With Mexès in defence, Roma qualified for the knockout stage of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League. Mexès missed the second leg against Arsenal and Roma lost in 6–7 penalty shoot-out. Roma's defence, however, conceded the fifth highest number of goals in Serie A.
In Roma's first UEFA Europa League match on 30 July 2009, Mexès scored on a Francesco Totti free kick, giving Roma a draw. Although he received slightly less playing time with the arrival of Nicolás Burdisso on loan from Inter, Mexès contributed to a defence, which helped Roma finish second in Serie A. In the latter part of 2010, he reclaimed his spot in the team.
On 3 April 2011, Mexès had to be substituted early in the second half in a Serie A match with Juventus, because of an injury to his left knee. After the match, it was revealed that he had cruciate ligament damage. Two days after the injury, he came through a successful operation. In an interview after his operation, Mexès responded to speculation that he had played his last match for Roma. With his contract due to expire in June 2011, he hinted that he would be leaving, likely to sign with AC Milan.
AC Milan
On 10 May 2011, Milan CEO Adriano Galliani announced that Mexès would play for Milan the following season, stating the completion of a transfer for Mexès.