Laurent (born May 21, 1975 in Saint Benoît, Réunion) is a
French left winger who currently plays for Benfica of the
Portuguese SuperLiga.
Robert started his career at Montpellier, before signing for
Paris Saint-Germain in 1999, making his debut for the French
national team shortly after. His first season with Paris Saint-Germain
had a number of disciplinary problems, including three red cards.
Concerns over his temperament deprived him of a place in the
French squad for Euro 2000. The following season was met with
greater success, including a Champions League match against
Rosenborg, in which he set up six goals in a 7-2 win. Following
a recall to the national team, Robert scored his first goal for
France in a match against Turkey in November 2000.
In 2001, he joined English club Newcastle United for a fee of
£9.5 million following a dispute with PSG coach Luis Fernandez.
A managerial dispute was also the cause of Robert's exit from
Newcastle. After Bobby Robson left the manager's post at
Newcastle, Robert had a very strained relationship with his
successor, Graeme Souness. After the 2004-05 season, Robert
vowed never to play for Newcastle again. Portsmouth were able to
acquire him loan, but the move quickly turned sour with Robert
becoming increasingly unhappy with his role at the club. In
January 2006 he returned to Newcastle, who allowed him to join
Benfica on a free transfer.
Robert is known for his pace and crossing ability, and is often
called upon to take corners and from free kicks. He has a
tendency to shoot from long ranges in both open play and free
kicks (Robert scored four goals in the 2004/2005 campaign, all
from set pieces.) and has scored from almost 40 yards from goal
- his powerful shot has been measured at around 75 mph. However,
he is sometimes inconsistent, causing much frustration for fans
and managers, and was often at odds with Newcastle United over
alleged comments that he has made about staff and lack of
appearances.
His move to Portsmouth seemed to change him though, with Robert
claiming he had immediately settled at the club and felt that
the manager and fellow players understood and respected him.
However, it wasn't long before he had returned to his old ways,
when on 29th October 2005, just 10 games into the season, Robert
stormed out of the stadium before the match began after being
named on the substitutes' bench, leaving Portsmouth to start the
game with only four substitutes.
On the 4th January 2006 he moved to Benfica, Newcastle paid
£10.5m for the 30-year-old in 2001 but he left the club in the
summer following a series of arguments with boss Graeme Souness.
And he has now signed a three-and-a-half year contract with
Ronald Koeman's Benfica side. |
