#3 Bacary Sagna – Senegal
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Bacary Sagna was born in Sens, a commune in north-central France, to Senegalese parents. Having started his career at the local FC Sens, Sagna established himself as one of the best full-backs during his time at Auxerre. At the age of 17, Sagna wished to join up with the Senegalese national team, but officials in Dakar had refused to admit him into the outfit despite repeated pleas from his parents.
"I wanted to play for Senegal when I was 17, but they didn't reply. So I was a bit disappointed. But when I started playing for Auxerre for the first team, they [Senegal] contacted me and I had a game on the same day with the French national team under 21's so I had to make a choice." stated a disappointed Sagna in 2013.
Dubbed ‘Mr. Reliable’ by the Auxerre fans, Sagna moved to Arsenal for an undisclosed fee and was handed the number 3 shirt, having caught the eye of Arsene Wenger. A first senior international cap for France came soon after in a friendly match against Slovakia.
Having spent more than 7 years in North London, Sagna moved across to title rivals Manchester City upon the expiry of his contract with Arsenal. Alongside Patrice Evra on the left, Sagna remains an indispensable component of France’s back-four under Deschamps and has also played his full quota of 90 minutes in each of France’s games at Euro 2016 so far.
