In January 2015, Ginola attempted to run for the FIFA presidency but withdrew after failing to receive the required backing of at least five national football associations.
Ginola joined Paris Saint-Germain in January 1992, at a time when it was pushing for major honours with the financial backing of TV channel Canal+.
His popularity did not suffer any consequence even when he admitted that he supported Paris Saint-Germain's rivals Marseille as a boy and that he would have joined them rather than PSG.
[11] In his first full season (1992–93), Ginola won the Coupe de France (scoring in the final)[12] and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.
Alongside Paul Le Guen, Bernard Lama and Antoine Kombouaré and coached by Artur Jorge, Ginola provided 13 goals in 38 games, which made him the top club goalscorer.
In the UEFA Champions League, the Parisian club caused a major shock after knocking out 1994's finalists Barcelona in the quarter-finals, with Ginola playing particularly well.
In 1996, Barcelona's English manager Bobby Robson attempted personally to sign Ginola, but Newcastle refused to allow the transfer.
[20] After being accused by Gregory of being overweight, Ginola celebrated a goal against Manchester City by taking off his jersey to unveil his toned physique.
In the book Secrets de coachs (Coaches' Secrets), Houllier was alleged to have made disparaging remarks about Ginola and to have referred to Ginola in offensive terms, blaming him for misplacing the cross that allowed Bulgaria to launch the decisive counterattack and secure the win over France during the final minute of the 1994 World Cup qualifier.
[29][30] As a winger, Ginola was renowned for his "magical" touch on the ball and his ability to get past players from any type of position and then manage to score a goal.
[35] On 16 January 2015, Ginola announced that he would be running for the presidency of FIFA for which he was paid a £250,000 fee by the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.
He started his campaign on the same day by denouncing the credibility of Sepp Blatter’s FIFA before admitting he knew little about the governing body's processes or institutions.
Ginola withdrew his candidacy on 29 January, the deadline for candidates to formally submit their nominations, after failing to secure the support of at least five national football associations.
[38] Ginola was one of the contestants in the first season of Danse avec les stars (a French version of the British TV show Strictly Come Dancing).
For his first feature film, The Last Drop, Ginola was cast as Corporal Dieter Max, a renegade German sniper alongside the likes of Agathe de la Boulaye, Michael Madsen, Nick Moran, Karel Roden and Billy Zane.
In 2004, he played the leading role in The Centre, a BBC television documentary and, in 2006, he appeared in the second series of Channel 4's Coach Trip during episode 22, in which he acted as a tour guide of Sainte-Maxime.
In 2008, Ginola appeared in an episode of Chop Shop on Discovery Turbo, where he had a one-off car designed for his son's birthday; in the same year, he appeared as Alexandre, a fashion photographer, in the special edition of the CBS series The Young and the Restless, shot in Paris to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show's broadcast in France, where it is known as Les Feux de l'amour.
Before moving to England, Ginola had already transcended the world of football by featuring in advertising campaigns for the Morgan clothing company and appearing on the catwalk for Cerruti.
Braun shavers, Carte Noire coffee, Kingston Technologies memory sticks, Ladbrokes sports betting, L'Oréal hair products and Renault cars.
[50] In May 2010, David Ginola faced a court summons for "abandoning his family" after Joëlle Pinquier, 41, claimed he was the father of daughter Joy, 17, and had not handed over support payments.
Pinquier claimed Ginola had failed to abide by a 2006 court ruling ordering him to pay child maintenance of £400 a month.
[51] On the afternoon of 19 May 2016, Ginola was playing a charity football match at the home of Jean-Stéphane Camerini (the organiser of the Mapauto Golf Cup) in Mandelieu-la-Napoule in the southeast of France when he suddenly collapsed due to cardiac arrest and then fell into a coma.
Ginola was airlifted minutes later by a helicopter to the Cardiothoracic Center of Monaco 40 km northeast of Mandelieu, where he underwent an immediate, six-hour, operation.
Professor Gilles Dreyfus, who operated on Ginola, said that were it not for Mendy who administered CPR on him he would be dead, or have suffered permanent brain damage.
On 30 May 2016, Ginola was discharged from hospital and returned home, thanking people on Twitter for their "incredible messages of love and affection".