Predominantly left-footed but naturally right-footed, he was described earlier in his career as a player who possesses "almost unrivaled stamina" that is "quick in the tackle and willing to drive forward".

[4][5] Clichy was born in the city of Toulouse and began his football career playing for a host of amateur clubs in the Haute-Garonne département such as JS Cugnaux, AS Muret, and Tournefeuille.

He, initially, was a predominantly right-footed player, but through decisive coaching from his father, Clichy's left foot eventually became his primary.

In 2000, after developing at both Tournefeuille and Castelmaurou, Clichy was linked to a host of professional clubs, including Auxerre, Bordeaux, and Toulouse who were seeking to obtain his services.

[6] The young player ultimately decided to move to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region to play for professional club Cannes.

While at the club, Clichy primarily played as a central midfielder and was supervised by former French international and Saint-Étienne player Christian Lopez.

During the latter part of the 2001–02 season, Clichy spent time playing on the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth level of French football.

[6] As promised by Wenger, Clichy began the season on the club's senior team primarily as the backup to England international Ashley Cole.

He made his club debut on 28 October 2003 alongside fellow débutant Cesc Fàbregas in a League Cup encounter with Rotherham United.

On 24 February 2004, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in the first leg of the team's 3–2 knockout round victory over Spanish club Celta de Vigo.

The club ultimately won the competition defeating Manchester United 5–4 on penalties to give Clichy his first domestic cup honour.

In the UEFA Champions League, he only made two appearances; a 5–1 group stage victory over Norwegian club Rosenborg and a 3–1 knockout round defeat to German outfit Bayern Munich.

[18] In the 2005–06 season, Clichy was handed an opportunity to earn a regular place in the starting line-up after Cole suffered a fractured foot in October 2005.

[18] He returned to the team on 25 April 2006 in a Champions League semi-final tie against Spanish outfit Villarreal coming on as a substitute for the injured Mathieu Flamini.

In the late stages of the match, Clichy was adjudged to have committed a foul in the box on striker José Mari, which resulted in a penalty taken by Juan Román Riquelme, which was saved by Jens Lehmann.

[22] He returned to the starting line-up ten days later playing the entire match in a League Cup win over West Brom.

Clichy also posted a career-high in assists delivering six with two of them coming in back-to-back league wins over Everton and West Ham in December and January.

[27] For his performances during the season, Clichy was named to the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Team of the Year alongside teammates Bacary Sagna, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Fàbregas.

[29] After consistently appearing with the team for the majority of the campaign, in April 2009, Clichy began missing matches due to an unspecified injury.

[32] Clichy scored his second career goal on 2 March 2011 in the team's 5–0 win over Leyton Orient in a FA Cup replay tie.

[5] On 4 July 2011, it was confirmed that Manchester City had completed the signing of Clichy from Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £7 million, on a four-year deal.

[37] Clichy scored his first goal for Manchester City on 30 November 2014 in a 0–3 victory against Southampton FC at St Mary's Stadium.

[38] On 7 July 2017, İstanbul Başakşehir announced that Clichy had passed the medical earlier that day, following which he signed a 3-year contract to play for the Turkish club.

[39] On 19 July 2020, Clichy helped Başakşehir secure their first ever league title, providing the assist for the game's only goal in the club's win over Kayserispor on the penultimate day of the season.

[citation needed] He remained with the team for the rest of the campaign appearing in three matches at the 2001 edition of the Montaigu Tournament which France won.

[43] Due to increased playing time at his parent club Cannes, Clichy's stint with the under-18 team was uneventful appearing in only three matches.

[48] After receiving several more call ups in 2008, Clichy finally earned his first cap on 10 September 2008 in a 2010 World Cup qualification match against Serbia.

At the competition, France endured a disastrous campaign as the players went on strike in response to its disagreement over the expulsion of striker Nicolas Anelka from the team.

[52] Due to the five-match suspension of Evra, new national team manager Laurent Blanc inserted Clichy as the starter.

In June 2012, he was named in the 23-man France squad and given the number 22 shirt to compete at UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine as a substitute for Evra.