During a successful career at club level, lasting from 1986 to 2006, Desailly won several titles, including UEFA Champions League medals with both Marseille and AC Milan, and also played for Nantes and Chelsea, among other teams.

[4][5][6][7][8] Marcel Desailly was born as Odenke Abbey on 7 September 1968 in Accra, Ghana, the son of Ghanaian parents.

He had his name changed when his mother married the head of the French Consulate in Accra, who adopted all of her children (the former professional footballer Seth Adonkor, seven years his elder, was a half-brother of his).

There, as part of the famed Nantes youth programme, he played alongside a young Didier Deschamps, who became his closest friend.

Although he preferred to be deployed as a sweeper or centre-back, roles which he played during his time in France,[9] he found much success playing as a defensive midfielder for Milan, alongside Demetrio Albertini, due to the presence of several other established centre-backs at the club, such as Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Filippo Galli.

Desailly then moved to the English club Chelsea in 1998 for £4.6 million,[10] where he captained the side and played sweeper and centre-back until the end of the 2003–04 season.

He picked up one major trophy in his six seasons with Chelsea, being on the winning side in their FA Cup triumph over Aston Villa in 2000.

[13] During an interview in Ghana, Desailly stated that he "did not have much choice about which country to play for," as he was "already established in the French national youth football team.

He was an important part of the French team which won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, albeit being sent off in the final match.

A quick, hard-working, tenacious and powerful player, who excelled in the air and at anticipating his opponents, he combined his aggression, stamina, and ability to read the game, as well as his physical, mental, and defensive skills, with a notable confidence and good technique on the ball, which also allowed him to play in midfield throughout his career; indeed, after moving to Milan, although he initially started out playing as a centre-back or sweeper, and occasionally even as a full-back, he was later deployed as a defensive midfielder, a position in which he also excelled, successfully filling the void left by the departure of Frank Rijkaard due his ball-winning abilities and capacity to start attacking plays after winning back possession.

In addition to his defensive skills, he was also capable of contributing to his team's offensive plays with goals by making attacking runs into the box.

He also worked for BBC Sport at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and Euro 2008 and is a regular commentator for French television channel Canal Plus.