[6] His talent, playing style, tenacity on the pitch, technical skills, as well as precocious ability have drawn comparisons to Zinedine Zidane.

[13] He comes from a very athletic family: his mother was a basketball player, his older brother, Erwan, is a competitive swimmer and cyclist, while his father was a former footballer who played for several clubs in such countries as France, Switzerland, and Canada.

Gourcuff's father later moved into managerial roles, having stints at Rennes, Le Mans, Lorient (three times), and Qatari club Al-Gharafa.

[13][14] While beginning his career as a football player, Gourcuff admired and drew inspiration from the playing style of the Brazil national team from the 1970s, whom he discovered from watching tapes with his father.

[14] Further to his father's departure to Stade Rennais, Gourcuff, who initially considered rivals Nantes, followed suit and signed an aspirant (youth) contract with the club in 2001.

He formed midfield partnerships with fellow Frenchman Olivier Monterrubio and the Swede Kim Källström and made his European debut on 15 September in a UEFA Cup first round tie against Spanish club Osasuna appearing as a substitute.

[37] Despite not appearing in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final, which Milan won, Gourcuff did earn a winner's medal with the club as a result of his participation in the group stage and knockout round matches.

[38] In the 2007–08 Serie A season, Gourcuff struggled for playing time as he was in direct competition with the Brazilian international and 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year winner Kaká.

Gourcuff's development and attitude at the club was also questioned by manager Carlo Ancelotti who critically stated that the player had psychological issues.

[42] On 24 February 2008, after appearing as a half-time substitute, Gourcuff assisted on the game-winning goal scored in the 90th minute by Filippo Inzaghi in Milan's 2–1 win over Palermo.

[46] In 2010, in an interview with French newspaper L'Equipe, former Milan captain Paolo Maldini stated that Gourcuff lacked discipline while at the club and often distanced himself from the team citing the player's refusal to learn the Italian language.

[47] Gourcuff did not respond to the comments, but his father Christian did, stating to France Football that there was some sort of conspiracy out there looking to tarnish his son's image.

[52] Upon receiving the ball from teammate Matthieu Chalmé, just outside the box, Gourcuff performed a swift Marseille turn, eluding PSG defender Sylvain Armand, followed by an elastico that caused Sammy Traoré to lose balance, before bringing the ball back to his right foot and blasting it past Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau with the outside of his right foot.

[57] In the ensuing three weeks, Gourcuff maintained his form scoring in all three matches, against Sochaux, Valenciennes, and Le Mans giving him a tally of 12 league goals for the season.

[61] His performances during the 2008–09 season later earned him a nomination by the French magazine France Football for the 2009 Ballon d'Or award, won by Lionel Messi as Gourcuff finished in 20th place with six points.

However, the club's plans were put on halt after learning of Bordeaux's intent to meet Gourcuff's buy-out clause of €15 million included in the loan deal.

[67] Gourcuff began the 2009–10 season claiming his fourth silverware with Bordeaux on 25 July 2009, winning the 2009 Trophée des Champions title in a 2–0 victory over Guingamp.

[77] On 20 December, he was declared by magazine France Football the French Player of the Year for 2009 beating out the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Hugo Lloris, Thierry Henry, and Franck Ribéry; the latter having won the award the past two seasons prior.

On 22 August 2010, French media reported that, on the eve of the team's match against Paris Saint-Germain, the midfielder had informed Bordeaux officials of his intent to join Lyon.

After passing his medical on 25 August, Gourcuff signed a five-year contract with the club for a fee of €22 million, to be paid in three installments by 31 December 2012.

[89] In the UEFA Champions League, Gourcuff scored his first goal in the team's 4–3 group stage defeat to Portuguese club Benfica on 2 November.

[91][92] In early February 2011, Gourcuff admitted that he was "disappointed and frustrated" with his performances with Lyon since joining the club stating "I expected a lot more of myself" and "It's clear that my attacking contribution is not enough".

[93] Gourcuff also admitted that he was struggling to adapt to the style of manager Claude Puel, though the player later clarified his statements stating that they were misinterpreted.

In the dying minutes of the game which would ultimately finish 2–2, Gourcuff found himself in the penalty area with a chance to strike, but was unfortunately tackled by one of his own teammates: Cheikh M'Bengue.

He returned in February and gradually started to put together a run of games, during which his manager Rolland Courbis revealed that he was only operating at "60% of his capacity" and was getting better each week.

[110] Gourcuff finished the season with the under-17 team accumulating twelve appearances and netting two goals as the squad failed to qualify for the 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

[124] It was later reported by the media that midfielder Franck Ribéry and striker Nicolas Anelka had purposely "frozen-out" Gourcuff in the Uruguay match.

[125][126] In the team's final group stage match against the hosts South Africa, Gourcuff was sent off in the first half after the referee ruled that he intentionally elbowed an opposing player in the face.

Due to his red card suspension in the World Cup, Gourcuff missed two call-ups to the national team in August and September.

In October 2010, he was called back into the team by his former manager at Bordeaux Laurent Blanc for UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Romania and Luxembourg.