Cabaye spent six years in the club's youth academy before making his professional debut in the 2004–05 season helping Lille win the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

After signing for Dubai club Al-Nasr and later returning to France to play for Saint-Étienne, Cabaye announced his retirement in February 2021.

[9] Cabaye has a younger brother, Geoffrey, who has played football in the lower divisions of the French and Belgian leagues, most notably with Tournai and Wasquehal.

[citation needed] In the following season, Cabaye's playing time increased significantly as he appeared in 27 league matches, including 20 starts.

He officially made his European debut on 14 September 2005 in a Champions League group stage match against Portuguese club Benfica.

Lille went undefeated in all six matches Cabaye scored in, which were against such clubs as Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, Metz, Le Mans, Caen, and Derby du Nord rivals Lens.

Without the constant pressure of tracking back to defend, Cabaye was allowed to act as a playmaker for the talented trio of attackers Eden Hazard, Gervinho, and Pierre-Alain Frau.

[36] In the next five league matches, he scored five goals; four penalty conversions against Valenciennes, Lyon, Monaco, and Saint-Étienne and one from open play against Bordeaux.

[45] Lille finished the campaign in fourth place having lost out on qualification to the UEFA Champions League on the final match day of the season.

[46] Three days later, he scored two goals, one from open play and another from the penalty spot, in a 4–1 win over Caen in the Coupe de la Ligue.

In the final, Cabaye played the entire match as Lille defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 at the Stade de France.

[citation needed] Following Lille's final game of the 2010–11 season, a 3–2 win over Rennes, Lille manager Rudi Garcia confirmed that Cabaye would be departing the club to sign with Newcastle United in England, stating, "Yohan told us yesterday – first me, then the whole group before the game – that he has chosen to join Newcastle.

"[56] On 15 July, Cabaye made his debut for Newcastle in a pre-season friendly win over against Conference National side Darlington, after coming on as a substitute in the 12th minute.

[58] Days before the season began, Cabaye was handed the number 4 shirt, which had been made available following the departure of ex-captain Kevin Nolan early in the transfer window.

[61] On 17 December, in the team's 0–0 draw with Swansea City, Cabaye covered the most distance by any Newcastle player all season in the match, having travelled over 11.6 kilometres (7.2 mi).

[64] On 21 April, Cabaye assisted another Cissé goal and scored two himself in a 3–0 home victory against Stoke City, lifting Newcastle into the top four in the league table.

[73] On 19 August 2013, the eve of Newcastle's Premier League season opener against Manchester City, Arsenal made a bid of £10 million for Cabaye which was rejected.

[74] After Newcastle lost the match 4–0, manager Alan Pardew confirmed that Cabaye had been omitted from the squad that evening because his head had been turned by the bid, which he condemned as disrespectful in both value and timing.

[80] In his final game, on 18 January 2014, Cabaye bagged a brace in a 3–1 win over West Ham United, equalling his 2012–13 goal tally in just half a season.

[81] On 29 January 2014, Paris Saint-Germain announced that Cabaye had joined the Ligue 1 club for an undisclosed fee, estimated around £19 million plus add-ons.

[82] On 18 February, Cabaye scored his first PSG goal in a 4–0 victory over German side Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League round-of-16.

On 19 April, Cabaye won his first trophy with PSG as they beat Lyon 2–1 in the 2014 Coupe de la Ligue Final.

[87] On 10 July 2015, Cabaye joined Premier League team Crystal Palace, on a three-year contract for a club record, but undisclosed, fee.

[98] After providing consecutive assists against Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion for the first time since April 2012, Cabaye ended a run of forty-seven Premier League matches without doing so.

[105][108] Cabaye was called up to the under-18 team by coach Jean Gallice on 5 March 2004 as a replacement for the injured Yoann Gourcuff for matches in Germany.

[110] Cabaye appeared in the next five matches with the team, which included victories over Scotland, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic in the Slovakia Cup, a youth international tournament catered to under-18 players.

[124][125] Cabaye's under-21 career came to an end following the team's defeat to Germany in a two-legged playoff, which determined who would earn a berth in the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

He was called back into the team in September for UEFA Euro 2012 qualification matches against Belarus and Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, he was forced to drop out of the selection due to injury.

[132] On 19 November 2013, Cabaye was part of the France team that staged a remarkable comeback in the second leg of the World Cup play-off against Ukraine.

[136][137] Cabaye featured as the deepest lying of France's midfield three,[138] playing behind then-PSG teammate Blaise Matuidi and either Paul Pogba or Moussa Sissoko.