Younes Kaboul (born 4 January 1986) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for Auxerre, Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Watford.

[8][9] Kaboul appeared as an unused substitute against PSV in the second leg of the UEFA Cup, as the club lost 3–0 on 25 March 2004, resulting in their elimination from the tournament.

[12] The 2004–05 season saw Kaboul make 15 appearances in all competitions for Auxerre and helped the club win the Coupe de France in 2005, as well as having European football experience in the UEFA Cup.

[18] After serving a one-match suspension, Kaboul returned to the first team against Toulouse on 19 November and helped Auxerre keep a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win.

[23] During his time at Auxerre, Kaboul was known to be the "back bone" for the club due to his excellent tackling skills, good judgment and strength.

[26] He made his Premier League debut starting alongside Anthony Gardner at centre-back in a 1–0 loss against Sunderland on the first day of the 2007–08 season.

[28] After missing two matches, he returned to the starting line-up against Fulham on 1 September and scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–3 draw.

[30] Two weeks later, on 1 October, on the club's 125th anniversary, Kaboul scored the equaliser late in stoppage time against Aston Villa to pull Tottenham level at 4–4 and complete a remarkable comeback from 4–1 down.

[33] Kaboul came on as a 102nd-minute substitute for Robbie Keane as Tottenham beat Chelsea 2–1 in the 2008 Football League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on 24 February 2008.

[53] After missing a month through suspension, Kaboul scored on his return, but was sent off for a second bookable offence in the last minute of the game, in a 1–1 draw on 12 December.

[57] Three days later, on 26 January, Kaboul made his last appearance for Portsmouth, coming against West Ham United and helped the club earn a point, in a 1–1 draw.

[61] Since joining Tottenham, Kaboul found himself in and out of the starting line-up rotating in playing in defensive midfield, centre-back and right-back.

[65] He made his UEFA Champions League debut against Werder Bremen and played the whole game, as the club drew 2–2 on 14 September 2010.

[66] During a 3–1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 18 September, Kaboul suffered a hamstring injury and was substituted at half time, which sidelined him for weeks.

[citation needed] Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Kaboul was linked a transfer to Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain although this never materialised.

[82] Four days later, on 15 December, he captained Tottenham for the second time this season against Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Europa League match and helped the team keep a clean sheet, in a 4–0 win.

[83] After serving a one-match suspension, Kaboul returned to the starting line-up against Norwich City on 27 December and helped Tottenham win 2–0.

[89] While on the sidelines, Kaboul was linked with a move to Russian Premier League side Anzhi Makhachkala but Tottenham refused to sell him.

[91] He made another appearance against Manchester United Reserves on 15 April, starting a match and played 48 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–0 loss.

[95] Kaboul played in both legs as captain against Dinamo Tbilisi in the UEFA Europa League play-off round, as Tottenham won 8–0 on aggregate.

[citation needed] Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Kaboul was linked with a move away from Tottenham, as clubs, such as Beşiktaş, West Ham and even rivals Arsenal, were interested in signing him.

[108] On 15 September 2014, manager Mauricio Pochettino appointed Kaboul as Tottenham's permanent club captain, after predecessor Michael Dawson moved to Hull.

[110] However, by mid November, Kaboul had been dropped from the first-team squad by Pochettino and the captaincy was given to Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane.

[citation needed] Following this, local newspaper Tottenham Independent expected Kaboul to leave the club in the summer transfer window.

[116] Kaboul made his Sunderland debut on 8 August, playing the entirety of a 4–2 defeat away to Leicester City in the opening game of the season.

[122] Following this, new manager Sam Allardyce paired Kaboul with new defensive signing Lamine Koné in the latter stages of the season, including keeping two clean sheets.

[126] However, he wanted to leave Sunderland to return to the London area for personal reasons, and the club accepted a bid from Watford.

[163] He scored on his national team debut on 6 June, with a header from Marvin Martin's corner in a 4–1 friendly win away to Ukraine at the Donbass Arena.

[165] On 15 May 2012, Kaboul was ruled out of a possible place at UEFA Euro 2012 after suffering a knee injury during Tottenham's final match of the 2011–12 season.

[166] Growing up in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France close to the Swiss border, Kaboul has three sisters, with him being the only boy and the youngest in the family.