Metz Pires is a graduate of the
Metz youth academy, making his senior debut in 1993 against
Lyon. During his six seasons there, he scored 43 goals in 162 matches, and won the
Coupe de la Ligue, prompting a £5 million move to
Marseille in 1998. Pires had a mixed two-year stay in
Provence; his first season saw Marseille miss the
1998–99 French Division 1 title by a point (he had been even closer
the year before when Metz had finished runners-up on goal difference) and they also reached the
1999 UEFA Cup Final, losing to
Parma. His second season saw him suffer a spate of on- and off-field problems, which led him to boycott the club at the season's end.
Arsenal 2000–01 Pires was signed by
Arsenal for £6 million in 2000, after stiff competition from
Real Madrid and
Juventus, replacing
Marc Overmars, who had left for
Barcelona for a record £25 million. Initially, Pires' form was indifferent, and some people criticised him after his comments that the English game was too physical. However, he slowly began to regain the form he had shown at Metz, scoring a superb solo goal in October 2000, his first for Arsenal, against
Lazio in the
2000–01 Champions League. Days later he scored his first league goal in a 2–1 win against
West Ham United. During his time at Arsenal Pires had a habit of scoring against rivals
Tottenham Hotspur, something he did on eight occasions. The first of such occasions came in a league game on 31 March 2001 when Arsenal won 2–0. A week later he scored against Tottenham again, this time the winner in the
FA Cup semi-finals. However, Arsenal went on to lose the
Cup final to
Liverpool 2–1; Pires set up Arsenal's goal for
Freddie Ljungberg.
2001–02 By
2001–02, Pires had fully got to grips with the English game and had one of his best seasons. Pires scored superb goals against
Middlesbrough and
Aston Villa. Against Aston Villa, Pires chased after a long ball by Freddie Ljungberg, and lobbed the ball over the pursuing
George Boateng, and finished off the move with a delightful lob over
Peter Schmeichel. Pires also scored in a 1–1 draw against Tottenham at
White Hart Lane, which would commence a sequence of five consecutive league seasons in which he would score in the North London Derby away at their rivals. He led the
Premier League assist charts and was voted both
FWA Footballer of the Year and Arsenal's player of the season, as Arsenal won the league title. Pires provided the assist for
Dennis Bergkamp when he scored his memorable pirouette goal against
Newcastle United. However weeks later against the same opposition in the
FA Cup Pires suffered a
cruciate ligament injury (a game in which he had earlier scored). This also ruled him out of playing in the
2002 FA Cup Final and the 2002 World Cup with France.
2002–03 After a lengthy layoff, Pires made his comeback in November 2002 as a substitute against
Auxerre in the
UEFA Champions League. Although Pires initially found it tough, he eventually returned to form, scoring 14 Premiership goals in 20 starts that season, including a hat-trick against
Southampton on the penultimate day of the season. Other highlights included scoring twice against
Fulham, including a last minute winner, and his customary goal at White Hart Lane. Pires was voted the
Premier League Player of the Month for February 2003. Pires capped off his season by scoring the winning goal in the
FA Cup Final against Southampton.
2003–04 He went on to be a crucial part of Arsenal's quest for the Premier League title in the
2003–04 season, which they achieved, remaining unbeaten and becoming the first English top flight club to do so in 115 years. Pires and his Arsenal teammate
Thierry Henry were instrumental in that season, scoring a combined 57 goals in all competitions. Pires made a sluggish start to the campaign, with just one goal to his name (against Everton) prior to October, but a wonder-goal against
Liverpool at
Anfield kick-started his season. Pires showed football fans his sublime technique, skills and finishing, most notably with his goals against Liverpool,
Bolton Wanderers, and
Leeds United. He surprised a lot of people with a world class tackle on
Claude Makélélé and, following that, a run into the penalty box which dragged
William Gallas and
John Terry away, thus making space for
Patrick Vieira to have a one-on-one with the
Chelsea goalkeeper and subsequently scoring. Arsenal won that match 2–1, with Vieira's goal the equaliser. That day of Premier League action proved decisive, as
Manchester United's failure to beat Leeds United during the same day resulted in Arsenal getting a huge lead in the title race. Arsenal never lost 1st place in the table for the rest of the season. In the UEFA Champions League quarter-final's 1st leg match against Chelsea, Pires managed to beat John Terry to a header, which resulted in the equaliser for Arsenal, after
Eiður Guðjohnsen had given Chelsea the lead. However, Arsenal were eliminated after they lost 1–2 in the return leg, courtesy of an 87th minute
Wayne Bridge goal. Pires also scored home and away against Tottenham Hotspur. He showed his
playmaking skills in a goal against Tottenham at
White Hart Lane, in which Pires was the architect in building up the goal, and capped off the move with a goal to score Arsenal's 2nd goal of the game. Tottenham refused to give up, and managed to claw their way back and claimed a 2–2 draw. Despite that, Arsenal won the title after the match. Pires finished that season with an impressive tally of 14 goals and seven assists in the Premier League. He was Arsenal's second top scorer (behind Thierry Henry) and had the joint amount of assists (along with
Dennis Bergkamp) that season.
2004–05 In the
2004–05 season, Pires finished third in the Premiership goalscorers' table with 14 goals, behind teammate Thierry Henry and
Crystal Palace's
Andrew Johnson. Pires also picked up a second FA Cup winners' medal; he scored in the semi-final against
Blackburn Rovers and then Arsenal beat
Manchester United on
penalties in the final. Pires was replaced by
Edu in the 2nd half of extra time in that match.
2005–06 During the
2005–06 season, Pires started the season poorly, and players such as
Freddie Ljungberg,
José Antonio Reyes and
Alexander Hleb were preferred to him on both wings. As the season progressed, though, Pires' form improved, outscoring his selection rivals overall despite a bizarre penalty incident with
Thierry Henry against
Manchester City when Pires, having scored from the spot earlier in the game, tried passing it to Arsenal's star striker but Henry missed the ball and it went down as a penalty miss. Highlights in the league that season included scoring at White Hart Lane for the fifth consecutive season (his eighth and final goal against Tottenham) to help Arsenal salvage a 1–1 draw, and also scoring in the last game at Highbury against
Wigan Athletic. Pires was instrumental in Arsenal's Quarter Final Champions League first leg against
Juventus, where Arsenal won 2–0. Pires successfully tackled
Patrick Vieira and fed the ball to
Thierry Henry who passed to Fàbregas to score Arsenal's first goal, the first time that Pires had gotten the better of Vieira. Pires played his last game for Arsenal in the
UEFA Champions league final against
Barcelona in Paris, which Arsenal ultimately lost 2–1. However, Pires was substituted after only 18 minutes when goalkeeper
Jens Lehmann was sent off and had to be replaced with
Manuel Almunia. Pires later said Wenger's decision to substitute him "killed" him: "the fact that I was substituted and only allowed to play 18 minutes remains painful, there's no point denying that... Wenger knows it and we still talk about it. I'll never agree that he made the right decision."
Departure During the
2005–06 season, Pires wrangled with Arsenal over a new contract, in the hope of a new two-year deal. In keeping with the club's policy regarding players over 30, Pires was only offered a 12-month extension to his contract, which expired in June 2006. In May 2006, Pires agreed to an offer from
Villarreal after a month of speculation, during which time he and Arsenal defeated Villarreal in the Champions League semi-final. One of the main reasons Pires gave for leaving Arsenal was that he felt he was no longer a first choice under manager
Arsène Wenger. Pires was quoted as saying: "I have to say I have had some disappointments this season. For instance, I was on the bench very often". Pires additionally suggested that Wenger's decision to withdraw him in the
UEFA Champions League final showed he had slipped in the eyes of his French boss. Pires said that he felt hurt by how Wenger did not trust him anymore, which was a major factor that convinced him that it was time to move on from Arsenal. On the official Arsenal matchday program for the game against
Wigan Athletic on 11 February 2007, Pires revealed his heartbreak of being substituted so early on during the Champions League final. Pires stated: "I was very disappointed. When I saw my number on the fourth official's board to be substituted, I couldn't believe it. It was my last game after six years at the club, a Champions League Final in front of all my family in Paris where I became World Cup champion and it lasted just 12 minutes. That was very hard to take". On 11 July 2008, Arsenal fans voted Pires as the club's sixth greatest player of all time.
Villarreal In May 2006, Pires agreed to join Spanish side
Villarreal on a two-year contract. He joined on a free transfer, subject to passing a medical, bringing to an end his six-year career as an Arsenal player. After Villarreal were eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2006 Champions League by Arsenal, Villarreal coach
Manuel Pellegrini had wanted to sign Arsenal's Pires or Thierry Henry. He scored his first goal for the club in 3–3 pre-season draw with
Newcastle United on 5 August 2006. However, on 18 August 2006, Pires damaged the
cruciate ligament in his left knee in a friendly match against
Cádiz and required corrective surgery to alleviate the problem, which kept him out of action for seven months in his new club in Spanish top flight. Pires finally recovered from knee injury and made his first league appearance for Villarreal as a second-half substitute when he was named in Villarreal's squad to face
Real Sociedad on 17 March 2007. Pires scored his first league goal on his return from injury in a 3–3 draw away to
Real Betis on 31 March 2007. After three appearances as a substitute, Pires made his first start for Villarreal on 22 April 2007 against
Barcelona. He opened the scoring for his team to defeat league leaders Barcelona 2–0, avenging his premature departure against Barcelona in the
Champions League Final the previous May. On 13 May 2007, in a 4–1 win at
Osasuna, Pires scored a seventh-minute opener as Villarreal continued their late-season push for a European spot. The run took Villarreal, at 11th spot without him in the side, to the brink of a
UEFA Cup place in barely six weeks. Villarreal ended the season in 5th spot wherein Pires played crucial roles in helping Villarreal with the late charge up winning each of their final eight games and an entry into the
UEFA Cup. The 2007–08 season was marked by the ongoing saga between
Juan Román Riquelme and the board of Villarreal. Despite this distraction, Pires' leadership qualities helped Villarreal to win six of their opening eight games. Against Barcelona at
El Madrigal, Pires' technique earned the Yellow Submarine two penalties which were duly converted by captain
Marcos Senna. Villarreal ended up finishing second in La Liga behind
Real Madrid, which was their best league finish in history, beating Barcelona into third place. In 2009, Pires faced former club Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Champions League, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute in the first leg and playing the full 90 minutes at the
Emirates. Villarreal were defeated 4–1 on aggregate, but Pires received a warm return from the Arsenal supporters, who sang his name throughout both legs. Pires was told in May 2010 that his contract would not be extended and he would have to look for a new club during the summer, as
Villarreal will be "changing their philosophy". In October 2010, it was reported that
Conference National club
Crawley Town intended to talk to Pires about joining them for some part of the season, but the player's spokesman said they were "not aware of any interest" from that club. On 16 November 2010,
Aston Villa boss
Gérard Houllier had been in talks with representatives of Pires. On 18 November, the 37-year-old midfielder completed his move to Aston Villa on a six-month contract. He made his Villa début in the
Premier League on 21 November as a second-half substitute, although his new club were beaten 2–0 by
Blackburn Rovers. Pires' arrival at the club was praised by many of Villa's senior players, including
Gabriel Agbonlahor,
Stewart Downing Pires scored his first goal for Aston Villa in the 3–1 FA Cup win against
Blackburn Rovers on 29 January 2011. His next start was also against Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League on 26 February. His performance in Villa's 4–1 win was described by
Sky Sports as "his most influential" since joining the club. In early March, Pires announced that he would like to remain at Aston Villa for the 2011–12 season. Villa boss Gérard Houllier responded positively to this claim, but admitted that no decision would be made until the Summer of 2011. However, he was released by the club on 27 May 2011 after the 2010–11 season finished. In September 2011, Pires made a guest appearance for
Scottish Premier League side
Hibernian in Ian Murray's Testimonial match at
Easter Road.
Goa, India (retirement and coaching) In September 2013, Pires made a guest appearance for Premier League Aston Villa in Stiliyan Petrov's Testimonial match at Celtic Park. In July 2014, Pires announced a comeback to promote the launch of the
Indian Super League. On 2 September 2014, he was signed by
Goa, becoming their marquee signing. The 40-year-old came out of retirement to play for Goa, one of eight teams in the newly created league, and he captained the team. "For me the project and the passion for the game are very important. India needs a start. You need to progress. And for me, that was important. I had offers from the USA and Qatar but I wanted to be part of a new beginning for the sport in India. As for the conditions, we all know about them – but I'm ready and training hard. I like the pressure", he said. Pires is a regular at Arsenal's training ground, using the facilities to stay fit, and said that he spoke to
Arsène Wenger about playing in India: "He told me if you have it in you and if you have the passion to go play in India, then do it. And I think I'm ready." "The reception at the airport was amazing", he said, on his unveiling in India, before adding, "Thank you for the welcome India... and the spicy food." Pires made his league debut for Goa on 15 October 2014, a 2–1 defeat to
Chennaiyin. On 25 October 2014, he was given a two-match ban for insulting
Atlético de Kolkata's manager
Antonio López Habas. He scored his first league goal on 13 November 2014 in a 4–1 away win over
Delhi Dynamos. Pires was released by Goa on 13 March 2015. On 25 February 2016, Pires announced his retirement from professional football. Pires expressed interest in and was approached by Arsène Wenger with regard to coaching. Pires soon began working at Arsenal as an individual coach in 2016, though would depart in 2017. In November 2024, it was announced that Pires set to manage one of the 12 teams in the upcoming UK edition of
Baller League, a
six-a-side football league. Pires was the coach of N5 FC alongside former Arsenal teammates
Freddie Ljungberg and
Jens Lehmann for the league's first season. ==International career==