Early career Vieira first played for Tours U19 in the early 1990s, before moving to
Cannes, where he made his debut at the age of 17, in 1993, and captained the team at just 19 years old. In the summer of 1995, he was signed by Italian
Serie A club
AC Milan, although he made just five first-team appearances for the club.
Arsenal First season (1996–97) On 10 August 1996, the
Daily Mirror reported that Vieira was subject to a move to English club
Arsenal, given personal terms with original suitors
Ajax were not reached. He joined Arsenal four days later in a £3.5 million move. The peculiarity of Vieira and fellow Frenchman
Rémi Garde arriving at the club, coupled with manager
Bruce Rioch's dismissal before the season had begun, suggested that Arsenal was managed by exterior influence. Wenger was officially in command of managerial affairs at Arsenal by the start of October, but Vieira had already made his mark, coming on as a substitute against
Sheffield Wednesday on 16 September 1996;
The Times described him as a "thinking man's
Carlton Palmer … who, at last, gives the Arsenal midfield some variety." Vieira made his full debut against
Middlesbrough at the
Riverside Stadium, three days after. He scored his first goal for the club against
Derby County on 8 December 1996 – a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw. His performances for Arsenal in the subsequent months made him a fans' favourite and was lauded as "the playmaker Arsenal have sought since
Paul Davis pulled the strings in the 1991 championship-winning team". Davis himself noted that in the matches Vieira was suspended during the Christmas period, Arsenal struggled to win.
Two "doubles" (1997–2002) Vieira's partnership with international teammate
Emmanuel Petit the following season was instrumental in helping Arsenal complete a domestic league and cup double. Vieira scored his first goal of the campaign against
Manchester United in a 3–2 victory on 9 November 1997. Vieira twisted his knee during the match, and was ruled out from playing for a month. He returned for the trip at
Wimbledon on 22 December 1997, which was postponed due to floodlight problems. In a game against
Coventry City on 17 January 1998, Vieira received his first
red card for using "foul and abusive language" at referee
Stephen Lodge. Vieira was again dismissed a month later, this time in a
League Cup semi-final against
Chelsea, a decision which Wenger described as "absolutely ridiculous". Towards the finishing straight of the campaign, Vieira helped Arsenal make ground on league leaders Manchester United and his card record had improved, "with only one booking in the latter stages of the season". After a successful World Cup campaign with the national team, Vieira had another productive season at Arsenal in
1998–99. Although Arsenal failed to retain the Premier League, Vieira's endeavour was rewarded – he was named in the
PFA Team of the Year alongside Petit. Against
West Ham United on 2 October 1999, Vieira was sent off for a second booking, after fouling striker
Paolo Di Canio. Moments after, he spat at
Neil Ruddock, who walked into him and was dragged off the pitch by officials. Vieira was subsequently charged, banned for six matches and fined a record £45,000 by
The Football Association. The season ended in disappointment for both Vieira and Arsenal, as the team finished 18 points behind champions Manchester United, in second place. Arsenal reached the
2000 UEFA Cup Final, in which Vieira played. But the team lost the match on penalties against
Galatasaray; Vieira's spot kick hit the post. Disciplinary problems continued to beset Vieira in the
2000–01 season. He was sent off on the opening day against
Sunderland, and for the second time in 72 hours at home to
Liverpool. Vieira scored two goals, the following match against
Charlton Athletic, in what was his final appearance before a five-match suspension. It was feared that Vieira was prepared to turn his back on English football, as he felt victimised – Wenger, several Arsenal players and fans supported him publicly. After the ban, Vieira himself expressed his desire to remain at Arsenal but noted he could never alter his style of play "because, basically, I don't want to change. I really enjoy English football and the life in England. I am happy here." After a group stage match against
Lazio in October 2000, Vieira claimed he was the target of racial abuse from
Siniša Mihajlović, which
UEFA subsequently launched an investigation into. Mihajlović later admitted he made reference to Vieira's ethnicity, but added that he was provoked. The player was then handed a two-match ban for "unsporting actions". Given Arsenal that finished behind Manchester United in the league for a third consecutive season, Vieira was reluctant to commit himself to the club, and described the season, up until April 2001, as "average". Despite how mature his performances had become since Petit left, he criticised Arsenal's decision to sell him and
Marc Overmars to
Barcelona: "Of course it was good business but it was a big disappointment for me. If we still had the same team now and put Overmars and Petit in it, we would be even better and stronger. It's not that I miss Petit – the team needs him." In the summer period, Vieira disparaged Arsenal's transfer activity and was adamant the club would not finish "in the top five in the league – and forget the Champions League," saying about his future: "As far as I'm concerned, the matter is resolved. I am leaving Arsenal and I have made that perfectly clear." The club refused to respond to his comments, but vice-chairman
David Dein was privately irked at Vieira's agent,
Marc Roger, for letting the situation become unsettling. Wenger attributed the saga at the hands of Manchester United: "[They] made an approach to Patrick without contacting us, and that does not really respect the rules." Vieira turned up for pre-season training in July 2001 as normal, and was later named the club vice-captain, to ensure he would succeed
Tony Adams as captain. Success finally came for Vieira in the
2001–02 season; Arsenal regained the league and beat Chelsea in the
2002 FA Cup Final to complete a second double.
Captaincy and "Invincibles" (2002–04) Adams' retirement in May 2002 meant Vieira became club captain. He described the feeling as "daunting", but it was something he looked forward to: "Taking the responsibility on my shoulders is something I relish. It will make me a better, more mature footballer and a more mature person as well." Against Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge in September 2002, Vieira was sent off for a late tackle on
Gianfranco Zola; Arsenal's persistence nevertheless earnt them a point. In an interview with ''
L'Équipe'' soon after, Vieira spoke of his desire to rest, as he felt "burned out": "I can hardly stand. My back aches, my legs hurt, it hurts all over. I'm going to see Arsène. He must give me time off to relax." He featured in 66 games the previous campaign for Arsenal, but Wenger rejected the player's need for special treatment: "I looked at the statistics for Tuesday's game and, physically, Patrick was outstanding. He pushed himself very hard and that explains why he was so tired." Two months later, he was lauded by
The Guardian correspondent David Lacey for his show against
Newcastle United: "the Arsenal captain dominated the afternoon with a demonstration of tackling, control, awareness and movement that was exceptional even by his standards." Vieira sustained a groin injury against
Valencia in December 2002, returning on Boxing Day to face
West Bromwich Albion. In May 2003, Vieira was fined £2,300 by UEFA, having criticised the organisation for not doing enough on racism, as Vieira had been subjected to racist abuse against Valencia. Vieira missed Arsenal's title run-in, which saw Manchester United overtake them in first place, due to sustaining a knee injury. Vieira was also ruled out of the
2003 FA Cup Final, which Arsenal won. In spite of growing interest to sign Vieira, not least from Manchester United,
Real Madrid and Chelsea in summer 2003, he agreed to stay at Arsenal and signed a deal that ran until 2007. The
2003–04 season was a successful one for Arsenal, as they reclaimed the league title and became the first English team in more than a century to go through the entire league season unbeaten. Vieira endured a troubling start to the campaign, as he was sent off against Manchester United in September 2003, banned for one match, and later fined £20,000 "for improper conduct in failing to leave the field of play following his sending-off". He went off with a thigh strain during the match against Newcastle United, which commenced a period of being in and out of the side for two months. He scored his first goal of the season against Chelsea on 21 February 2004; Arsenal afterwards opened up a seven-point gap at the top of the league. Two months later, Vieira scored the opening goal away to
Tottenham Hotspur, in what ended a 2–2 draw – enough for Arsenal to regain the title. Against
Leicester City in the final league match of the campaign, with the score tied at 1–1,
Dennis Bergkamp set up Vieira with a pass, to which he rounded the goalkeeper and scored. Arsenal ended the campaign as league champions
without a single defeat – a record of 26 wins and twelve draws.
Final season (2004–05) The re-election of Real Madrid president
Florentino Pérez in July 2004 prompted him to declare the club's ambition to sign Vieira: "I must repeat that my policy is to try to sign the best player in the world in every position where we do not already have that. Patrick Vieira is, in my opinion, the best in the world in his position." Vieira's advisors met with officials from Real Madrid, before it was speculated a bid of £18 million had been put on the table. Following an ultimatum set by Wenger, who was "likely" to make an offer for West Ham midfielder
Michael Carrick as his replacement, Vieira chose to stay at Arsenal. In a statement, he said: "I'm staying at the club. I'm proud to be captain of the club and I'm looking forward to achieving my ambitions." His second goal came in a fortnight at Liverpool, "lift[ing] a lazy, delicate finish away from
Chris Kirkland" after a one-touch move. Arsenal lost the match late on and Vieira, booked in the match, was suspended for the December clash against league leaders Chelsea; he scored the only goal for the team against Newcastle in the Christmas period. Vieira was involved in a tunnel bust up with Manchester United captain
Roy Keane in February 2005 and was confronted about an incident involving
Gary Neville. Arsenal fell to third as a result of losing 4–2 to United, but a twelve-game unbeaten run, culminating in a 7–0 home win against
Everton, meant they ended the season in second place. In the
2005 FA Cup Final, he scored the winning penalty in a
penalty shoot-out after a 0–0 draw with Manchester United, which proved to be his final kick of a ball for Arsenal. Vieira returned for the opening match of
Emirates Stadium, in a
testimonial for Bergkamp on 22 July 2006, as one of the Arsenal legends against Ajax.
Juventus In July 2005, representatives of Juventus met with Arsenal with a view to signing Vieira. The player, according to
The Guardian, accepted that Arsenal were "ready to let him go", before agreeing in principle to join Juventus. On 15 August, he signed a five-year contract, in a deal worth £13.75 million. Vieira was reunited with
Fabio Capello, who had signed him for Milan as a teenager. On 14 September, he was sent off against
Club Brugge, in Juventus' first match of the Champions League. Vieira scored his first goal for the club – a 37th-minute winner against
Udinese a week after – which contributed towards Juventus' impressive start to the season. Having picked up a groin injury through international duty for France, Vieira missed Juventus' Champions League match away to
Bayern Munich in October 2005. Despite his performances dipping as the result of a persistent groin injury, and a reported training ground bust-up with teammate
Zlatan Ibrahimović, Vieira helped Juventus retain the
Scudetto, which was later stripped. Vieira returned to Highbury on 28 March 2006 to play against Arsenal in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League. During that game, he was the subject of a strong tackle by former club and national teammate
Robert Pires. Vieira was left crestfallen as Pires regained possession and Arsenal attacked, scoring the first goal of the tie through
Cesc Fàbregas. Pires humorously quipped that it was the first time in 13 years he had got the better of Vieira physically. Vieira also received a
yellow card during that leg, which Arsenal won 2–0, and was suspended for the return leg on 5 April, which ended 0–0 and eliminated Juventus.
Inter Milan Juventus were stripped of their 2004–05 and 2005–06 titles, after it was revealed they were involved in the
Calciopoli scandal. Juventus were relegated to
Serie B and deducted 17 points by the
Italian Football Federation (FIGC) for their involvement, less than half of the €20 million fee Juventus had paid just twelve months prior. Vieira declared he wanted to continue to play at the highest level at the presentation conference, which is his reason to leave Juventus. On his Inter debut on 26 August, Vieira scored twice as the team won 4–3 against
Roma in the
Supercoppa Italiana at the
San Siro. He later won the 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09
Serie A titles; due to injury, he failed to become a regular starter.
Olivier Dacourt, initially a backup player, became manager
Roberto Mancini's first choice player in the 2006–07 season. After the club signed
Sulley Muntari and
Thiago Motta, Vieira became of lesser and lesser importance to the team. In response to extensive media speculation regarding a possible return by Vieira to his former club in 2009, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger admitted that he would contemplate re-signing Vieira. The move never happened, and Vieira remained at Inter. On 6 January 2010, Vieira was unusually included in the starting lineup against Chievo, which was his eighth league start of the season. Before the match commenced, Inter had lost
Esteban Cambiasso and Muntari due to injury, with
Dejan Stanković and Motta suspended.
José Mourinho stated that Vieira had played his last game at Inter after the match.
Manchester City On 8 January 2010, it was confirmed that Vieira was having a medical at
Manchester City, and he would sign a six-month deal, where he would link up with former Arsenal colleagues
Kolo Touré and
Sylvinho, as well as former Inter manager Roberto Mancini. The contract also included an option for a twelve-month extension. Mancini described Vieira as an excellent midfielder with a winner's mentality, and that he would fit into Manchester City's squad very well. He scored his first goal for the club against
Burnley in a 6–1 win on 3 April 2010. On 9 June, Vieira agreed to a one-year extension to his contract, which kept him at Eastlands until the summer of 2011. On 22 February 2011, Vieira scored the first two City goals in a 5–0 win in the FA Cup Fourth round replay against
Notts County, and was awarded Man of the Match honours. He scored in the Premier League on 3 April against
Sunderland, a minute after having come on as a substitute for
Adam Johnson in the 5–0 win. He made an added-time substitute appearance in place of
David Silva on 14 May, as Manchester City won the
2011 FA Cup Final with a 1–0 win over Stoke at
Wembley. On 14 July, he retired at the age of 35, immediately becoming a development executive at City. ==International career==