Hatem Ben Arfa (Arabic: حاتم بن عرفة‎; born 7 March 1987) is a French footballer who plays for English club Newcastle United in the Premier League. He plays as a winger and an attacking midfielder. Ben Arfa has been described as "one of the best-rated talents in France", but has been criticized by the media and players alike for lacking discipline.

Ben Arfa started his career throughout various clubs in the Île-de-France region, having trained at AC Boulogne-Billancourt and Versailles. In 1999, he was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy. Ben Arfa spent three years at the academy and, upon leaving, signed with Lyon, where he won four Ligue 1 titles. In his early career at Lyon, he played as a centre forward, but moved into a winger role during the 2007–08 season. In the summer of 2008, Ben Arfa signed with rivals Marseille for €11 million through a move which required the intervention of the Ligue de Football Professionnel. With Marseille, he won the 2009–10 league title, his fifth overall, as well as the Coupe de la Ligue in 2010. After two years at Marseille, Ben Arfa joined English club Newcastle United on loan for the 2010–11 season with a view to a permanent deal. In January 2011, the loan deal was made permanent.

Vassiriki Abou Diaby (French pronunciation: [abu djabi]; born 11 May 1986), commonly known as Abou Diaby, is a French footballer who plays for English club Arsenal in the Premier League and the France national team. He primarily plays as a box-to-box central midfielder, as he is adept in both attack and defence, and is described as a player who is "languid, elusive, and athletic" that can either "dribble past opponents or slip passes to team-mates". Of Ivorian descent, Diaby also possesses "superb touch" and "excellent close control", however on the negative front, he often struggles with repetitive injuries, a common inconsistency that has existed since his time in France. His physical appearance and positional preference have evoked comparisons to Arsenal legend and compatriot Patrick Vieira.

Diaby was born in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, but was raised in the Parisian commune of Aubervilliers. He began his football career playing for hometown club CM Aubervilliers. In 1998, he joined Red Star Paris. A year later, Diaby was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy. He spent four years at the academy while simultaneously training with Red Star. A year before departing Clairefontaine, Diaby moved to professional club Paris Saint-Germain. Following an administrative error by club officials which made Diaby a free agent, he joined the academy of Auxerre. He spent two years in the club's youth academy before making his professional debut in the 2004–05 season. Diaby also played in the UEFA Cup with the club. After spending the fall portion of the 2005–06 season with Auxerre, in January 2006, Diaby signed with English club Arsenal on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut with the club that same month and scored his first goal three months later against Aston Villa. Since joining Arsenal, Diaby has struggled with injuries, which included suffering a severe ankle fracture five months after joining the club.

Lionel Andrés Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi], born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays in La Liga for FC Barcelona and is the captain of the Argentina national team, mainly as a forward.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year in 2009 he won both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 and 2011. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. Messi is the fourth football player to win three Ballons d'Or, after Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten and the second player to win three consecutive Ballons d'Or, after Michel Platini. His playing style and small stature have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi as his "successor".

Messi has won five La Liga titles and three Champions League titles. In 2012, Messi made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, in a 7–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen. With two goals in the next round against A.C. Milan, he matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single UEFA Champions League/European Cup season. He also became the first player to top-score in four successive European Champion Clubs' Cup campaigns. He set the world record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals.

Nigel de Jong (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnɑjdʒəl də ˈjɔŋ]) (born 30 November 1984) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Manchester City and the Netherlands national football team. He joined the Ajax youth academy as a youngster and worked his way through the ranks to make the first team at age 17. Two years later, he made his international debut and won a 2010 World Cup runner-up medal.

De Jong moved on from Ajax in 2006 to join Hamburg in search of first team football and then moved to Manchester City in January 2009 for an estimated £18 million and has since become an important part of City's holding midfield. A tireless grafter, he has garnered a reputation of being a combative and feisty player in his performances, a reputation that has earned him nicknames such as "The Terrier" and "Lawnmower".

On 19 October 2002, de Jong made his debut for the Ajax first team. He scored his first goal of his senior career on 18 February 2003 in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal in the Champions League. He became a first team regular the following season, in which Ajax won the Eredivisie title. In 2004–05, his last full season in Amsterdam, de Jong was named Ajax Player of the Season. After a period when he appeared regularly in midfield and defence, he found himself sitting on the bench more often than being in the starting line-up. On 7 December 2005, it was announced that de Jong did not wish to extend his contract with Ajax, which was due to end in July 2006.