Where is Francis Benali now?
Legendary Southampton defender Francis Benali retired from playing professionally in 2004 after spending 17 years at the club.
Starting his Saints career in 1988 he went onto make 389 first team appearances for the club scoring just the one goal in 1997 and was a member of the 2003 squad which lost the FA Cup Final to Arsenal.
Upon retiring from playing Benali went into coaching and stayed on at Southampton where he managed their academy under-12s team before moving to non-league side for a two-year spell at Romsey Town as a youth and reserves team coach.
He also headed up former team-mate Matt Le Tissier’s football academy from 2012 to 2019.
Away from football Benali has pursued a number of business interests including a property development company, a Bangladeshi restaurant and a football management company
He also been heavily involved with charity work and was the first recipient of the Barclays Spirit of the Game Award after he ran 1,000 miles and visited all 20 Premier League grounds for charity in 2014.
In October 2016, Benali raised thousands of pounds for Cancer Research by running and cycling to every Premier League and Championship stadium in two weeks.
In recognition of his efforts, not only for charity but also as a player and coach, he was given the freedom of the city of Southampton.
Benali also undertakes a lot of motivational and public speaking as well as working as a football pundit, predominantly on Southampton games for the likes of talkSPORT and Sky Sports News,
In November 2019 He was appointed as a club ambassador at former club Southampton which will see him represent the Saints in a commercial and PR capacity.
Follow on Twitter @FrannyBenali
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Francis Benali: Premier League Statistics
| Nationality | English |
| Position | Defender |
| Appearances | 243 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Yellow Cards | 41 |
| Red Cards | 5 |
| Premier League Teams Played for | Southampton |
Statistics courtesy of www.premierleague.com
Last Updated on 24 May 2021 by Admin