How to Say "Midfielder" in French

milieu de terrain

/mi.ljø də tɛ.ʁɛ̃/

The French word for midfielder is milieu de terrain.

For comparison, a defender is a défenseur and a goalkeeper is a gardien de but.

Meaning: player (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of milieu (middle) and de terrain (of field).

When making this phrase plural, only the word milieu changes by adding an 'x' to become milieux de terrain.

/mi.ljø də tɛ.ʁɛ̃/

In French slang, le milieu can specifically refer to the organized crime underworld.
A defensive midfielder is called a milieu défensif, but a player who pivots the game is often called a sentinelle meaning 'sentry'.
The word milieu is used beyond sports to describe a person's social circle or professional environment, such as 'le milieu artistique'.

Le club a dépensé 100 millions d'euros pour le meilleur milieu de terrain du monde.
The club spent 100 million euros on the world's best midfielder.
This sentence is useful for seeing how to use milieu de terrain when discussing a player's value.
Tatoeba #13927802 by Ioan_Cristian, translation #13927800 by Ioan_Cristian
Lionel Messi est un milieu de terrain incroyable .
Lionel Messi is an incredible midfielder.
L'équipe a besoin d'un bon milieu central .
The team needs a good central midfielder.
J'adore regarder les milieux jouer .
I love watching midfielders play.
C'est un milieu de terrain très rapide.
He is a very fast midfielder.
Nous avons besoin d'un nouveau milieu de terrain.
We need a new midfielder.

Gabriel and Chloé are watching a football match on TV.

Sources

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