 He played five campaigns in La Liga with Valencia before joining Barcelona in 2014, where he won the treble in his first season.An international for France from 2011 to 2016, he was selected in the squad to represent France at UEFA Euro 2016 but dropped out with injury on 28 May, to be replaced by Samuel Umtiti.Born in Luxeuil-les-Bains, Haute-Saône, Mathieu started his career with the biggest club in his Franche-Comté region, FC Sochaux-Montbéliard.