Jacques-Alaixys Romao (born 18 January 1984), commonly known as Alaixys Romao, is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki (, C National Division) is the Greek football league system, third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 1983 it was changed to professional. Although no ...

club Ionikos. Born in France, he represents

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

at international level.

Club career

Early career

Romao started his professional career with

Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club () is a French professional association football, football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France, French football. Toulouse plays it ...

, but only managed appearances for the B team in 2004–05 and was then transferred for free to Louhans-Cuiseaux in the

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

, the French third tier.

Grenoble

In the 2007–08 season, he was traded for free to

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

and his career took off. A solid and rugged defensive midfielder, Romao proved a valuable asset for Grenoble. His first season with the club saw him appear 30 times in Ligue 2 with 2 goals and 10 yellow cards topped with a promotion to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

. In 2008–09, he made 37 appearances, 32 of them as a starter in Ligue 1 and managed to avoid the drop. The next season, Romao made 29 appearances for Grenoble and 2 assists. However, Grenoble was not able to avoid the drop this time and was relegated.

Lorient

Romao was then signed by

FC Lorient Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (;), commonly referred to as FC Lorient (), is a French professional association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 2, having been relegated f ...

in July 2010 for a reported fee of 8,000.00 GBP. In the 2010–11 season, his first with FC Lorient, Romao made 33 appearances in Ligue 1 with a goal and 2 assists, 2 appearances in the Ligue Cup and 2 appearances in the French Cup competition with 1 goal. Romao made another 32 appearances as a starter in the 2011–12 season with a goal and an assist, but also with 11 yellow cards and 2 red cards.

Marseille

On 31 January 2013, Romao was signed by

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. According to

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

, the transfer fee paid to Lorient was €2 million and the duration of Romao's contract was 3.5 years. At the end of his contract in the summer of 2016, he was released by the club, having made 127 appearances in all competitions, scoring 4 goals.

Olympiacos

On 31 August 2016, Romao joined Greek club

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

, signing a two-year contract with the option of another year. At the end of the season, he helped the club to win the 7th consecutive

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

title. On 16 August 2017, he scored his first international goal with the club, as Olympiacos came from behind, in first half, to win 2–1 against

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Croatian First Football League, Supersport HNL, o ...

in added time for the 1st leg of UEFA Champions League play-offs. On 16 September 2017, he signed a new contract with the club, which would keep him at the club till the summer of 2020.

Reims

On 24 July 2018, Romao joined French club

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1931 and plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of football in France. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Auguste Delaune. Reims is one of the mo ...

, signing a two-year deal with the option of another year.

Guingamp

Following the expiration of his contract at Reims, Romao joined Guingamp on a free transfer.

Ionikos

On 30 June 2021, Romao signed a one-year contract with Greek club Ionikos as a free agent. No agreement could be found on the contours of an extension in Brittany.

Athens Kallithea

On 1 July 2023, Romao signed with Greek club

Athens Kallithea Athens Kallithea Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, a city and a suburb in Athens. The club currently competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system. The club has finishe ...

Return to Ionikos

In 2025, Romao returned to Ionikos, which now competed in the first division of the Piraeus FCA amateur championship. During that period, he was also called to the

National Team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

International career

The French-born player has featured for the French under-18 national team, but is a member of the Togolese national team since 2005, for which he was called up to the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

. In 2013 he played in all matches at

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the Association football, footbal ...

where his team reached the quarter-finals. In March 2019, Romao was called up for the first time since October 2017, being selected for the decisive

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

qualification match against

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Career statistics

International

Honours

; Olympiacos *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

: 2016–17

Ionikos

* Piraeus FCA first division group 1 championship: 2024-25

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Romao, Alaixys 1984 births Living people People from L'Haÿ-les-Roses Footballers from Val-de-Marne French sportspeople of Togolese descent Togolese people of French descent Men's association football midfielders Togolese men's footballers French men's footballers Togo men's international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players Togolese expatriate men's footballers Togolese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Greece Ligue 1 players Championnat National players Ligue 2 players Super League Greece players Louhans-Cuiseaux FC players Grenoble Foot 38 players FC Lorient players Olympique de Marseille players Olympiacos F.C. players Stade de Reims players En Avant Guingamp players Ionikos F.C. players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players 21st-century French sportsmen