Alphonse Areola (RC Lens)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alphonse Francis Areola (; born 27 February 1993) is a French 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
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
for club
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
and the
France national team France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. An academy graduate of PSG, he spent the early parts of his career on loan, enjoying spells with
Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
,
Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...
, and
Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...
. During his stint with Villarreal, Areola broke the club record for the longest period of play without conceding a goal, remaining unbeaten for a period of 620 minutes. He returned to PSG in 2016, where he went on to make over 100 appearances. In 2019, Areola joined
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
on a season-long loan. In 2020, he joined
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
on loan; he followed up with another loan to West Ham United in 2021. In June 2022, Areola joined West Ham for a fee in the region of €12 million. Areola has represented France at every youth level and was part of the squads that won the
2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...
and the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...
.


Club career


Paris Saint-Germain


Early life and career

Alphonse Francis Areola born on 27 February 1993 in Paris, France, to Cleto and Heidi, who immigrated to France from the Philippines in the late 1980s. He began playing football at the age of six for Entente Sportive des Petits Anges and spent seven years at his local club before signing for
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 ...
side
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
(PSG). When Areola was 13, and upon the advice of coaches in Paris, he enrolled at the
INF Clairefontaine The INF Clairefontaine (), known as INF or simply Clairefontaine, is the national football centre that specialises in training French football players. The INF Clairefontaine is a section of the CNF Clairefontaine. The academy is one of sixtee ...
football centre to further his development. He returned to PSG in 2009 and signed his first professional contract with the Parisians in July 2009, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal. On 18 May 2013, having progressed through the club's academy, Areola made his senior debut for PSG, replacing first-choice goalkeeper
Salvatore Sirigu Salvatore Sirigu (, ; born 12 January 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Palermo. Sirigu began his career with Venezia and then Palermo. In 2011, he moved to French side Paris Saint-Germain. Twice v ...
in the 48th minute of a 3–1 home win over Brest. PSG had been crowned Ligue 1 champions prior to the match and their opponents were already relegated. He made his first start for the club the following weekend in a 3–1 win over
Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...
, playing 61 minutes in what was the final match of the season before being
substituted Substitution may refer to: Arts and media *Substitution (poetry), a variation in poetic scansion *Substitution (theatre), an acting methodology Music *Chord substitution, swapping one chord for a related one within a chord progression *Tritone ...
for fourth-choice keeper
Ronan Le Crom Ronan Le Crom (born 13 July 1974) is a French former professional football goalkeeper. Career Le Crom began his career at AJ Auxerre, joining the senior squad in 1991. He played only three matches for the club, one in each of his final three se ...
, who was sent off later in the match for a foul on Julien Quercia.


2013–16: Loans to Lens, Bastia and Villarreal

On 23 July 2013 he was loaned to
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...
side
Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
, who were managed by former PSG
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
Antoine Kombouaré Antoine Krilone Kombouaré (; born 16 November 1963) is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Nantes. Playing career Born in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, Komboua ...
, for the
2013–14 Ligue 1 The 2013–14 Ligue 1 was the 76th season since its establishment. The season began on 9 August 2013 and ended on 17 May 2014. Paris Saint-Germain were the defending champions. As in the previous years, Adidas provided the official ball for all ...
season. Areola immediately displaced Rudy Riou as the club's starting keeper and made 36 appearances for the campaign, included in which was his
Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...
debut. He also helped the club to a second-place finish in the league, thereby earning promotion to Ligue 1. Areola's performances throughout the course of the season earned him the Ligue 2 Goalkeeper of the Year award and a spot in the Team of the Season. He was also awarded the
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
Revelation of the Year award, beating the likes of
N'Golo Kante N'golo (anglicized as Engolo) is a traditional Bantu peoples, Bantu Martial arts, martial art and game from Angola, that combines elements of combat and dance, performed in a Roda (formation), circle accompanied by music and singing. It is known ...
and Gaëtan Bussmann. A verbal agreement was in place for Areola to remain with ''Sang et Or'' on loan for the following season but the club's financial position raised concerns with the League's National Directorate of Management Control and ultimately put paid to the possibility of him returning. Areola would get a chance in Ligue 1, however, as
Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He last managed Super League Greece club Astera ...
's
Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...
stepped in to sign him on loan for the
2014–15 Ligue 1 The 2014–15 Ligue 1 season was the 77th season since its establishment. Paris Saint-Germain were the two-time defending champions and successfully defended their title. Teams There were 20 clubs in the league, with three promoted teams from L ...
campaign, with the deal being completed on 26 July 2014. Signed as the replacement for the retired
Mickaël Landreau Mickaël Vincent André-Marie Landreau (; born 14 May 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Landreau hold ...
, he made his debut for the club on 9 August in a 3–3 draw with
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 ...
. Areola ultimately made 39 appearances across all competitions for the club, keeping 13
clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...
s as Bastia ended the Ligue 1 season in 12th place and as runners-up in the
Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...
. The
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
, which took place on 11 April, was contested between Bastia and Areola's parent club PSG, with the match ending 4–0 in favour of the Parisians. On 17 June 2015,
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
side
Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...
announced the signing of Areola on season-long loan as a replacement for regular keeper Sergio Asenjo who had suffered a long-term injury the season before. He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the season in a 1–1 draw with
Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...
. At Villarreal, Areola enhanced his burgeoning reputation by keeping 15 clean sheets in 37 matches and conceding only 26 goals as the club ended the season in fourth place in La Liga. His clean-sheet tally for the league season was bettered by only two goalkeepers,
Jan Oblak Jan Oblak (born 7 January 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Atlético Madrid and captains the Slovenia national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Oblak signed ...
of
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
, and
Claudio Bravo Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz (; born 13 April 1983) is a Chilean former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Bravo began his career with Colo-Colo and moved to Real Socied ...
of
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. Areola also broke the club record of 615 minutes of football played without conceding a goal which was previously held by Diego López, ultimately going 620 minutes unbeaten before conceding against
Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...
. Outside of domestic football, the Frenchman featured in the
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
for the first time in his career, making five appearances as ''El Submarino Amarillo'' reached the semi-finals where they lost to eventual runners-up,
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
.


2016–2019: Return to PSG

Following his successful stint in Spain, Areola returned to PSG for the
2016–17 Ligue 1 The 2016–17 Ligue 1 season was the 79th season since its establishment. Paris Saint-Germain were the defending champions. The fixtures were announced on 1 June 2016. The season began on 12 August 2016 and ended on 20 May 2017. On 17 May 2017, ...
season. He began the campaign as understudy to German keeper
Kevin Trapp Kevin Christian Trapp (; born 8 July 1990) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Eintracht Frankfurt, whom he Captain (association football), captains, an ...
, who had signed the season before, and was in PSG's match-day squad for their 4–1
Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...
victory over
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
. He made his first appearance following his return on 13 September in a 1–1 Champions League draw with
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, in what was also his debut in the competition. Following the match against Arsenal, Areola established himself as PSG's first-choice goalkeeper and had kept four clean sheets in eight appearances by mid-October. However, he suffered a downturn in form soon after and ultimately relinquished his place to Trapp after a string of matches in December in which he conceded 10 goals from just 11 shots faced. In April the following year, he was an unused substitute as PSG beat
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
4–1 to claim a record fourth straight Coupe de la Ligue title but started in a 1–0 win over Angers which saw PSG lift the Coupe de France title the following month. The following season, on 29 July 2017, Areola earned his second Trophée des Champions medal when he started in a 2–1 win over
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
which saw PSG claim their fifth consecutive title. He continued the season as PSG's undisputed goalkeeper in the league and Europe, with Trapp favoured in cup competitions, and was a regular feature in the club's record-breaking progression through the group stages of the Champions League. With Areola in goal, PSG conceded just once in their opening five matches and scored 24 goals, the most ever by a club in the group stages of the competition. On 31 March 2018, in a repeat of the previous seasons's final, Areola was an unused substitute as PSG retained the Coupe de la Ligue title with a 3–0 win over Monaco. The following month, on 15 April, he started in goal as PSG again defeated Monaco, who were the reigning league champions, 7–1 to claim the Ligue 1 title. The club completed a domestic treble on 8 May when they defeated third division side
Les Herbiers Les Herbiers () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region, western France. Population Sport Les Herbiers is host to the Chrono des Nations, an annual one-day individual time trial bicycle race, held in October. Le ...
to lift the Coupe de France trophy for a record fourth consecutive season; though Areola was an unused substitute in the final. Areola was relegated to a rotational role during the following season after the club signed veteran goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is ...
from
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
. He made his 100th PSG appearance on 21 April 2019 during a 3–1 win over Monaco, on the same day that the club secured its eighth league title.


2019–2021: Loans to Real Madrid and Fulham

On 2 September 2019, Areola returned to Spain when he joined
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
on a season-long loan as part of a deal that saw
Keylor Navas Keilor Antonio "Keylor" Navas Gamboa (; born 15 December 1986) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Argentine Primera División club Newell's Old Boys and the Costa Rica national team. He is regarded as one o ...
move in the opposite direction to PSG. He made his debut for the club on 25 September, starting in a 2–0 league win over
Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...
. However, he was predominantly used as a back-up option to first-choice goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois (; ; born 11 May 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Belgium national team. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is known ...
for the remainder of the campaign and made just nine appearances across all competitions, including four appearances during the league season, as Real won the
2019–20 La Liga The 2019–20 La Liga season, also known as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, was the 89th since its establishment. The season began on 16 August 2019 and was originally scheduled to conclude on 24 May 2020. Barcelona were the two-time ...
title. On 9 September 2020, Areola signed for
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
on a season-long loan with an option to buy. He made his debut for the club one week later in a 1–0 win against
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...
in the
EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
. At the end of the season, Fulham suffered relegation from the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
, and Areola's option to buy was not exercised by the London club. However, he did win Fulham Player of the Season, as voted by the supporters.


West Ham United

On 29 July 2021,
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
announced the signing of Areola on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy. On 22 September, he made his debut, in a 1–0 win against
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
in the
EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
. He made 11 appearances in the
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
conceding eight goals with five clean sheets as West Ham made the semi-finals of the 2021–22 Europa League. He also played one game in the Premier League and appeared in the FA Cup and League Cup. Areola completed his permanent transfer to West Ham United on 27 June 2022, signing a five-year contract with an option for a further year. The transfer fee paid to PSG was reportedly in the region of €12 million. On 7 June 2023, Areola played in the
2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final The 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final was the final match of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League, the second season of Europe's tertiary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA. The match was played at the F ...
against
Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...
in Prague. West Ham won their first trophy in 43 years with a 2–1 victory.


International career

Areola has played for France at all youth levels.


Youth

Areola represented France at every youth level from U16 to U21 between 2008 and 2014. He was the hero for
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final. Having ended goalless after
extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
, the match went to a penalty shoot out where Areola saved spot-kicks from
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
's
Emiliano Velázquez Emiliano Daniel Velázquez Maldonado (born 30 April 1994) is an Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Nacional. Club career Danubio Born in Montevideo, Velázquez graduated from local Danubio F.C.'s youth system ...
and Giorgian De Arrascaeta to lead his nation to their first ever triumph in the tournament. He had previously featured for France at the
2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the ninth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship, held in Liechtenstein from 18 to 30 May 2010. The hosts decided not to field a team, fearing it would not be competitive enough ...
and the
2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 61st edition of UEFA's UEFA European Under-19 Championship, European Under-19 Championship (the eleventh since the age competition change to an Under-19 level) and took place in Estonia from 3 ...
's, and subsequently at the
2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 20th edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international association football, football competition for men's under-21 national teams organised by UEFA. The final tourn ...
.


Senior

On 1 October 2015, Areola received his first call-up to the senior team by manager
Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been managing the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, Engl ...
for friendlies against
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
and
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
as part of the French team's build-up to hosting
UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...
. He failed to make the tournament squad, but would be called up on three occasions for friendlies and World Cup qualifiers in September through to November 2016, although he was forced to withdraw from the latter squad after spraining his ankle. On 17 May 2018, he was named in Deschamps' 23-man squad for the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...
in Russia. There he served as the third goalkeeper behind
Hugo Lloris Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Lloris began his career wi ...
and
Steve Mandanda Steve Mandanda Mpidi (; born 28 March 1985) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais FC, Rennes. A product of the Le Havre AC, Le Havre academ ...
as France went on to lift the title. In doing so, he became the first player since Argentina's
Héctor Zelada Héctor Miguel Zelada Bertoqui (born 30 April 1957) is a former Argentine football goalkeeper. He started his career at Rosario Central but he played mostly in Mexico, for Club América. He was the third-choice goalkeeper for the Argentina side ...
in 1986 to lift the World Cup trophy despite being uncapped for his country at the time. Later that year, and due to a thigh injury sustained by Lloris, Areola was designated as France's starting goalkeeper for the nation's opening
UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...
match against
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
on 6 September. He kept a clean sheet on his senior international debut and was named
man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
in the encounter which ended in a goalless draw. In May 2024, he was named in France's squad for
Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by U ...
.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Paris Saint-Germain *
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 ...
:
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 *
Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...
: 2016–17, 2017–18; runner-up: 2018–19 *
Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...
: 2016–17, 2017–18 *
Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...
:
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
,
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
,
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
Bastia *
Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...
runner-up: 2014–15 Real Madrid *
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
: 2019–20 *
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...
:
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
West Ham United *
UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...
:
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
France U20 *
FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...
:
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
France *
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
:
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
; runner-up:
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
Individual *
UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...
Team of the Tournament:
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
* Ligue 2 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2013–14 * Ligue 2 Team of the Season: 2013–14 *
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
Revelation of the Year: 2014 *
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
Breakthrough XI: 2016 *
Premier League Save of the Month The Premier League Save of the Month is an association football award that recognises the goalkeeper deemed to have made the best Premier League save in each month of the season from August to April. For sponsorship purposes, it was called the C ...
: October 2023 *
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
Player of the Season:
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
*UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season:
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
Orders *
Knight of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
: 2018


References


External links


Profile
at the West Ham United F.C. website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Areola, Alphonse 1993 births Living people Footballers from Paris French men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers INF Clairefontaine players Paris Saint-Germain FC players RC Lens players SC Bastia players Villarreal CF players Real Madrid CF players Fulham F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players La Liga players Premier League players France men's youth international footballers France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2024 players UEFA Conference League–winning players FIFA World Cup–winning players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Knights of the Legion of Honour Association football people awarded knighthoods French people of Filipino descent 21st-century French sportsmen