Junior Castello Lukeba (born 17 December 2002) 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

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

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

and the France national team.

Club career

Lyon

Lukeba was born in

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 ...

. Having joined the Olympique Lyonnais Academy in 2011, Lukeba signed his first professional contract with the club on 1 July 2021. He made his professional debut for

on the 7 August 2021 as a starter against Brest on

2021–22 Ligue 1 The 2021–22 Ligue 1 season, also known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, was a French association football tournament within Ligue 1. It was the 84th season since its establishment. It began on 6 August 2021 and concluded on 21 May ...

opening round. He played full 90 minutes during the match but it eventually ended in a 1–1 draw. Lukeba made his European football debut on 25 November 2021 on a 3–1 against Brøndby in

2021–22 UEFA Europa League The 2021–22 UEFA Europa League was the 51st season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 13th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Rangers ...

group stage. He scored his first goal for the club on 22 December 2021 against

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

with a header, assisted by

Rayan Cherki Mathis Rayan Cherki (born 17 August 2003) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), winger for club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and the France nat ...

with a cross following a corner. In January 2022, he extended his contract until 2025.

RB Leipzig

On 11 August 2023, Lukeba moved to the

club

for a total reported fee of €34 million, signing a five-year contract. Lukeba repeatedly emphasised his excitement and eagerness to join RB Leipzig, saying "I was extremely keen on joining RB Leipzig and moving to the Bundesliga, so I’m really happy that the move is now complete. I’m excited by the training ground, the stadium, the city and, above all, the team with all the young players – I can’t wait to play football here." He made his debut for Leipzig on 19 August 2023 in a 3–2 loss against

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

, being substituted on for Nicolas Seiwald in the 62nd minute. He scored his first goal for RB Leipzig in a 2–2 draw against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

on 30 September 2023.

International career

Born in France, Lukeba is of Angolan descent. He decided to represent France at the international level and received his first call up in France U-21 in November 2021, where he joined his club mates Maxence Caqueret,

, and

Malo Gusto Malo Arthur Gusto (born 19 May 2003) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Chelsea and the France national team. Early life Malo Arthur Gusto, also known as "bad taste" in English, was born on 19 May 2003 in ...

. On 9 October 2023, Lukeba received his first call-up to the France national team for matches against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, replacing the injured

Axel Disasi Axel Wilson Arthur Disasi Mhakinis Belho (born 11 March 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Chelsea, and the France national team. Early life Axel Wilson Arthur Disasi Mhakinis Belho was born on 11 M ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

RB Leipzig *

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

France U23 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

silver medal:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Orders *

Knight of the National Order of Merit A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

: 2024

References

External links

Profile
at the RB Leipzig website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukeba, Castello 2002 births Living people Footballers from Lyon French men's footballers Men's association football defenders Olympique Lyonnais players RB Leipzig players Ligue 1 players Championnat National 2 players Bundesliga players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Germany France men's youth international footballers France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers Olympic footballers for France Footballers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic silver medalists for France Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Black French sportspeople French sportspeople of Angolan descent 21st-century French sportsmen