Josuha Jérémy Akoi Fara Guilavogui (born 19 September 1990) 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

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Early life

Guilavogui was born in

Ollioules Ollioules (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. It is a western suburb of Toulon. Population ...

, Var, France, to Guinean parents.

Club career

Saint-Étienne

Guilavogui played for

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

from 2005 after joining the

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...

-based club from his local club

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

. He was promoted to the senior squad following the firing of

Laurent Roussey Laurent Roussey (born 27 December 1961) is a French football manager and former player, who played as a striker. He was most recently manager of Lyon-Duchère. Career On 22 October 2013, Roussey joined FC Sion as manager for the third time. ...

and the hiring of new manager

Christophe Galtier Christophe Galtier (; born 23 August 1966) is a French professional football manager and former player who recently was the head coach of Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail. A defender, Galtier spent many of his 15 years as a player at Marseille ...

, who was looking to reshuffle Saint-Étienne's defence and fill the squad, which was hit with injuries. Guilavogui made his professional debut on 3 January 2009 coming on as a late substitute in Saint-Étienne's 1–0 victory over

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

in the

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 ...

Atlético Madrid

On 2 September 2013, it was reported that Guilavogui had passed a medical with

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 ...

outfit

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 signed a five-year contract in a deal worth €10 million. On 31 January 2014 Guilavogui was loaned back 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 ...

side Saint-Étienne until the end of the season.

VfL Wolfsburg

On 8 August 2014,

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

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

signed Guilavogui on a two-year loan deal from Atlético Madrid with an option of a permanent transfer included in the deal. The club exercised their option to buy on 18 May 2016 and signed Guilavogui permanently on a three-year deal for a fee of €3m. On 30 May 2015, Guilavogui came off the bench as Wolfsburg won the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

for the first time, defeating

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

3–1 at the Olympiastadion in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Loan to Bordeaux

On 30 January 2022, Guilavogui signed for Ligue 1 club

on loan until the end of the season. The deal included a buy option.

Mainz 05

On 25 September 2023, Guilavogui signed for Bundesliga club 1. FSV Mainz 05, where he made 12 appearances. He left the club at the end of the season.

Leeds United

On 23 October 2024, Guilavogui joined

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on a contract until the end of the 2024–25 season. He made his Leeds debut on 2 November 2024 in the 3-0

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

win against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

, as a second half substitute. He left the club when his contract expired at the end of the season.

International career

Born in France, Guilavogui is of Guinean descent. He has played for 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 ...

Personal life

He is the brother of the Guinean international footballer Morgan Guilavogui.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Saint-Étienne *

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 ...

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 ...

VfL Wolfsburg *

: 2014–15 *

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 ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Leeds United *

: 2024–25

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guilavogui, Josuha 1990 births Living people People from Ollioules Footballers from Var (department) French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders AS Saint-Étienne players Atlético Madrid footballers VfL Wolfsburg players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Leeds United F.C. players Ligue 1 players La Liga players Bundesliga players English Football League players France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in England Black French sportspeople French sportspeople of Guinean descent 21st-century French sportsmen