Pierre Lees-Melou (born 25 May 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 an

attacking 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. ...

for club Brest.

Career

Dijon

Born in

Langon, Gironde Langon (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gironde Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Langon serves as the seat of its district, canton and subprefecture. Its inhabitants are called ''Langon ...

, Lees-Melou started his career with in the

Championnat de France Amateur 2 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

before sealing a move to

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

in 2015. He played 16 games (split equally between starts and substitute appearances) as they earned promotion from

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 ...

in his first season, while also playing in the fifth division with the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

. He scored his first two professional goals in April in wins over Clermont and

Paris FC Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: Help:IPA/French, aʁi futbol klœb, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris, France. They will compete in Ligue ...

, and assisted the opening goal against

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

that earned promotion on the final day. In 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, ...

, Lees-Melou scored 7 goals in 32 games as the team survived in 16th place. On 27 August, he came off the bench to score the final goal of a 4–2 comeback win at home to

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 ...

Nice

In June 2017, Lees-Melou signed a four-year deal with

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million 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 ...

, a 1–1 home draw with

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

. After being eliminated in the play-offs by

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

, the team competed in the

UEFA 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 ...

, and he played all but one game in a run to the last 32. In September 2020, having played over 100 games for Nice, Lees-Melou's contract was extended for one year. His four season-stay ended with 140 games and 18 goals.

Norwich City

On 13 July 2021, Lees-Melou signed a three-year deal with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

for a fee of under £6 million, ahead of the team's return to 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 ...

. He scored his first goal the following 10 April, opening a 2–0 home win over relegation rivals

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

; after the game, striker

Teemu Pukki Teemu Eino Antero Pukki (born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Veikkausliiga club HJK and the Finland national team. Pukki began his career with KTP and made his debut on senior level on 23 June ...

said that he would be crucial for the rest of the season.

Brest

On 23 July 2022, Lees-Melou signed for Ligue 1 side Brest on a three-year contract with an option for a further year. Norwich City received a reported €2.3 million transfer fee and a 10% sell-on clause. In November 2023, he extended his contract with Brest until June 2027. In February 2024, he was named Ligue 1 player of the month. A month later, he was invited by French national coach

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 the friendly matches in March; however, he declined the call-up, stating that "the step is too high." He was eventually named in the

Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to: * BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award * Canadian Press Team of the Year Award *GPA Gaelic Team of the Year * IRB International Sevens Team of the Year * IRB International Team of the Year * J.League Team of ...

for the 2023–24 season, producing the highest number of possessions won in over 269 occasions. By the end of that season, Brest secured a third-place finish in the league and first ever qualification to the

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 ...

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * UNFP Ligue 1

: 2023–24 * UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: February 2024 * ''The Athletic'' Ligue 1 Team of the Season: 2023–24

References

External links

Pierre Lees-Melou
at foot-national.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lees-Melou, Pierre 1993 births Living people People from Langon, Gironde Footballers from Gironde French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders US Lège Cap Ferret players Dijon FCO players OGC Nice players Norwich City F.C. players Stade Brestois 29 players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Championnat National 3 players Premier League players French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 21st-century French sportsmen