Thomas Benoît Lemar (born 12 November 1995) 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

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 ...

. He is known for his versatility, being able to play on both wings and through the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. Lemar began his senior career at

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

in 2013. He played 32 times for the club, before moving to

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, ...

for £3.4 million in 2015, where he would win the 2016–17 Ligue 1 title. In 2018, he signed for La Liga club Atlético Madrid, winning the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

in his debut season. Lemar represented

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 ...

at every level from under-17 to under-21, and made his senior international debut in 2016 against the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. He was a member of the team that won 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 ...

, also featuring at

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

Club career

Caen

Thomas Lemar made his

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 ...

debut in the opening game of the 2013–14 season on 2 August 2013, replacing

Jérôme Rothen Jérôme René Marcel Rothen (born 31 March 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. He is a football pundit. Rothen won 13 caps for the France national football team. He represented his country at the UEFA Eu ...

after 78 minutes in

's 3–1 home win over

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 ...

Monaco

2015–16 season

On 1 July 2015, Lemar officially joined

for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal for the club on 22 August 2015, scoring in a 1–1 draw with

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. On 20 September, he scored in the club's 2–3 home loss to

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 ...

. Four days later, Lemar scored in Monaco's 3–2 win over

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

at the

Stade de la Mosson The Stade de la Mosson () is a association football, football stadium in Montpellier, France. It is the home of Ligue 1 club Montpellier HSC, and has a capacity of 32,900. Formerly a 16,000-seater stadium, it was entirely rebuilt in 1998 to hos ...

. On 17 January 2016, Lemar scored in Monaco's 2–0 away win over Lorient. On 4 March, Lemar scored the opening goal in Monaco's 2–2 draw with his former club Caen.

2016–17 season

On 14 September 2016, Lemar scored his first goal of the season in Monaco's 2–1 away win over English club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. Three days later, he scored twice in Monaco's 3–0 win over Rennes. On 1 October, he scored the opening goal in Monaco's 7–0 away win over

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 ...

. On 21 October, he scored the fifth of six goals in Monaco's 6–2 win over

, and on 18 November, he scored in Monaco's 3–0 win over

. On 22 November, Lemar scored the winning goal in Monaco's 2–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, scoring in the 53rd minute with his goal coming one minute after Tottenham had equalized through

Harry Kane Harry Edward Kane (born 28 July 1993) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich and Captain (association football), c ...

in the 52nd minute. On 15 January 2017, Lemar scored in Monaco's 4–1 win over

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 ...

, which moved Monaco to the top of the table. On 1 February, Lemar scored in Monaco's 5–4 win over

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 ...

club Chambly. On 1 March, Lemar scored the winning goal in a 4–3 extra-time away win over Marseille in a 2016–17 Coupe de France round of 16 match. On 1 April, Lemar scored in the Coupe de la Ligue Final against

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 ...

, scoring the equalizer in the 27th minute, but Monaco eventually would lose the final 4–1. Lemar finished the season with 14 goals in all competitions.

2017–18 season

In the 2017 summer transfer window, Lemar was linked to

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 ...

clubs

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 ...

and

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 ...

, though an agreement was never reached. On 29 June, Monaco rejected a £31m bid from Arsenal, and in late August, Liverpool had a bid of £65m rejected. On the final day of the transfer window, Arsenal made a final offer of €100m, contingent on Alexis Sanchez moving to

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

for €65m but the move collapsed as Lemar was informed on extremely short notice, just hours before a crucial World Cup qualification fixture against the Netherlands. On 28 October 2017, Lemar scored his first goal of the season in Monaco's 2–0 win over Bordeaux. On 15 December, Lemar scored the second goal in Monaco's 4–0 win over

AS Saint-Étienne Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), abbreviated as A.S.S.E. () and commonly known as Saint-Étienne, is a French professional football club based in Saint-Étienne, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The club was founded in 1933 and competes ...

. On 9 January 2018, Lemar scored in Monaco's 2–1 away win over

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 2017–18 Coupe de la Ligue The 2017–18 Coupe de la Ligue was the 24th edition of the French league cup competition. The winners of the league cup earned a place in the 2018–19 Europa League starting in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League#Second qualifying round, second qual ...

quarter-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

Atlético Madrid

On 18 June 2018,

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 ...

club

confirmed that an agreement had been reached with Monaco for the transfer of Lemar. On 27 July, Lemar successfully passed his medical, joining for a reported fee of €70 million. On 22 September, Lemar scored his first league goal for Atletico against

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

in a 2–0 away win, where he also hit the shot that resulted in an own goal for Getafe keeper David Soria. He ended the 2018–19 season with three goals in all competitions. In the 2019–20 season, Lemar featured in 29 matches in all competitions, yet he finished the season with no goals and no assists. On 5 December 2020, Lemar scored his side's opening goal against

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

in a 2–0 win, ending a run of 45 matches at club level without scoring dating back to April 2019. In the 2020–21 season, as manager Diego Simeone began experimenting with the 3–5–2 formation, Lemar surprisingly became a starter in the position of a left-sided central midfielder despite fierce competition from

Saúl Ñíguez Saul is a masculine given name of Hebrew language, Hebrew origin. It is the English form of ''שָׁאוּל‎'', the Hebrew name of the Biblical King Saul. The name translates to "asked for/borrowed". People named Saul include: * Saul Adadi (1 ...

. During the 2021–22 season, he managed to score four goals in La Liga to achieve his personal best record at the club, in which two of them came in victories against Espanyol, and

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 ...

. On 18 March 2023, he scored a goal in a 3–0 win over

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, which was his only goal in the 2022–23 season. On 16 September 2023, he suffered from an Achilles tendon rupture in a 3–0 defeat against Valencia, which required surgery and would sideline him for several months.

International career

Lemar was called up to the senior

squad to face

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

in November 2016 after Kingsley Coman withdrew through injury. He made his debut on 15 November against the latter, replacing Adrien Rabiot for the final 12 minutes of a home friendly match that ended in 0–0 draw. His first international goals for the senior team came in a 2018 World Cup qualifying match 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 ...

, scoring twice as France won 4–0. On 17 May 2018, he was called up 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 ...

to the 23-man French squad for the

in Russia. He made his only appearance of the tournament in France's final group match against

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 ...

on 26 June, which ended in a 0–0 draw. On 15 July, France won the World Cup for the second time in their history after defeating

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

4–2 in 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 ...

of the tournament.

Style of play

Lemar is a versatile midfielder able to play on both wings as well as through the centre and in a free role. He is predominantly left footed, but is also competent with his right foot. He is noted for his excellent dribbling skills, strong passing ability and free kicks. He has said he prefers to link-up with teammates, rather than taking on defenders: "I am trying to avoid duels and concentrate on passing as much as possible." He will often attempt to score from long range.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 1 September 2021. France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lemar goal.''

Honours

Monaco *

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 ...

: 2016–17 Atlético Madrid *

: 2020–21 *

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 ...

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 ...

Individual *

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 * UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: November 2016 Orders * Knight of the Legion of Honour: 2018

References

External links

Profile
at the Atlético Madrid website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemar, Thomas 1995 births Living people People from Baie-Mahault French men's footballers Guadeloupean men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football wingers Stade Malherbe Caen players AS Monaco FC players Atlético Madrid footballers Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players Ligue 2 players Ligue 1 players La Liga players France men's youth international footballers France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players FIFA World Cup–winning players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Monaco French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Association football people awarded knighthoods Knights of the Legion of Honour Black French sportspeople French people of Guadeloupean descent 21st-century French sportsmen