James Léa Siliki

James-Edward Manfred Léa Siliki (born 12 June 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Born in France, he represented Cameroon at international level.

James Léa Siliki

Léa Siliki with Rennes in 2016
Personal information
Full name	James-Edward Manfred Léa Siliki[1]
Date of birth	(1996-06-12) 12 June 1996 (age 29)
Place of birth	Sarcelles, France
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Gloria Buzău
Number	17
Youth career
2002–2004	RC Gonesse
2004–2011	Paris Saint-Germain
2011–2014	Guingamp
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014	Guingamp B	3	(1)
2014–2020	Rennes B	56	(11)
2017–2022	Rennes	84	(3)
2021–2022	→ Middlesbrough (loan)	11	(0)
2022–2023	Estoril	22	(3)
2024	Gençlerbirliği	9	(0)
2025	Gloria Buzău	4	(0)
International career‡
2014	France U19	3	(0)
2021–2022	Cameroon	11	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Cameroon Africa Cup of Nations 2021 Cameroon
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 February 2022

Early life

Léa Siliki was born in Sarcelles, France, to Cameroonian parents.^[2] He acquired French nationality on 18 November 1998, through the collective effect of his parents' naturalization.^[3]

Club career

Léa Siliki made his Ligue 1 debut with Rennes on 28 January 2017 against Nantes, replacing Aldo Kalulu after 78 minutes.^[4]

On 31 August 2021, Léa Siliki joined EFL Championship club Middlesbrough on loan for the duration of the 2021–22 season.^[5] Having not played a single minute since the manager who had brought Léa Siliki to Teesside, Neil Warnock, had been replaced by Chris Wilder, the midfielder was told by Wilder that he could leave the club during the January transfer window.^[6] His return to action came in February 2022, being replaced at half-time during a 3–2 defeat to struggling Barnsley.^[7]

On 22 July 2022, Léa Siliki signed for Primeira Liga club Estoril on a three-year contract.^[8] On 1 September 2023, Estoril announced that Léa Siliki's contract had been terminated by mutual agreement, after he had been frozen out of the squad by manager Álvaro Pacheco.^[9]

On 9 February 2024, Siliki signed with Gençlerbirliği in Turkey until the end of the 2023–24 season.^[10]

International career

He played for the France U19 national team in 2014. He debuted with the senior Cameroon national team in a 1–0 friendly win over Nigeria on 4 June 2021.^[11]

Personal life

In March 2022, Léa Siliki was subjected to racist abuse on Instagram after posting a celebration of Cameroon's qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[12]

Career statistics

As of match played 11 April 2025^[13]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Guingamp B	2013–14	CFA 2	3	1	—		—		—		—		3	1
Rennes B	2014–15	CFA 2	9	1	—		—		—		—		9	1
	2015–16	CFA 2	20	2	—		—		—		—		20	2
	2016–17	CFA	21	7	—		—		—		—		21	7
	2017–18	National 2	1	1	—		—		—		—		1	1
	2018–19	National 3	4	0	—		—		—		—		4	0
	2019–20	National 3	0	0	—		—		—		—		0	0
	2020–21	National 3	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
	Total		56	11	—		—		—		—		56	11
Rennes	2016–17	Ligue 1	1	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	2017–18	Ligue 1	32	3	1	0	3	0	—		—		36	3
	2018–19	Ligue 1	24	0	3	0	1	0	6[a]	0	—		34	0
	2019–20	Ligue 1	20	0	5	1	0	0	3[a]	0	1[b]	0	29	1
	2020–21	Ligue 1	7	0	1	0	—		4[c]	0	—		12	0
	2021–22	Ligue 1	0	0	—		—		0	0	—		0	0
	Total		84	3	11	1	4	0	13	0	1	0	113	4
Middlesbrough (loan)	2021–22	Championship	11	0	0	0	—		—		—		11	0
Estoril	2022–23	Primeira Liga	22	3	2	1	1	0	—		—		25	4
	2023–24	Primeira Liga	0	0	—		0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		22	3	2	1	1	0	—		—		25	4
Gençlerbirliği	2023–24	TFF First League	9	0	—		—		—		—		9	0
Gloria Buzău	2024–25	Liga I	4	0	—		—		—		—		4	0
Career total			189	18	13	2	5	0	13	0	1	0	221	20

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearance in Trophée des Champions
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 3 February 2022^[14]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Cameroon
	2021	7	0
	2014	4	0
Total		11	0

Honours

Rennes B

• CFA 2 — Group A: 2015–16

Rennes

• Coupe de France: 2018–19
• Trophée des Champions runner-up: 2019

Cameroon

• Africa Cup of Nations third place: 2021^[15]