Mattéo Guendouzi

French footballer (born 1999) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mattéo Guendouzi

Mattéo Elias Kenzo Guendouzi Olié (French pronunciation: [mateo ɡɛnduzi] ; born 14 April 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Lazio and the France national team.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...
Mattéo Guendouzi
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Guendouzi playing for Arsenal in 2019
Personal information
Full name Mattéo Elias Kenzo Guendouzi Olié[1]
Date of birth (1999-04-14) 14 April 1999 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth Poissy, France[3]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Lazio
Number 8
Youth career
2005–2014 Paris Saint-Germain
2014–2016 Lorient
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Lorient B 24 (0)
2016–2018 Lorient 26 (0)
2018–2022 Arsenal 57 (0)
2020–2021Hertha BSC (loan) 24 (2)
2021–2022Marseille (loan) 38 (4)
2022–2024 Marseille 35 (2)
2023–2024Lazio (loan) 33 (2)
2024– Lazio 32 (1)
International career
2016–2017 France U18 7 (0)
2017 France U19 2 (1)
2017–2018 France U20 3 (1)
2018–2021 France U21 20 (1)
2021– France 13 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  France
UEFA Nations League
Winner2021 Italy
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up2022 Qatar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:52, 23 April 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:58, 20 March 2025 (UTC)
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Club career

Summarize
Perspective

Early career

Guendouzi started his career at the academy of Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 6. He left Paris to join Lorient's academy in 2014. After representing the Lorient reserve team, he was promoted to the first team in 2016.

Lorient

Guendouzi made his debut for Lorient on 15 October 2016, in the Ligue 1 match against Nantes in a 1–2 defeat. He played nine times in all competitions,[4] during his debut season of 2016–17 as Lorient were relegated to the second tier at the end of the season.[5][6]

In the 2017–18 season, Guendouzi featured 21 times for Lorient as they missed out on promotion, finishing seventh in Ligue 2.[7]

Arsenal

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Guendouzi playing for Arsenal in 2018

On 11 July 2018, during the summer transfer window, it was announced that Guendouzi had joined Premier League club Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £7 million, plus bonuses.[8] Head coach Unai Emery said: "He is a talented young player and a lot of clubs were interested in him. He has big potential and gained good first-team experience last season with Lorient. He wants to learn and improve and will be an important part of our first-team squad".[9] On 12 August 2018, Guendouzi made his Premier League debut in Arsenal's opening fixture of the season against defending Champions Manchester City where he made 72 touches, the most for his team. They lost the match 0–2.[10] Guendouzi scored the first professional goal of his career on 4 October 2018, rounding off the scoring in Arsenal's 3–0 away win over Qarabağ, a low drive from just inside the penalty area, after an assist from Alexandre Lacazette.[11] On 29 May 2019, Guendouzi came off the bench in the Europa League final against Chelsea, which Arsenal lost 4–1.[12]

On 20 June 2020, following a post-match altercation with Brighton player Neal Maupay, Guendouzi was excluded from Arsenal training and left out of the club's match-day squads due to a history of issues with his "attitude and general conduct."[13]

Loan to Hertha BSC

On 5 October 2020, Arsenal announced that Guendouzi would be loaned out to Hertha BSC for the duration of the 2020–21 season.[14] On 1 November 2020, Guendouzi made his debut in a 1–1 draw against VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.[15] On 12 December 2020, he scored his first goal for the club and in the Bundesliga against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the game ended in a 1–1 draw.[16]

Marseille

On 6 July 2021, it was announced that Guendouzi was being loaned out to Ligue 1 club Marseille for the 2021–22 Ligue 1 season. The deal included an option-to-buy depending on certain conditions being met.[17] He enjoyed a good start to his Marseille career, quickly gaining the appreciation of fans through both his play,[18] and his personality in standing up for the team - including during a match against Nice, when he protected team-mate Dimitri Payet from fans who rushed onto the pitch, gaining strangle marks on his neck in the process.

On 1 July 2022, it was confirmed that Marseille had activated the option-to-buy clause for a reported £9 million.[19][20] On 15 August 2023, Guendouzi came off the bench in the 68th minute during the second leg match against Panathinaikos in the Champions League third qualifying round with his team had a 2–0 lead; however, he gave away a penalty in the stoppage time which equaled the tie 2–2, before missing the first penalty in the shootouts which ended in a 3–5 defeat and elimination from the competition.[21]

Lazio

On 31 August 2023, the deadline day of the summer transfer window, Guendouzi joined Serie A club Lazio on a season-long loan,[22][23] with the deal including a reported €15 million option-to-buy, plus €3 million in add-ons, which could be turned into a mandatory purchase depending on certain conditions being met.[23]

On 21 April 2024, as per reports from multiple sources, such as Calciomercato.com & TMW, the management at Lazio decided to secure Guendouzi's services from the French club Marseille, after activating his conditional buyout clause. To activate the stated clause, Lazio were to at least required to finish twelfth in the current Serie A table, which the club did so, after successfully triumphing 1-0 over Genoa two days earlier, on 19 April.[24][25]

International career

Guendouzi was born in a suburb of Paris, France. He has represented France at levels up to France U20s.[7] With partial Moroccan heritage, Guendouzi was approached by Morocco manager Hervé Renard in 2017 to change allegiances to play for the Morocco national team. However, after Guendouzi's father met Renard in March 2017, Guendouzi decided to remain and pledge allegiance to France.[26]

On 2 September 2019, Guendouzi was called up to the French senior side for the first time to replace the injured Paul Pogba for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Albania and Andorra.[27] However, he was an unused substitute in both matches. Guendouzi was recalled to the France side on 1 September 2021, to replace the injured Corentin Tolisso for World Cup Qualification matches against Bosnia, Ukraine and Finland.[28] He made his debut on 16 November 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Finland.[29] On 29 March 2022, he scored his first goal for France in a 5–0 friendly win over South Africa.[30]

Style of play

Guendouzi has a hatred for losing, an attitude and mentality which he accredits his success as professional player; although he has been accused of letting his competitive nature get the better of him.[31] After receiving a red card whilst playing for Lazio against AC Milan in March 2024, he said that his abhorrent attitude to defeat was a part of his early life; showing "some reaction" comes as a result of focusing on the game and playing to win – "not to draw or lose".[31] Emmanuel Petit described Guendouzi's personality as "volcanic";[31] his high-profile disciplinary incidents whilst playing in England gave him the reputation of a player that lacks self-control.[32]

Personal life

Guendouzi has a French-Moroccan father and French mother. He has a brother called Milan, who is also a footballer.[33]

Guendouzi is married to Mae and their first child, a daughter, was born in May 2021.[34]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 April 2025[35]
More information Club, Season ...
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lorient B 2015–16 CFA 6060
2016–17 CFA 170170
2017–18 Championnat National 2 1010
Total 240240
Lorient 2016–17 Ligue 1 80100090
2017–18 Ligue 2 1801020210
Total 2602020300
Arsenal 2018–19 Premier League 330103011[c]1481
2019–20 Premier League 24030106[c]0340
Total 5704040171821
Hertha BSC (loan) 2020–21 Bundesliga 24200242
Marseille (loan) 2021–22 Ligue 1 3844014[d]1565
Marseille 2022–23 Ligue 1 332416[e]2435
2023–24 Ligue 1 202[e]040
Total 7368122310310
Lazio (loan) 2023–24 Serie A 332418[e]01[f]0463
Lazio 2024–25 Serie A 321209[c]0431
Total 6536117010894
Career total 26911202605641035217
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  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Six appearances in UEFA Europa League, eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

International

As of match played 20 March 2025[36]
More information National team, Year ...
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 202110
202261
202451
202510
Total132
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As of match played 20 March 2025
France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Guendouzi goal.[36]
More information No., Date ...
List of international goals scored by Matteo Guendouzi
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
129 March 2022Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France3 South Africa5–05–0Friendly
210 October 2024Bozsik Aréna, Budapest, Hungary10 Israel3–14–12024–25 UEFA Nations League A
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Honours

Arsenal

France

References

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