Maxime Gonalons (born 10 March 1989) 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 ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

for Ligue 1 club Clermont.

Club career

Youth career

Gonalons had been with Olympique Lyonnais since the age of 10 climbing through the club's youth sections after joining the club from local outfit

FC Villefranche Football Club Villefranche Beaujolais or simply Villefranche is a French association football club founded in 1927. They are based in Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône-Alpes and play at the Stade Armand Chouffet in town. The team played one season ...

. For the 2007–08 season, at the age of 18, he was promoted to the club's Championnat de France amateur team appearing in 26 matches scoring two goals. Lyon finished in a respectable 7th in their group, but weren't allowed progression to the playoffs. The next season, he again spent with the CFA squad, however, during the summer leading up to the season, Gonalons picked up a

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasio ...

on his ankle, which was, at one point, deemed career threatening with reportedly future diagnosis of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

and amputation. However, over the course of the season, Gonalons gradually got back into playing shape and eventually returned to the team. He made 24 appearances scoring 3 goals, one each against local rivals

AS Lyon Duchère As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * As (song), "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic ...

and Saint-Étienne, and one against

Marignane Marignane (; oc, Marinhana) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. Geography It is a component of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, and the largest suburb of the c ...

. Lyon finished first among professional clubs in the group and qualified for the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

. Gonalons started both the 4–3 semi-final win on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

and the 3–0 victory over

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy S ...

in the final picking up a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

Lyon

Following the season, on 6 July 2009, Gonalons signed his first professional contract agreeing to a one-year deal with the club. The club does have the option to keep him for the next two seasons over after the one-year deal expires. Gonalons was assigned the number 41 shirt and trained with the senior team during pre-season. He made his professional debut on 25 August 2009 in the second leg of the club's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

play-off round The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

match against Anderlecht appearing as a substitute in the 73rd minute for

Jérémy Toulalan Jérémy Toulalan (born 10 September 1983) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, but was also utilized as a central defender. He is best known for his humble demeanor, simple distribution, good techniqu ...

. On 20 October, after coming on as a 42nd-minute substitute for the injured Cris, Gonalons scored his first professional goal against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

, in the 72nd minute, in the

. The equalizing goal drew the match level at 1–1 and Lyon went on to win the match 2–1 with a goal from

César Delgado César Fabián Delgado Godoy (born 18 August 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a winger. He also played as a central midfielder, making piercing forward runs through the center of the opposition's defence. His ...

injury time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. On 16 January 2010, Gonalons scored his first career league goal against Nancy. Ten days later, Gonalons and Lyon agreed to contract extension, which will keep the midfielder at the club until 2014. Gonalons played a total of 330 games for Lyon and is eighth on the all time appearance list for the club.

Roma

On 3 July 2017, Gonalons signed a four-year contract with

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

Sevilla (loan)

On 20 August 2018,

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

announced the signing of Gonalons on a season-long loan.

Granada

On 2 September 2019, Gonalons joined

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

in the Spanish top tier, on a one-year loan deal. He signed permanently with the club for €4 million.

Clermont

On 1 July 2022, Gonalons returned to France and signed with Clermont for two years with an option to extend.

International career

On 11 November 2011, Gonalons received his first cap for the French senior team in a friendly match against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Personal life

Gonalons was born in

Vénissieux Vénissieux (; Arpitan: or in the Lyonnais dialect) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Geography Vénissieux is located on the southern outskirts of Lyon. Toponymy The name ''Vénis ...

, Metropolis of Lyon. He is the cousin of the footballer Lucas Camelo.

Career statistics

Club

International

:Source:

Honours

Lyon *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

: 2011–12 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonalons, Maxime 1989 births Living people People from Vénissieux French men's footballers France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Olympique Lyonnais players AS Roma players Sevilla FC players Granada CF footballers Clermont Foot players Ligue 1 players Serie A players La Liga players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Footballers from Lyon Metropolis