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 ...

who plays as a

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 boundarie ...

for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

club Atlético Madrid and the France national team. He is known for his versatility, being able to play on both

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

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 eccentri ...

. Features of his game include

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

and passing ability. Lemar began his senior career at Caen in 2013. He played 32 times for the club, before moving to Monaco for £3.4 million in 2015. In 2018, he signed for

club Atlético Madrid, where he won the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup 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 official name was original ...

in his debut season. Lemar represented France at every level from U17 to U21, and made his international senior debut in 2016 against the Ivory Coast. He was a member of the team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, also featuring at

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

Club career

Caen

Lemar made his Ligue 2 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. Rothen won 13 caps for the France national football team. He represented his country at the 2004 European Football Champions ...

after 78 minutes in Caen's 3–1 home win over

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

Monaco

2015–16 season

On 1 July 2015, Lemar officially joined

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

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 ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

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

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

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

Stade de la Mosson The Stade de la Mosson () is a 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 host 6 games of the 1998 ...

. 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 Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. 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 ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. On 21 October, he scored the fifth of six goals in Monaco's 6–2 win over Montpellier, 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 footballer who plays as a striker for club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the England national team. A prolific goalscorer with strong link play, Kane is regarded as one of ...

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

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, 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 de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...

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 The 2016–17 Coupe de France was the 100th season of the most prestigious football cup competition of France. The competition was organised by the French Football Federation (FFF) and was opened to all clubs in French football, as well as clubs f ...

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, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

, 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 (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

clubs

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 ...

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

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

in the

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 second qualifying round. Forty-four clubs will participate in the ...

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

Atlético Madrid

On 18 June 2018,

club Atlético Madrid 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 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 centre, within a flat ar ...

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 municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

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 Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder; he has been the manager of Atlético Madrid since December 2011. In his cl ...

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 Saúl Ñíguez Esclapez (born 21 November 1994), known as Saúl Ñíguez or simply Saúl, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team. After coming through Atlét ...

International career

Lemar was called up to the senior

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

squad to face Sweden and Ivory Coast in November 2016 after

Kingsley Coman Kingsley Junior Coman (; born 13 June 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Bayern Munich and the France national team. Trained at Paris Saint-Germain's academy, Coman moved to Juventus in 2014 on the exp ...

withdrew through injury. He made his debut on 15 November against the latter, replacing

Adrien Rabiot Adrien Thibault Marie Rabiot (born 3 April 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Juventus and the France national team. Rabiot spent most of his career with Paris Saint-Germain, making his debut w ...

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 The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...

match against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, 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 manager of the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, ...

to the 23-man French squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He made his only appearance of the tournament in France's final group match against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

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 , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

4–2 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

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: 2016–17 Atlético Madrid *

: 2020–21 *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

France *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

Individual *

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 ...

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

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemar, Thomas 1995 births Living people People from Baie-Mahault French footballers France youth international footballers France under-21 international footballers France international footballers Guadeloupean footballers Association football midfielders 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 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players FIFA World Cup-winning players French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Monaco Expatriate footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Monaco French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Black French sportspeople French people of Guadeloupean descent