Corentin Tolisso (born 3 August 1994) 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

central 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 Ligue 1 club

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

and the France national team. A graduate of the Lyon academy, Tolisso made his professional debut for the club in 2013, playing 160 matches and scoring 29 goals. He joined Bayern Munich for €41.5 million in the summer of 2017, a record for a transfer to a German club, before returning to Lyon in 2022. Tolisso represented France at various youth levels before making his senior debut in 2017. He was part of their squad 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

Early career

Tolisso started out with local clubs near his birthplace of

Tarare Tarare is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies on the Turdine river, 28 miles west-northwest of Lyon by rail. History The city was founded at the beginning of the 12th century, as the priory of Tarare by the Savigny A ...

and hometown of

Amplepuis Amplepuis () is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. Demography See also Communes of the Rhône department The following is a list of the 208 communes of the Rhône department of France. This list does not includes the Ly ...

. Before becoming a tough-tackling, probing midfielder, he used to play as a forward. Tolisso even scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 4–4 draw against his future club Olympique Lyonnais at the age of 11. He then signed up for

's academy in 2007 at the age of 13.

Lyon

2013–2016 seasons

On 10 August 2013,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Rémi Garde Rémi Garde (, born 3 April 1966) is a French former professional footballer. He was most recently the head coach of Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer. He played as a defender and defensive midfielder, spending most of his career with h ...

handed Tolisso his debut for the club, bringing him on as 92nd minute substitute in a 4–0 Ligue 1 home 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 ...

, but he could not even touch the ball for once as the referee blew the whistle few seconds later. He made his European club competition debut on 24 October 2013, featuring in a 1–0 win over

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka ( en, Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as NK Rijeka or simply Rijeka, is a Croatian professional football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia's top division, HT Prva lig ...

in the group stage of the

2013–14 UEFA Europa League The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title. The 2014 UEFA Europa League Final was played between Sevilla and Benfica at th ...

. A week later, Tolisso signed his first professional contract with the club, penning a deal until 2017. On 9 March 2014, he scored his first senior career goal with an injury time (in the 94th minute) winner to give Lyon a 2–1 Ligue 1 away win over

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

. Tolisso was used as a utility player for the majority of the season, operating at right back in place of

Mouhamadou Dabo Mouhamadou Dabo (born 28 November 1986) is a French-Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a right-back, but has played left-back. He most recently played for Caen in Ligue 1. Club career Saint-Étienne Born in Dakar, Dabo began his ...

and later in central midfield following injuries to

Yoann Gourcuff Yoann Miguel Gourcuff (born 11 July 1986) is a French former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. He could also be utilized as a withdrawn striker, and was described as a "playmaker of real quality" who "is an a ...

and

Gueïda Fofana Gueïda Fofana (; born 16 May 1991) is a former French footballer. He was a French youth international and has captained at all levels of youth. In 2010, he captained the France team that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Champions ...

. The continued absence of Fofana and subsequent injury to

Clément Grenier Clément Jean Camille Grenier (born 7 January 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Mallorca. He has also represented France at senior and across all youth levels. Grenier plays in central midfield, as well as ...

afforded Tolisso the opportunity to enjoy more first team action with Lyon in the following season. During the 2014–15 season he featured in every Ligue 1 match for the side, netting seven goals. At the end of the season Tolisso and teammates

Nabil Fekir Nabil Fekir (born 18 July 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Betis and the France national team. An academy graduate of Lyon, he was promoted to the senior squad in July 2013. F ...

and

Anthony Lopes Anthony Lopes (; born 1 October 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Lyon and the Portugal national team. He came through the youth ranks at Lyon, being called to the first team in 2011 and making his ...

were rewarded with improved contracts, penning new deals with the club until 2020. He continued his fine form into the 2015–16 Ligue 1 season where he netted five goals and set up six assists as Lyon ended the Ligue 1 season as runners-up to

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 ...

2016–17 season

Tolisso's form in the previous season earned him numerous suitors from around Europe and in July 2016 he was subject to a €37.5 million bid from

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

side

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He turned down the move and reaffirmed his commitment to Lyon, however, citing his affection for the club and belief in their progress as his reasons for staying at the club. He made his first appearance of the season in the 2016 Trophée des Champions on 6 August 2016 where Lyon were beaten 4–1 by reigning Ligue 1 champions

. Tolisso himself found the back of the net in the 87th minute but the goal proved to be no more than a consolation. Tolisso scored his first Ligue 1 goal of the season on 27 August, opening the scoring in a 4–2 away loss to

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 ...

, and his first ever goal (in the 13th minute) in a UEFA club competition on 14 September in a 3–0

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 ...

group stage home win over

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

. On 2 October 2016, with regular captain Maxime Gonalons and vice-captain

Alexandre Lacazette Alexandre Lacazette (born 28 May 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for and is the captain of club Lyon. He plays mainly as a striker but has also been deployed as a second striker and wide forward. Lacazette ...

injured, Tolisso was handed the armband in their stead and captained Lyon in the first ever Rhône derby against Saint-Étienne at Lyon's new stadium,

Parc Olympique Lyonnais Parc Olympique Lyonnais, known for sponsorship reasons as Groupama Stadium, is a 59,186-seat stadium in Décines-Charpieu, in the Lyon Metropolis. The home of French football club Olympique Lyonnais, it replaced their previous stadium, Stade de ...

. In the return fixture on 5 February, Tolisso received the first red card of his career after being sent off for a foul on

Fabien Lemoine Fabien Lemoine (born 16 March 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Versailles. Club career Lemoine made his professional league debut for Rennes on 13 January 2008, he made a total of 18 league appearanc ...

in stoppage-time. Just moments before Tolisso's expulsion, Lyon teammate Rachid Ghezzal had been sent off as well for a challenge on the same player. The ill-discipline shown in Lyon's loss to Saint-Étienne prompted club president

Jean-Michel Aulas Jean-Michel Antoine Aulas (born 22 March 1949) is a French businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Cegid (Compagnie Européenne de Gestion par l'Informatique Décentralisée) and serves as the owner and president of French football club Olym ...

to announce that both players would be severely punished for their actions. Tolisso remained a constant fixture in the side, however, and ended the 2016–17 season with a return of 14 goals and seven assists in 47 appearances across all competitions for Lyon. He was also named in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

squad of the season.

Bayern Munich

2017–18 season

On 14 June 2017,

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side Bayern Munich secured the signing of Tolisso on a five-year deal from Lyon for an initial transfer fee of €41.5 million, plus up to €6 million in potential bonuses. The fee was the largest ever received by Lyon from the sale of a player, though this record was again broken on 5 July 2017 by the transfer of

to Arsenal for a fee of €53 million. It was also a

and Bayern record for a signing, surpassing the previous record of €40 million that the club spent in buying

Javi Martínez Javier "Javi" Martínez Aginaga (; born 2 September 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or central defender for Qatar Stars League club Qatar SC. He arrived at Athletic Bilbao in 2006, before his 18t ...

from Athletic Bilbao in August 2012. He made his debut for the club on 5 August, starting in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory over

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

which saw Bayern crowned Supercup champions. He then scored on his Bundesliga debut on 18 August, netting Bayern's second goal in a 3–1 win over

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

. On 5 December 2017, with qualification to the Champions League knockout stages already secured, Tolisso netted a brace in Bayern's final group match to earn the club a 3–1 win over PSG; though the result was not enough to see Bayern claim top spot. On 3 April 2018, he scored a thumping long-range goal to double the lead in a 4–0 away victory over

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...

. On 7 April, Tolisso equalised as Bayern came from behind to defeat

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded as ...

4–1 and win the league title with five games remaining.

2018–19 season

Tolisso started the season as a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

champion after winning the title with France. On Matchday 3 in the Bundesliga, Tolisso ruptured a cruciate ligament in his right knee in a 3–1 victory against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, September 15. Following the injury, French national team coach

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, ...

was convinced that Tolisso will "come back as strong, if not even stronger". He also believes that the 2019 season will be "much better for you". During Bayern's winter trip training in January 2019 in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

, Tolisso was reported to be able to jog on an anti-gravity treadmill without any problems. He was set to return to the pitch in March 2019, which, according to Bayern Munich coach

Niko Kovač Niko Kovač (; born 15 October 1971) is a Croatian professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Bundesliga club VFL Wolfsburg. Kovač was the long-standing captain of the Croatia national team until his retire ...

, was "earlier than expected".

2019–20 season

He made a total of 28 appearances and scored four goals in the 2019–20 treble winning season. He came on as a second half substitute in the UCL final in a 1–0 win over

2020–21 season

On 21 October 2020, Tolisso scored a stunning goal in a 4–0 win against Atlético Madrid in the first match of the

2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defea ...

group stages.

2021–22 season

On 30 May 2022, Bayern announced that Tolisso was to leave the club after the end of the season.

Return to Lyon

On 1 July 2022, Lyon confirmed Tolisso's return to the club on a five-year deal until 2027.

International career

Though born in France, and having represented the nation at various youth levels, including the U21 side with whom he was the captain, Tolisso was also eligible to represent

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

through his paternal lineage. In 2016, Togo manager Claude Le Roy revealed that he would try to convince Tolisso to represent the nation instead of France. Tolisso had previously acknowledged his ties to Togo but was loyal to France, stating that "I was born here and grew up here." Having previously represented France at various youth levels, Tolisso was called up to the senior squad for the first time to face

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in March 2017. He made his debut on 28 March 2017 against the latter, starting the game and being replaced by Thomas Lemar in the 80th minute of a 2–0 friendly home loss. On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the 23-man French squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He played for the first 78 minutes and was later subbed off in a 2–1 victory over Australia in their first group stage match on 16 June. Tolisso did not play the last two group stage matches against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and

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 30 June, he replaced

Blaise Matuidi Blaise Matuidi (born 9 April 1987) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He most notably played for Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, and the France national team. Matuidi began his football career playing for ...

in the 75th minute in a 4–3 victory over

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the round of 16 match. On 6 July, Tolisso started the quarter-final match against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and provided an assist to

Antoine Griezmann Antoine Griezmann (; born 21 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the France national team. A versatile player, Griezmann is known for his attacking, passing, and supporti ...

's goal which saw France advance following a 2–0 victory. He was subbed on to replace Matuidi in the 86th minute in a 1–0 semi-final victory over

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

on 10 July. On 15 July, Tolisso appeared in the 73rd minute, again replacing Matuidi, as France defeated

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 ...

, to win their second

title. On 17 November 2019, Tolisso scored his first goal for France in a 2–0 win against

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, during the

UEFA Euro 2020 qualification The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2019 to November 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that advanced to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, played across Europ ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 23 June 2021. France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Tolisso goal.''

Honours

Bayern Munich *

: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 2021–22 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

: 2018–19, 2019–20 * DFL-Supercup:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

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 ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

: 2019–20 *

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 ...

* FIFA Club World Cup:

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 *

Squad of the Season: 2016–17 *Bundesliga Goal of the Month: January 2022 Orders * Knight of the Legion of Honour: 2018

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolisso, Corentin 1994 births Living people French sportspeople of Togolese descent Black French sportspeople People from Tarare Sportspeople from Rhône (department) French footballers Association football midfielders Olympique Lyonnais players FC Bayern Munich footballers Ligue 1 players Bundesliga players UEFA Champions League winning players France youth international footballers France under-21 international footballers France international footballers 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players FIFA World Cup-winning players French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Germany Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Footballers from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes