Mario Lemina

Mario Rene Junior Lemina (French pronunciation: ​[maʁjo ləmina]; born 1 September 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Ligue 1 club OGC Nice and the Gabon national team.

He played for French sides Lorient and Marseille, before joining Italian side Juventus in 2015, where he won the domestic double in both of his seasons with the club. He joined Premier League side Southampton in 2017, and was later loaned out to Turkish club Galatasaray in 2019.

A former French international at youth level, Lemina went on to represent Gabon at senior level, making his senior international debut in 2017. He later represented Gabon at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club Career

Early career

Lemina began his youth career in France aged 7 at local club ES Nanterre; he then went to study sports at Rueil-Malmaison, finishing at Colombes. Aged 15, he signed with the Lorient youth academy; he was later promoted to the first team during the 2012–13 season, his only season with the club.

Marseille

The following season, Marseille acquired Lemina for €4 million, although he initially struggled to gain playing time in his first year with the club, making only eight league starts during the 2013–14 season. He began to be used more frequently by manager Marcelo Bielsa during the 2014–15 season, making his breakthrough with the club, as he helped the team to a fourth-place finish, earning 23 appearances in the league. In February 2015, Lemina was sent off for a punch to the groin of Ola Toivonen in a 1–1 Ligue 1 away draw against Rennes.

Juventus

During the summer of 2015, Lemina began to attract the attention of several clubs, including Premier League clubs Liverpool, Southampton and West Ham United. On 31 August, however, the last day of the transfer window, Juventus announced the signing of Lemina on a season-long loan for €500,000 with an option to buy for €9.5 million at the end of the 2015–16

This page also has a version in other languages :  Марио Лемина (russian)