Uncompromising defender who can read the game: Loïc Badé profile

Born in a suburb of Paris, Loïc Badé played for Paris FC as a teenager before joining Le Havre at the age of 17. He made his professional debut in France's second division for the Normandy club in January 2020. At the end of that season the central defender joined RC Lens, then just promoted to the top-flight, where he quickly became a first choice making 31 league appearances including 29 starts.

Europa League title with Sevilla

Badé came to the attention of Stade Rennes thanks to his impressive first season in Ligue 1 and they signed him in the summer of 2021. After a season in Brittany, he went on loan to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, six months later – also on loan – he joined FC Sevilla. The right-footer made 19 out of a possible 23 league appearances for the team from southern Spain and he played in two cup ties and six games in the Europa League – including winning the UEFA competition.

After that successful loan spell, FC Sevilla signed Badé permanently in the summer of 2023 and since then the central defender played 93 games for the Andalusian team including in the UEFA Champions League.

Olympic silver – Debut for France against germany

Badé also has a lot of experience on the international stage. After his time with the France U21s he was in the squad for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris playing in all the matches in the tournament that ended with him and his teammates losing to Spain in extra time in the final. In the end he received a silver medal.

Badé made his full international debut under France coach Didier Deschamps at the start of June of this year. The new Leverkusen signing played in the game for third place in the UEFA Nations League for the full 90 minutes as he helped to keep a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.