Lionel Carole

Carole was born in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis to a French family of Martiniquais descent.^[3] His career began with hometown club UJA Alfortville. In 2000, while playing in the club's youth academy, he suffered a debilitating injury to his right eye, after a ball struck him in the face.^[4] The injury almost ended the player's career, however, his doctor gave him aerodynamic protective goggles to wear while playing, similar to former Dutch international Edgar Davids.^[5]

Carole joined Nantes in 2006 and was, surprisingly, promoted to the senior team by manager Baptiste Gentili for the 2010–11 season, despite not having a professional contract.^[6] He made his professional debut on 17 August 2010, in a league match against Évian, appearing as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat.^[7] In the team's following match against Laval, Carole started and played the entire match in a 0–0 draw.^[8]

On 14 January 2011, it was reported by the French and Portuguese media that Carole would be joining Portuguese club Benfica as a possible replacement for Fábio Coentrão, with the transfer set to occur in June 2011.^[9][10] The following day, Nantes chairman Waldemar Kita and manager Baptiste Gentili stated that they were informed by Carole that he would be signing a professional contract with the club. However, according to Gentili, the player informed him the next day that he would forgo signing a contract with Nantes and had already signed a pre-contract with Benfica.^[11] On 25 January, Nantes confirmed that Carole had left the club to sign a five-and-a-half-year deal with Benfica. Nantes was compensated a "training fee" of €750,000 and will acquire 10% of any future fee Benfica receive for the player.^[12]

Carole was assigned the number 24 shirt and made his club debut on 13 March 2011, in a league match against Portimonense. He started the match, but was substituted out after halftime in the match, which ended 1–1.^[13] In the team's ensuing league match away to Paços de Ferreira, Carole started again and scored an own goal for the hosts. Benfica, however, won the match 5–1.^[14] The defender featured in four more league matches in the season, all starts, as Benfica finished the campaign runner-up to champions Porto.

In the 2011–12 season, he was loaned to Sedan FC, acting mainly as a back-up.^[15] In the 2012–2013 season, he played for the Benfica B team, being an undisputed starter and playing in 39 official games in the Segunda Liga, acting as centre-back on occasions.^[16]

On 9 July 2013, it was announced that Carole would be joining French club Troyes.^[17]

On 11 July 2015, Carole signed a four-year contract with Turkish club Galatasaray in a €1.5 million transfer fee.^[18]

On 31 August 2017, Carole joined Spanish club Sevilla on a season-long loan deal with option to buy.^[19]

In August 2018, Carole returned to France, joining RC Strasbourg Alsace on a three-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Galatasaray was estimated at below €600,000.^[20][21]

Carole has represented France internationally at under-17 and under-20 level. With the under-17 team, he made his youth international debut on 27 February 2008, in a friendly match against Belgium, appearing as a substitute in a 0–0 draw.^[22] That was his only appearance with the team. Carole, subsequently, was not called up to play international football at under-18 or under-19 level. In 2010, after performing well domestically with Nantes, he was called up to represent the under-20 team in preparation for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Carole made his debut with the team on 16 November 2010, in a 1–0 victory over Montenegro.^[23]

Despite still being eligible to represent France at under-20 level, on 3 February 2011, Carole was named to the under-21 team to play in a friendly match against Slovakia on 8 February.^[24] He earned his first under-21 cap and start in the match against Slovakia, playing the entire match in a 3–1 win.^[25] Carole returned to the under-20 team in May 2011, appearing in two friendly matches against the United States. In the following month, he appeared in two friendly matches with the under-21 team, before being summoned back to the under-20 team to participate in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made his debut in the competition, appearing as a substitute in the team's 3–1 group stage win over South Korea.^[26]

As of 1 July 2019^[27][28][29]

Galatasaray

• Turkish Cup: 2015–16^{[citation needed]}
• Turkish Super Cup: 2015, 2016^{[citation needed]}

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lionel Carole.

• Lionel Carole – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
• Lionel Carole at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Lionel Carole at Soccerway