Clément Nicolas Laurent Lenglet (born 17 June 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Primeira Liga club Benfica, on loan from La Liga club Atlético Madrid, and the France national team.

Lenglet began his career with Nancy, making 85 appearances from his debut in 2013, and winning the Ligue 2 title in the 2015–16 season. In January 2017, he joined Spanish side Sevilla for a €5.4 million fee, where he went on to make 73 appearances and score four goals in an eighteen-month spell, before joining Barcelona for €35 million in 2018.

Having previously represented France at various youth ranks, Lenglet made his debut for the senior team in 2019, and represented the nation at UEFA Euro 2020. After a hiatus from the national team from 2021 to 2025, he was recalled to the squad in May of that year.

Club career Nancy Born in Beauvais, Oise, Lenglet grew up in Fresneaux-Montchevreuil. He made his Ligue 2 debut with Nancy on 27 September 2013 in a goalless home draw against AC Arles-Avignon entering the field after 32 minutes for Rémi Walter.

He made 34 appearances over the 2015–16 season as Nancy won the second-division title. He scored his first goal for the team on 29 January 2016, equalising in a 3–1 home win over Clermont. He was sent off on 12 February for conceding a penalty with a foul on Serhou Guirassy in a 2–2 draw at Auxerre. On 25 April, he finished Benoît Pedretti's corner kick for the only goal of a win over Sochaux at the Stade Marcel Picot, winning his team promotion to Ligue 1 after a three-year absence.

In the first half of the 2016–17 season, he made 18 starting appearances in Ligue 1 for Nancy.

Sevilla

On 4 January 2017, Lenglet moved to Spain, signing a deal with La Liga side Sevilla until 2021. The transfer fee paid to Nancy was €5 million. He was brought in to replace compatriot Timothée Kolodziejczak, who had joined Borussia Mönchengladbach.

He made his debut for the Andalusians eight days later in a 3–3 home draw with Real Madrid in the last 16 of the 2016–17 Copa del Rey (6–3 aggregate loss). On 15 January he made his league debut against the same opponents in a 2–1 win at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium that ended their 40-match unbeaten run in all competitions. He played 17 of their league fixtures in the second half of the season.

On 19 August 2017, Lenglet scored his first goal for Sevilla, opening a 1–1 home draw against Espanyol in the first game of the new season; whether or not it crossed the line became a matter of controversy after the game. He scored his first goal in European competition on 1 November, heading Éver Banega's cross to open a 2–1 home win against Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Having been part of the Sevilla side that kept a clean sheet against Manchester United in the round of 16 first leg, ESPN put Lenglet into their Champions League Best XI.

Barcelona

On 12 July 2018, Lenglet joined Barcelona when they triggered his release clause of €35 million. He played the full 90 minutes for Barcelona as he helped them beat his former club Sevilla 2–1 in the 2018 Supercopa de España. On 23 September, Lenglet was sent off in his La Liga debut against Girona following an elbow on Pere Pons. He scored the winning goal in their Copa del Rey game against Cultural Leonesa in a 1–0 win. He scored his first goal for Barcelona in La Liga against Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou. He provided an assist for compatriot Antoine Griezmann for Barcelona's first goal in a 3–0 win against Eibar away at the Ipurua on 19 October. Lenglet scored his first Champions League goal for the club on 8 August 2020, with a 10th minute header in a 3–1 victory at home against Napoli in Barcelona's round of 16 second leg match.

Loan to Tottenham Hotspur On 8 July 2022, Tottenham Hotspur announced that Lenglet had joined the club on a season-long loan. Lenglet scored his first goal for Tottenham at the final group stage match against Marseille in the Champions League to help the team win 2–1, which ensured that Tottenham finished top of the group to qualify for the knock-out stage. Lenglet adapted well to Conte’s system and largely played as an essential player for the first team. Tottenham confirmed the end of Lenglet's loan spell on 15 June 2023.

Loan to Aston Villa On 1 September 2023, Lenglet returned to the Premier League on a season-long loan with Aston Villa. In December 2023, it was reported that Barca wanted to recall Lenglet from his loan - due to the fact that Lenglet had only featured in the Conference League for Villa and had made no league appearances at that point. Lenglet went onto make his league debut on 22 December, in a 1–1 draw with Sheffield United, following an injury to Pau Torres, with Tyrone Mings already unavailable through injury.

Atlético Madrid On 26 August 2024, Lenglet was loaned out to fellow La Liga side Atlético Madrid on a season-long deal. Later that year, on 30 November, he scored his first goal in a 5–0 away win over Real Valladolid. On 9 June 2025, Lenglet terminated his contract with Barcelona, and subsequently signed a permanent deal with Atlético, penning a three-year deal lasting until 2028.

Loan to Benfica On 30 June 2026, Lenglet joined Primeira Liga club Benfica on loan for the 2026–27 season.

International career On 21 May 2019, Lenglet was called up to the French senior team by Didier Deschamps for a friendly match against Bolivia as well as two UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying ones gainst Andorra and Turkey, all of which were held in early June of the same year. He made his debut in a 4–0 away victory against Andorra on 11 June, and scored his first goal in the 3–0 victory of the same match on 10 September.

Upon being selected for UEFA Euro 2020, Deschamps brought Lenglet in for the last 16 match against Switzerland to play an untested 3–5–2 formation due to injuries for left-backs Lucas Hernandez and Lucas Digne. France unexpectedly lost on penalties after a 3–3 draw, with Lenglet widely blamed for the first goal, in which Haris Seferovic beat him to a header. He was replaced at half-time by Kingsley Coman.

Personal life As a boy, Lenglet was a fan of Paris Saint-Germain. Occasionally, his father took him to the Camp des Loges to watch training sessions. Lenglet says he remembers seeing “Ronaldinho, Pauleta, and other big players who made history.” Lenglet's younger brother, Corentin, is a full-back. He transferred from Nancy to Sevilla in the same deal, and spent one season in the C-team in Tercera División.

In April 2023, Lenglet participated in a $20 million investment fund for the upcoming free-to-play football video game Goals.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsNancy B2011–12CFA10————102012–13CFA91————912013–14CFA 2184————1842014–15CFA 251————51Total336————336Nancy2013–14Ligue 2300000——302014–15Ligue 22202020——2602015–16Ligue 23421010——3622016–17Ligue 11800020——200Total7723050——852Sevilla2016–17La Liga17010—10—1902017–18La Liga35380—111—544Total52390—121—734Barcelona2018–19La Liga23191—120104522019–20La Liga28231—91004042020–21La Liga33150—80204812021–22La Liga21000—6000270Total1054172—351301607Tottenham Hotspur (loan)2022–23Premier League260101071—351Aston Villa (loan)2023–24Premier League140300080—250Atlético Madrid (loan)2024–25La Liga23241—7020363Atlético Madrid2025–26La Liga19020—3000240Atlético total42261—10020603Benfica (loan)2026–27Primeira Liga71000061—132Career total35618393607845048425

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsFrance201971202040202140202510Total161

France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lenglet goal

+ List of international goals scored by Clément Lenglet No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 10 September 2019 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying

Honours Nancy Ligue 2: 2015–16

Barcelona La Liga: 2018–19 Copa del Rey: 2020–21; runner-up: 2018–19 Supercopa de España: 2018

Atlético Madrid

Copa del Rey runner-up: 2025–26

France UEFA Nations League third place: 2024–25

References

External links

Profile at the Atlético Madrid website