Nikolas Ioannou (; born 10 November 1995) is a Cypriot professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Cypriot First Division club Pafos and the Cyprus national team.
Club career
Youth career Ioannou joined the Manchester United youth academy at the age of 11. He played at the Marveld Tournament with the under-15 team in June 2010 held in the Netherlands. This was followed by his participation in the Manchester United Premier Cup. His form earned him a two-year scholarship in June 2012. But it is also reported that Manchester United was reluctant to give him a full-time contract. He made his debut at Old Trafford against Charlton Athletic in the FA Youth Cup, aged 16. While playing in the Milk Cup, he was injured which kept him out of action for most of the 2012–13 season. In his last match for the reserves, he captained the team against Tottenham Hotspur. He also appeared in three 2013–14 UEFA Youth League group stage matches with the under-19 team.
APOEL After being released by United, he signed a three-year contract with APOEL on 24 April 2014. On joining the club, Ioannou commented: "My main aim is to win trophies of course, but obviously I need to start playing. APOEL play in big competitions – Champions League and Europa League – so hopefully I can get a few games."
He made his official debut against Finnish club HJK on 30 July 2014, in APOEL's 2–2 away draw for the third qualifying round of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. On 5 November 2014, aged 18, he made his first UEFA Champions League group stage appearance, playing the full 90 minutes in APOEL's 0–1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes. In his first season at APOEL, Ioannou appeared only in seven matches in all competitions, but he managed to win the double, as his team won both the Cypriot championship and the cup.
On 3 June 2016, Ioannou signed a three-year contract extension until 31 May 2019, but a few months later, on 13 March 2017, he signed a further two-year contract extension with APOEL, running until 31 May 2021. Following his successful 2016–17 season with APOEL, Ioannou was awarded the "Young Player of the season" award by the Cypriot Football Association.
Nottingham Forest On 25 September 2020, Ioannou returned to England, joining EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut for Forest on 3 October 2020 in a 2–1 defeat to Bristol City.
On 8 January 2021, Ioannou was loaned to Greek Super League club, Aris until the end of the season.
On 5 July 2021, it was announced Ioannou had joined Serie B side Como on a season-long loan deal.
Como On 27 July 2022, Ioannou later joined Como on a permanent deal, signing a three-year contract until June 2025.
Pafos On 31 January 2026, Ioannou returned to Cyprus and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Pafos.
International career Being an English-Cypriot, Ioannou is eligible to represent the national teams of both the countries. In 2012, he had been capped by Cyprus U19. He made his Cyprus U21 debut on 5 September 2014, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute in a UEFA European U-21 Championship qualifying match against Belgium.
He received his first senior Cyprus national team call-up at the age of 18, being an unused substitute for Cyprus in the friendly match against Japan on 27 May 2014. He made his debut for Cyprus in 2017.
Personal life Ioannou's father Demetris Ioannou is a former Cypriot international captain. His elder brother is Michael Ioannou, who is a Cypriot youth international. He attended St George's RC High School in Walkden, Greater Manchester, during his time at the Manchester United academy.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAPOEL2014–15Cypriot First Division30202000702015–16Cypriot First Division50101000702016–17Cypriot First Division1706040102802017–18Cypriot First Division1013000001312018–19Cypriot First Division2546050003642019–20Cypriot First Division19020141003512020–21Cypriot First Division20—10—30Total815200271101296Nottingham Forest2020–21Championship5000——50Aris2020–21Super League Greece9110——101Como (loan)2021–22Serie B30110——311Como2022–23Serie B32310——3332023–24Serie B25310——263Total57620——606Sampdoria (loan)2024–25Serie B24231—10283Sampdoria2025–26Serie B18210——192Pafos2025–26Cypriot First Division16230——1922026–27Cypriot First Division200061—81Total1823061—273Career total242193113322030822
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsCyprus20172020187020191022020302021110202280202350202450Total512
Scores and results list Cyprus goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ioannou goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Nikolas IoannouNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 10 October 2019 Astana Arena, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification2 19 November 2019 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 1–6 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
Honours APOEL Cypriot First Division: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 Cypriot Cup: 2014–15 Cypriot Super Cup: 2019
Pafos Cypriot Cup: 2025–26 Cypriot Super Cup: 2026
Individual Young player of the Season (Cyprus): 2016–17
References
External links
APOEL official profile Profile at UEFA.com