Edgar Paul Akouokou (born 20 December 1997) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club Lyon and the Ivory Coast national team.

Paul Akouokou
Personal information
Full name Edgar Paul Akouokou
Date of birth (1997-12-20) 20 December 1997 (age 26)
Place of birth Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Lyon
Number 4
Youth career
Ekenäs IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Ekenäs IF 35 (2)
2017–2018Beitar Jerusalem (loan) 12 (0)
2018Hapoel Rishon LeZion (loan) 16 (3)
2018–2020 Betis B 44 (0)
2020–2023 Betis 32 (0)
2023– Lyon 8 (0)
International career
2022– Ivory Coast 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 February 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 June 2022

Club career

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Early career

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Akouokou started his career with Finnish side Ekenäs IF in 2016, playing in the second-tier level Ykkönen. In January 2017, he went on a trial at Ligue 1 side Angers SCO.[2]

On 27 August 2017, Akouokou moved to Israeli Premier League side Beitar Jerusalem on a loan deal until May 2018.[3] After being sparingly used, he moved to Hapoel Rishon LeZion of the Liga Leumit in following February, also on loan.[4]

Betis

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On 21 November 2018, Akouokou left Finland after agreeing to a deal with La Liga side Real Betis for an undisclosed fee; he was initially assigned to the club's reserve team in Tercera División.[5] On 10 September 2020, after helping the B-team to achieve a promotion to Segunda División B, he renewed his contract with Betis until 2024, and was promoted to the first team.[6]

Akouokou made his La Liga debut on 20 September 2020, replacing goalscorer William Carvalho late into a 2–0 home win over Real Valladolid.

Lyon

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On 1 September 2023, Akouokou signed a four-year contract with Ligue 1 side Lyon.[7] Transfer fee was announced to be €3 million and Betis have a sell-on clause.[8][9]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 23 February 2024[10]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ekenäs IF 2016 Ykkönen 21 1 0 0 21 1
2017 Ykkönen 14 1 5 0 19 1
Total 35 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 2
Beitar Jerusalem (loan) 2017–18 Israeli Premier League 12 0 1 0 1 0 14 0
Hapoel Rishon LeZion (loan) 2017–18 Liga Leumit 16 3 16 3
Betis B 2018–19 Tercera División 20 0 20 0
2019–20 Tercera División 24 0 2[a] 0 26 0
Total 44 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 46 0
Betis 2020–21 La Liga 10 0 3 0 0 0 13 0
2021–22 La Liga 8 0 1 0 2[b] 0 11 0
2022–23 La Liga 12 0 1 0 5[b] 0 0 0 18 0
2023–24 La Liga 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 32 0 4 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 43 0
Lyon 2023–24 Ligue 1 8 0 1 0 9 0
Career total 147 5 12 0 1 0 7 0 2 0 169 5
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in Promotion Playoffs
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

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Betis

Lyon

References

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  1. ^ "Paul Akouokou". Real Betis. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Akouokou på test till fransk ligaklubb" [Akouokou on trial at French club] (in Swedish). Ekenäs IF. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Paul klar för Israeliska ligalaget Beitar Jerusalem FC" [Paul ready for Israeli league team Beitar Jerusalem] (in Swedish). Ekenäs IF. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  4. ^ "האישור הגיע: פול אדגר עובר להפועל ראשון לציון" [The confirmation came: Paul Edgar moves to Hapoel Rishon Lezion] (in Hebrew). Maariv. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  5. ^ "El Betis Deportivo incorpora a Paul Akouokou" [Betis Deportivo sign Paul Akouokou] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  6. ^ "El Real Betis y Paul amplían su vinculación hasta 2024" [Real Betis and Paul extend their link until 2024] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Le milieu de terrain Paul Akouokou s'engage à l'OL jusqu'en 2027" [Midfielder Paul Akouokou joins OL until 2027] (in French). Olympique Lyonnais. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  8. ^ Midfielder Paul Akouokou Signs with OL until 2027, actusnews.com/ OL Groupe, 1 September 2023
  9. ^ Miljonaffär då tidigare EIF-spelaren Paul Akouokou såldes till franska Olympique Lyonnais – ger duktigt med klirr i kassan åt Ekenäsklubben, Svenska Yle, 2 September 2023
  10. ^ Paul Akouokou at Soccerway
  11. ^ "Real Betis won their first Copa del Rey since 2005 after beating Valencia on penalties in Seville". BBC. 23 April 2022.
  12. ^ "PSG beat Lyon 2-1 to win French Cup final in Mbappe's farewell appearance". Reuters. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
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