Serge Aurier

Serge Alain Stéphane Aurier (born 24 December 1992) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and captains the Ivory Coast national team.

Aurier moved to France as a child and played for Lens, Toulouse and Paris Saint-Germain, winning 11 major trophies with the latter.

He totalled 195 appearances in France and was twice named in Ligue 1's Team of the Year.

In June 2009, Aurier signed his first professional contract with Lens.

Aurier made his professional debut for the club in a 1–0 win over Saint-Étienne on 22 December 2009.

Aurier was given another opportunity in the Round of 16 of Coupe de la Ligue, a 2–1 loss against Lorient.

He soon sustained a shoulder injury that left him out for two or three weeks.

Despite this, Aurier went on to make five appearances for Lens in his first season.

Aurier's second season saw him break into the first team, and although he went on to make 26 appearances in 2010–11, the club was relegated to Ligue 2 after finishing second-last in the league table, at 19th.

Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Aurier's performance soon attracted interest from clubs around England, with the player considering departing Lens for a new opportunity.

However, Aurier ruled out a move abroad, implying that regardless of whether or not Aurier chose to stay or leave Lens, he would be footballing for a member of France's principal league.

Despite this, however, Aurier began the year with Lens, making 16 appearances in the first half of the season around which time the club was facing financial issues.

On 26 January 2012, Aurier ultimately left Lens, signing for Toulouse on a four-and-a-half-year deal.

The move came after Toulouse's president hinted he would sign Aurier for a €1.5 million transfer fee.

Aurier made his debut for the club two days later, in a 2–1 win over Caen.

He then scored his first goal for Toulouse in a 2–1 loss against Lille on 1 April 2012.

Soon after, Aurier sprained his ankle which saw him miss six matches, though he was back for the last game of the season, which saw Toulouse lose 2–0 against Ajaccio.

In his first half-season at Toulouse, he made ten appearances.

In his first full season at Toulouse in 2012–13, Aurier provided an assist for Wissam Ben Yedder, but was sent-off in the 84th minute for a challenge on Henri Bedimo in a 1–1 draw with Montpellier.

His sending off saw him suspended for three games with one-year suspended.

After serving his two games, Aurier made his return on 1 September 2012 in a 1–1 draw against Reims.

Aurier made his international debut for the Ivory Coast in 2013 and has earned over 90 caps, serving as captain since 2017.

He scored his first goal of the season on 11 January 2013, in a 2–2 draw against Saint-Étienne.

Aurier was sidelined later on in the season after tearing a hamstring and injuring his right knee.

Despite being on the sidelines for a period of time, Aurier made 28 appearances, scoring one goal.

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Aurier signed a contract extension, keeping him at Toulouse until 2018.

This came after re-ignited interest in his services from clubs around Europe.

Under the management of Alain Casanova, Aurier found himself playing in a 3–5–2 formation as a right-sided centre back in the three-man defence, as well as a wing-back at times.

He went on to play an attacking role by assisting two goals in two different matches by the end of September.

Aurier then scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 loss against Evian on 2 November 2013.

He represented the nation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, winning the 2015 and 2023 editions.

Aurier played for various youth teams and academies before he was accepted to join Villepinte.

He then joined Lens in Ligue 1, where this started his professional footballing career.

Shortly after, Aurier, who was then thirteen at the time, had to leave his friends and family as a result of joining Lens.

There, Aurier was assigned to the club's reserve team and at a point, was the club's captain in the reserve team.

His second goal of the season came on 2 February 2014, in a 2–2 draw against Marseille.

His third goal of the season came on 15 February 2014 in a 3–1 win over Lorient.

He went on to score two goals in two games against Reims and Rennes.

Prior to club's relegation, Aurier had signed a contract extension with the club through to 2015.

In 2017, he joined Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of around £23 million and left after mutual termination of his contract in August 2021.