Matteo Guendouzi

Matteo Elias Kenzo Guendouzi Olié (born 14 April 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Lazio, on loan from Ligue 1 club Marseille, and for the France national team.

Guendouzi started his career at the academy of Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 6.

He left Paris to join Lorient's academy in 2014.

After representing the Lorient reserve team, he was promoted to the first team in 2016.

Guendouzi made his debut for Lorient on 15 October 2016, in the Ligue 1 match against Nantes in a 1–2 defeat.

He played nine times in all competitions, during his debut season of 2016–17 as Lorient were relegated to the second tier at the end of the season.

In the 2017–18 season, Guendouzi featured 21 times for Lorient as they missed out on promotion, finishing seventh in Ligue 2.

With partial Moroccan heritage, Guendouzi was approached by Morocco manager Hervé Renard in 2017 to change allegiances to play for the Morocco national team.

However, after Guendouzi's father met Renard in March 2017, Guendouzi decided to remain and pledge allegiance to France.

On 11 July 2018, during the summer transfer window, it was announced that Guendouzi had joined Premier League club Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £7 million, plus bonuses.

Head coach Unai Emery said: "He is a talented young player and a lot of clubs were interested in him. He has big potential and gained good first-team experience last season with Lorient. He wants to learn and improve and will be an important part of our first-team squad".

On 12 August 2018, Guendouzi made his Premier League debut in Arsenal's opening fixture of the season against defending Champions Manchester City where he made 72 touches, the most for his team.

They lost the match 0–2.

Guendouzi scored the first professional goal of his career on 4 October 2018, rounding off the scoring in Arsenal's 3–0 away win over Qarabağ, a low drive from just inside the penalty area, after an assist from Alexandre Lacazette.

On 29 May 2019, Guendouzi came off the bench in the Europa League final against Chelsea, which Arsenal lost 4–1.

On 2 September 2019, Guendouzi was called up to the French senior side for the first time to replace the injured Paul Pogba for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Albania and Andorra.

However, he was an unused substitute in both matches.

Guendouzi was recalled to the France side on 1 September 2021, to replace the injured Corentin Tolisso for World Cup Qualification matches against Bosnia, Ukraine and Finland.

He made his debut on 16 November 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Finland.

On 29 March 2022, he scored his first goal for France in a 5–0 friendly win over South Africa.

Guendouzi has a hatred for losing, an attitude and mentality which he accredits his success as professional player; although he has been accused of letting his competitive nature get the better of him.

After receiving a red card whilst playing for Lazio against AC Milan in March 2024, he said that his abhorrent attitude to defeat was apart of his early life; showing "some reaction" comes as a result of focusing on the game and playing to win – "not to draw or lose".

Emmanuel Petit described Guendouzi's personality as "volcanic"; his high-profile disciplinary incidents whilst playing in England gave the him the reputation of a player that lacks self-control.

Guendouzi has a Moroccan father and French mother.

He has a brother called Milan, who is also a footballer.

Guendouzi is married to Mae and their first child, a daughter, was born in May 2021.

Arsenal

France

On 20 June 2020, following a post-match altercation with Brighton player Neal Maupay, Guendouzi was excluded from Arsenal training and left out of the club's match-day squads due to a history of issues with his "attitude and general conduct."

On 5 October 2020, Arsenal announced that Guendouzi would be loaned out to Hertha BSC for the duration of the 2020–21 season.

On 1 November 2020, Guendouzi made his debut in a 1–1 draw against VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.

On 12 December 2020, he scored his first goal for the club and in the Bundesliga against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the game ended in a 1–1 draw.

On 6 July 2021, it was announced that Guendouzi was being loaned out to Ligue 1 club Marseille for the 2021–22 Ligue 1 season.

The deal included an option-to-buy depending on certain conditions being met.

He enjoyed a good start to his Marseille career, quickly gaining the appreciation of fans through both his play, and his personality in standing up for the team - including during a match against Nice, when he protected team-mate Dimitri Payet from fans who rushed onto the pitch, gaining strangle marks on his neck in the process.

On 1 July 2022, it was confirmed that Marseille had activated the option-to-buy clause for a reported £9 million.

On 15 August 2023, Guendouzi came off the bench in the 68th minute during the second leg match against Panathinaikos in the Champions League third qualifying round with his team had a 2–0 lead; however, he gave away a penalty in the stoppage time which equaled the tie 2–2, before missing the first penalty in the shootouts which ended in a 3–5 defeat and elimination from the competition.

On 31 August 2023, the deadline day of the summer transfer window, Guendouzi joined Serie A club Lazio on a season-long loan, with the deal including a reported €15 million option-to-buy, plus €3 million in add-ons, which could be turned into a mandatory purchase depending on certain conditions being met.

Guendouzi was born in a suburb of Paris, France.

He has represented France at levels up to France U20s.