Jean-Clair Todibo Explained

Jean-Clair Dimitri Roger Todibo (born 30 December 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club West Ham United, on loan from club Nice, and the France national team.

Early life

Todibo was born in French Guiana and grew up in the northeastern suburbs of Paris. At nine years old, he was struck by a motor vehicle with doubts he would walk again, let alone play football.^[4] He eventually made a full recovery and continued playing with Les Lilas, the club which signed him at six years old.^[4]

Club career

Toulouse

Todibo left Les Lilas for Toulouse in 2016.^[5] He made his Ligue 1 debut on 19 August 2018 against Derby de la Garonne rivals Bordeaux, playing 89 minutes in an eventual 2–1 home win. On 1 September, he was sent off in 26 minutes of a 2–1 win at Guingamp.^[6] He played ten games for the club and scored once, a late equaliser on 30 September in a 1–1 draw at Rennes.^[7]

Barcelona

On 8 January 2019, Todibo reached an agreement with Barcelona which would see him join them on a free transfer in July 2019, when his contract with Toulouse was due to expire.^[8] However, the Spanish side pushed the transfer forward and he joined the club on 31 January 2019. He became the 22nd French player to sign for Barcelona and was handed the number 6 shirt.^[9] He made only four appearances total for Barcelona.^[4]

Loan to Schalke 04

On 15 January 2020, Todibo was loaned to Bundesliga club Schalke 04 until the end of the season with a buy option for €25 million, plus €5 million in add-ons.^[10] In March, Todibo was named Schalke's Player of the Month which was voted by the fans.^[11]

Loan to Benfica

On 5 October 2020, Todibo joined Primeira Liga club Benfica on a one-year loan with an option to purchase for €20 million.^[12]

Nice

On 1 February 2021, Todibo joined Ligue 1 club Nice on loan with an option to buy after his loan contract was mutually terminated by Barcelona and Benfica.^[13] On 27 June, the move was made permanent by the club as they paid €8.5m (+ €7m in variables) to Barcelona. Barcelona also reserved rights to a percentage of his future sale.^[14]

On 18 September 2022, he was sent off in a match against Angers after nine seconds, the fastest red card in Ligue 1 history.^[15]

West Ham United

On 10 August 2024, Todibo signed for Premier League team West Ham United on loan for the 2024–25 season.^[16] The deal reportedly includes an option to buy at the end of the season for €40 million.^{[17] [18]}

International career

Todibo made his international debut for France under-20 on 16 November 2018, in a 1–1 friendly draw with Switzerland in Cartagena, Spain.^[19]

In March 2023, he received his first call-up to the France senior national team for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.^[20]

Todibo made his France debut in a 2–1 friendly loss to Germany on 12 September 2023.^[21] His competitive debut came in France's record 14–0 win over Gibraltar on 18 November.^[22]

Career statistics

Club

^[23]

Club!rowspan=2

Season	League			National cup		League cup		Europe		Total
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Toulouse B	2016–17	CFA 2	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2017–18	Championnat National 3	8	0	—		—		—		8	0
	Total		9	0	—		—		—		9	0
Toulouse	2018–19	Ligue 1	10	1	0	0	0	0	—		10	1
Barcelona	2018–19	La Liga	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0
	2019–20	La Liga	2	0	0	0	—		1	0	3	0
	Total		4	0	0	0	—		1	0	5	0
Schalke 04 (loan)	2019–20	Bundesliga	8	0	2	0	—		—		10	0
Benfica (loan)	2020–21	Primeira Liga	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
Nice (loan)	2020–21	Ligue 1	15	1	2	0	—		—		17	1
Nice	2021–22	Ligue 1	36	1	4	0	—		—		40	1
	2022–23	Ligue 1	34	0	1	0	—		11	0	46	0
	2023–24	Ligue 1	30	0	3	0	—		—		33	0
	Total		100	1	8	0	—		11	0	119	1
West Ham United (loan)	2024–25	Premier League	9	0	0	0	2	0	—		11	0
Career total			154	3	13	0	4	0	12	0	183	3

International

Honours

Barcelona

• La Liga

2018–19^[24]

Nice

• Coupe de France runner-up: 2021–22^[25]

External links

• Profile at the OGC Nice website

Notes and References

1. Web site: FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: France . FIFA . 4 . 13 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200206013743/https://www.fifadata.com/document/FWYC/2019/pdf/FWYC_2019_SquadLists.pdf . 6 February 2020.
2. Web site: Calciomercato, chi è Jean-Clair Todibo: su di lui quattro club italiani. Transfer market, who is Jean-Clair Todibo: four Italian clubs are tracking him. 17 November 2018. Fox Sports. it. 12 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190509055056/https://www.foxsports.it/2018/11/17/calciomercato-chi-e-todibo-su-lui-quattro-club-italiani/. 9 May 2019. dead.
3. Web site: Jean-Chair Todibo . OGC Nice . 23 December 2022.
4. Web site: Thomas . Roshane . Jean-Clair Todibo’s ‘miracle’ comeback: ‘He woke from a coma and said: I’ll play football again’ . . 6 October 2024 . 12 September 2024 . 23 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240923175908/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5739298/2024/09/12/jean-clair-todibo-west-ham-coma-miracle/ . live .
5. Web site: À la découverte de Jean-Clair Todibo. On the discovery of Jean-Clair Todibo. Les Violets. 7 July 2017. fr. 19 August 2018. 6 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190506192146/https://www.lesviolets.com/actu/a-la-decouverte-de-jean-clair-todibo,41328.html. dead.
6. News: Le TFC s'impose à Guingamp 2–1, revivez la victoire des Violets ! . TFC impose themselves on Guingamp with a 2–1 win, relive the Violets' victory! . 19 February 2019 . La Depeche . 1 September 2018 . fr . https://web.archive.org/web/20190619200104/https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2018/08/31/2860129-suivez-en-direct-tfc-guingamp-ce-samedi-a-20-heures.html . 19 June 2019 . dead .
7. News: À 10 contre 11, le TFC obtient le nul 1–1 à Rennes en toute fin de match . With 10 men against 11, TFC obtain a 1–1 draw at Rennes right at the death . 19 February 2019 . La Depeche . 30 September 2018 . fr . 20 February 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190220003042/https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2018/09/30/2878896-suivez-rennes-tfc-en-direct-a-partir-de-15-heures.html . live .
8. News: Todibo, Barça's new signing for 2019–20 . 19 February 2019 . FC Barcelona . 8 January 2019 . 8 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190108201858/https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/969593/ . live .
9. Web site: Jean-Clair Todibo transfer to FC Barcelona brought forward. FC Barcelona. 31 January 2019. 31 January 2019. 22 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190422221201/https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/1010921/jean-clair-todibo-transfer-to-fc-barcelona-brought-forward. live.
10. Web site: Agreement with Schalke 04 for Todibo on loan. FC Barcelona. 15 January 2020. 15 January 2020. 15 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200115211529/https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/1572725/agreement-with-schalke-04-for-todibo-on-loan. live.
11. Web site: Todibo named Player of the Month. FC Schalke 04. 22 March 2020. 23 March 2020. 19 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130819141428/http://https/. dead.
12. Web site: Agreement with Benfica for loan of Todibo. 2020-10-09. www.fcbarcelona.com. en. 8 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201008221925/https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/1856813/agreement-with-benfica-for-loan-of-todibo. live.
13. Web site: 1 February 2021. Jean-Clair Todibo signs for OGC Nice. dead. 27 June 2021. OGC Nice. 6 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210206051932/https://www.ogcnice.com/en/news/41895/jean-clair-todibo-signs-for-ogc-nice.
14. Web site: 27 June 2021. Todibo officially completes permanent move!. dead. 27 June 2021. OGC Nice. 3 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210703044713/https://www.ogcnice.com/en/news/43045/todibo-officially-completes-permanent-move-.
15. Web site: Todibo sent off after nine seconds in Nice defeat. www.bbc.co.uk. 18 September 2022. 18 September 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220918162017/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62949203. live.
16. Web site: West Ham United bring in France defender Jean-Clair Todibo . West Ham United F.C. . 10 August 2024 . 11 August 2024.
17. Web site: Jean-Clair Todibo joins West Ham United on season-long loan deal . The Athletic . 10 August 2024 . 28 October 2024.
18. Web site: Jean-Clair Todibo: West Ham sign Nice defender on initial season-long loan deal . BBC Sport . 10 August 2024 . 10 August 2024 . 10 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240810113606/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c8erwrpxzd5o . live .
19. Web site: Jean-Clair Todibo . French Football Federation . 19 February 2019 . fr . 27 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190327092904/https://www.fff.fr/equipes-de-france/tous-les-joueurs/fiche-joueur/2547949962-jean-clair-todibo . live .
20. Web site: 16 March 2023 . La liste des vingt-trois Bleus . 17 March 2023 . FFF . fr-FR.
21. Web site: Todibo gets first France cap. 12 September 2023. 19 November 2023. OGC Nice.
22. Web site: Todibo reveals France's half-time challenge. 19 November 2023. Ligue 1.
23. Web site: J. Todibo . Soccerway . Perform Group . 19 February 2019 . 26 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190426093349/https://int.soccerway.com/players/jeanclair-todibo/480539/ . live .
24. Web site: Barcelona 2018–19: Statistics . BDFutbol . 13 July 2020 . 12 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210412234314/https://www.bdfutbol.com/en/t/t2018-191.html?t=lista . live .
25. Web site: 7 May 2022 . Ludovic Blas penalty wins French Cup for Nantes . 11 September 2022 . . en . 27 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240927022120/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61366648 . live .