Serge Aurier

Serge Alain Stéphane Aurier (French: [sɛʁʒ oʁje]; born 24 December 1992) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Persian Gulf Pro League club Persepolis.

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

Aurier made his international debut for the Ivory Coast in 2013 and has earned over 90 caps, serving as captain since 2017. He represented the nation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, winning the 2015 and 2023 editions.

Club career

Lens

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. 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.