Jonathan Clauss
French footballer (born 1992)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jonathan Florent Clauss (Alemannic German pronunciation: [ˈklaʊ̯s]; born 25 September 1992) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 club Nice and the France national team.
|
Clauss with Nice in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Florent Clauss | ||
| Date of birth | 25 September 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Strasbourg, France | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Nice | ||
| Number | 92 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2000 | FC Osthoffen | ||
| 2000–2010 | Strasbourg | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2013 | ASPV Strasbourg | ||
| 2013–2015 | RC Paris | 62 | (15) |
| 2015–2016 | Evian | 24 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Avranches B | 2 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Avranches | 30 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Quevilly-Rouen B | 1 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Quevilly-Rouen | 29 | (1) |
| 2018–2020 | Arminia Bielefeld | 62 | (8) |
| 2020 | Lens B | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Lens | 70 | (8) |
| 2022–2024 | Marseille | 61 | (5) |
| 2024– | Nice | 63 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022– | France | 14 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:13, 20 September 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:03, 6 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
Clauss represented France at the UEFA Euro 2024.
Early life
Jonathan Florent Clauss[2] was born on 25 September 1992 in Strasbourg, Alsace.[3]
Club career
Early career
A long-term academy product of Strasbourg, Clauss spent years in the lower divisions of France and Germany before signing a contract with Quevilly-Rouen in the Ligue 2 for the 2017–18 season.[4] He made his professional debut for the club in a 3–2 loss to Châteauroux on 8 September 2017, in which he assisted one of his side's goals.[5]
Arminia Bielefeld
In August 2018, free agent Clauss joined 2. Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld after trialling with the side.[6]
Lens
In May 2020, L'Équipe reported Clauss would be leaving Bielefeld upon expiration of his contract in the summer and return to France having agreed a three-year contract with Lens, newly promoted to Ligue 1.[7] At the age of 28, he made the first top-flight appearance of his career. At the end of the 2020–21 season, he was included in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year by the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP).[8]
Marseille
On 20 July 2022, Clauss signed with fellow Ligue 1 side Marseille. The transfer fee to be paid to Lens was €9 million.[9]
Nice
On 25 July 2024, Clauss signed for Nice for €5 million plus €1 million in potential bonuses.[10]
International career
In March 2022, at the age of 29, Clauss received his first call-up to the France national team when manager Didier Deschamps selected him for friendly matches against Ivory Coast and South Africa.[11] He made his debut on 25 March in a 2–1 victory over the former side.[12]
On 18 November 2023, Clauss scored his first goal with France in a 14–0 win over Gibraltar, the largest victory in the nation's history.[13]
Personal life
Clauss has been an outspoken critic of homophobic chants during football games. In May 2025, he said during an interview with L'Equipe that homosexual players hide because "people are selfish (...) they don't put in other people's shoes."[14] Clauss also stated that on homophobia and other social issues like racism, he has always been "on the side of those who were not very popular in the (school) playground."[14] He urged fellow players and fans to empathise with gay footballers, saying that "it is not cool for the people who suffer it."[14][15]
In September 2025, during a match against Paris FC, referee Abdelatif Kherradji warned Nice fans that he would stop the game if the homophobic chants did not stop.[16] Angry, Clauss confronted the fans who continued shouting anti-gay insults, later expressing that "there are things that shouldn't be heard in a football stadium, even in everyday society", again urging for protective environment for gay players.[17][18]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 20 September 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| SV Linx | 2013–14 | Verbandsliga Südbaden | 31 | 5 | — | — | — | 31 | 5 | |||
| 2013–14 | Oberliga Baden-Württemberg | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Verbandsliga Südbaden | 29 | 9 | — | — | — | 29 | 9 | ||||
| Total | 62 | 15 | — | — | — | 62 | 15 | |||||
| Raon-l'Étape | 2015–16[19] | CFA | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| Avranches | 2016–17[19] | Championnat National | 30 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 2 | ||
| Avranches B | 2016–17[19] | CFA 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Quevilly-Rouen | 2017–18[19] | Ligue 2 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| Quevilly-Rouen B | 2017–18[19] | Championnat National 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Arminia Bielefeld | 2018–19[20] | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20[20] | 2. Bundesliga | 34 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 5 | |||
| Total | 62 | 8 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 65 | 8 | ||||
| Lens B | 2020–21[19] | Championnat National 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Lens | 2020–21[19] | Ligue 1 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22[19] | Ligue 1 | 37 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 3 | |||
| Total | 70 | 8 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 74 | 4 | ||||
| Marseille | 2022–23[19] | Ligue 1 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | — | 42 | 2 | |
| 2023–24[19] | Ligue 1 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 14[c] | 2 | — | 43 | 5 | ||
| Total | 61 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 2 | — | 85 | 7 | |||
| Nice | 2024–25[19] | Ligue 1 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7[d] | 0 | — | 38 | 3 | |
| 2025–26[19] | Ligue 1 | 30 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 8[e] | 0 | 2[f] | 1 | 46 | 2 | |
| 2026–27 | Ligue 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 63 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 89 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 405 | 42 | 26 | 1 | 35 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 468 | 43 | ||
- Includes Coupe de France, DFB-Pokal
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, twelve appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-offs
International
- As of match played 6 September 2024[21]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2022 | 6 | 0 |
| 2023 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 14 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Clauss goal[22]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2023 | Allianz Riviera, Nice, France | 9 |  Gibraltar |
5–0 | 14–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 2 | 5 June 2024 | Stade Saint-Symphorien, Longeville-lès-Metz, France | 13 |  Luxembourg |
2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
