Olivier Verdon
Beninese footballer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Olivier Jacques Verdon (born 5 October 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Bulgarian First League club Ludogorets Razgrad. Born in France, he represents Benin at international level. He has become known for repeated instances of domestic violence, attempted murder, and aggression against partners.[2][3][4]
|
Verdon with Ludogorets Razgrad in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Olivier Jacques Verdon[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 5 October 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Clamart, France | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ludogorets Razgrad | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Angoulême | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2016 | Angoulême | 32 | (2) |
| 2016–2018 | Bordeaux B | 37 | (4) |
| 2017–2018 | Bordeaux | 1 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Sochaux | 30 | (2) |
| 2019–2021 | Alavés | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → Eupen (loan) | 22 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Ludogorets Razgrad (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2021– | Ludogorets Razgrad | 120 | (12) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017– | Benin | 46 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 December 2025 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Verdon signed his first professional contract on 27 April 2017 with Ligue 1 club FC Girondins de Bordeaux after successful seasons with their B team.[5] He made his professional debut for Bordeaux in a Ligue 1 match against Olympique Marseille on 19 November 2017.[6] He came on for Igor Lewczuk in the 80th minute of the 1–1 home draw.
On 11 June 2019, after a year with Ligue 2 side FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, Verdon signed a three-year contract with Deportivo Alavés in La Liga.[7] On 2 September, however, he was loaned to KAS Eupen of the Belgian First Division A.[8]
On 4 September 2020, Verdon was loaned to Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad for the season.[9]
International career
Verdon was born in France and is Beninese by his mother.[10] He debuted for the Benin national football team on 24 March 2017, in a 1–0 friendly loss to Mauritania.[11]
That same year, he also took part in his country’s opening match of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Gambia, as well as in friendly matches against Congo and Tanzania.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 6 April 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Angoulême | 2014–15 | Championnat National 3 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | Championnat National 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| Total | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 2 | ||||
| Bordeaux B | 2015–16 | Championnat National 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Championnat National 3 | 21 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Championnat National 3 | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | 10 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 4 | — | — | — | 37 | 4 | |||||
| Bordeaux | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Sochaux | 2018–19 | Ligue 2 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| Eupen (loan) | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| Ludogorets Razgrad (loan) | 2020–21 | Bulgarian First League | 19 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7[b] | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 2021–22 | Bulgarian First League | 22 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 39 | 3 |
| 2022–23 | Bulgarian First League | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 14[e] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 43 | 2 | |
| 2023–24 | Bulgarian First League | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14[f] | 2 | 1[d] | 1 | 44 | 5 | |
| 2024–25 | First League | 27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13[g] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 44 | 3 | |
| 2025–26 | First League | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14[h] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 35 | 4 | |
| Ludogorets Total | 139 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 75 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 235 | 17 | ||
| Career total | 261 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 75 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 359 | 25 | ||
- Includes Coupe de France, Copa del Rey, Belgian Cup, Hungarian Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Bulgarian Super Cup
- Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
- six appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League
- four appearances in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of matches played on 13 December 2025[12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benin national team | 2017 | 5 | 0 |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 46 | 0 | |
Honours
Ludogorets Razgrad
- Bulgarian First League: (5) 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
- Bulgarian Supercup: (5) 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Bulgarian Cup: (2) 2022–23, 2024–25