Official | Auxerre extending the contract of Donavan Léon

Donovan Léon’s (32) story at AJ Auxerre will continue for a couple more years. On Friday, the club extended his deal until 2027, with AJA being the only professional club he’s ever featured for.

The first-choice goalkeeper from French Guiana came to the Burgundy club in 2009 at the age of 16 and has featured in over 200 matches with the team.

Léon, who made his AJA debut in August 2011, was an integral part in this club’s ascension back into the French top-flight, stopping the only penalty in their play-off victory over AS Saint-Étienne in May 2022 as they were promoted back into Ligue 1.

The club added Benoît Costil on loan ahead of the 2022-23 Ligue 1 campaign, and Léon made only two appearances in the top flight that season.

After they were relegated at the end of that campaign, Léon reclaimed his place as the first-choice keeper, helping them win Ligue 2 last season with 13 clean sheets.

Throughout the current Ligue 1 campaign, he’s been stellar between the stick for Christophe Pélissier’s men, leading the league in saves per 90 (4.3).

In his team’s 0-0 draw with Paris Saint-Germain last month, he earned a rare perfect 10 rating from L’Équipe, making 11 stops during that encounter.

After 18 Ligue 1 encounters this season, Auxerre are 11th in the table with 22 points.

For his part, Léon has collected four clean sheets domestically thus far in 2024-25. In 2017, he helped French Guiana win a bronze medal at the 2017 Caribbean Cup.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre