Leon Balogun

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Infobox football biography Leon Aderemi Balogun (born 28 June 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for Template:Cypriot football updater club Aris Limassol. Balogun has previously played for Türkiyemspor Berlin, Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Darmstadt 98, Mainz 05, Brighton & Hove Albion, Wigan Athletic, a previous spell at Rangers and Queens Park Rangers.

Club career

Early career

He made his Bundesliga debut on 19 April 2009 for Hannover 96 in a game against Hamburger SV.[1]

After his contract with 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf expired in summer 2014, he was without a club for three months until he joined fellow leaguer Darmstadt 98. He signed a contract until the end of the 2014–15 season.[2]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 22 May 2018, Balogun signed a two-year deal with Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.[3]

Balogun made his competitive debut for the Sussex club coming on as an early substitute against Manchester United replacing injured Lewis Dunk. The Seagulls went on to beat United 3–2 at Falmer Stadium.[4]

He scored his first goal for the Albion to make it 2–0 against bitter rivals Crystal Palace at Falmer Stadium where he scored in 25 seconds after being subbed on replacing Pascal Groß as a result of a Shane Duffy red card for head butting. The game finished 3–1 to the Albion to claim the boasting rights in the M23 derby.[5]

On 27 August 2019, Balogun played in his first ever EFL Cup match in a 2–1 away win over Bristol Rovers.[6]

Wigan Athletic

Balogun signed for Wigan Athletic on 31 January 2020 on a six-month loan deal.[7] On 25 June 2020, he signed a short term permanent contract with the Latics until the end of the 2019–20 season.[8]

Rangers

Balogun signed for Scottish Premiership club Rangers on 24 July 2020 on a one-year contract, with an option in the club's favour to extend for a further year.[9] He made his debut for Rangers a week later, on 1 August, in a Scottish Premiership match against Aberdeen where he impressed during a 1–0 win.[10] During February 2021, he deputised at right back after an injury to club captain James Tavernier and the suspension of reserve player Nathan Patterson. Balogun previously played at right back earlier in his career when in Germany.[11]

On 9 April 2021, Balogun signed a new one-year contract with Rangers.[12] He scored his first goal for the club on 27 October 2021, in a Europa League group stage match against Brøndby IF.[13] Balogun left Rangers in June 2022 after his contract expired, with his final appearance coming in their 2022 Scottish Cup Final victory.[14][15] Rangers legend Ally McCoist commented two months later that he had been "surprised" by Balogun's departure, and suggested that the club should re-sign him.[14]

Queens Park Rangers

Balogun signed a one-year contract with Queens Park Rangers on 26 August 2022.[16] He scored his first goal for the club on 22 October 2022, which proved to be the winner, against his former club Wigan Athletic.[17]

Return to Rangers

He returned to Rangers on 12 July 2023, a year after departing from the club as a free agent. His return was one celebrated by the club and its fans, as well as Balogun himself, who felt as though he had “come home”.[18]

Aris Limassol

On 20 June 2025, Balogun signed a one-year contract with Cypriot First Division club Aris Limassol.[19]

International career

File:FWC 2018 - Group D - NGA v ISL - Photo 21.jpg
Balogun with Nigeria against Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Born to a Nigerian father and German mother, Balogun was called up by Nigeria for a March 2014 friendly against Mexico as a replacement for Joseph Yobo.[20] Balogun entered at half-time, but was injured after 20 minutes in a collision with signage on the touchline. He fractured his foot and was set to miss 2–3 months after surgery. However, he later confirmed to news media that his injury did not require surgery.[21][22]

On 25 March 2015, he played his second game for Nigeria in a 1–0 loss against Uganda. He played his third game for the country on 13 June 2015 when he featured in a 2–0 win over Chad in the opening game of qualifying for the 2017 African Nations Cup.

In June 2018, he was named in Nigeria's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[23] Balogun played in every minute of the three games Nigeria played in, including a 2–0 win over Iceland, but were eliminated after finishing 3rd in their group.[24]

Balogun was included in Nigeria's squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[25] His first appearance in the competition came in Nigeria's second group game against Guinea in which Nigeria won 1–0 to seal qualification into the knockouts.[26] Balogun made 4 appearances in the competition where The Super Eagles finished as bronze medallists.[27]

Personal life

Balogun was born in Berlin, West Germany[28] to a Nigerian-Yoruba father and a German mother.[29] Balogun was raised Roman Catholic and attended a Catholic primary school, but was not religious as a child.[30] However, during the hardships of his early footballing career he became more devout.[30][31] Balogun speaks fluent English and German, but does not speak Yoruba, as his parents tried to assimilate him into German culture.[29]

In November 2019 Balogun said there needed to be a collective response from players to racism in football.[32]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 March 2025Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[33]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cupTemplate:Efn League cupTemplate:Efn Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hannover 96 II 2008–09 Regionalliga Nord 21 1 — — — 21 1
2009–10 Regionalliga Nord 16 0 — — — 16 0
Total 37 1 — — — 37 1
Hannover 96 2008–09 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2009–10 Bundesliga 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Total 3 0 0 0 — — 3 0
Werder Bremen II 2010–11 3. Liga 29 1 — — — 29 1
2011–12 3. Liga 20 3 — — — 20 3
Total 49 4 — — — 49 4
Werder Bremen 2010–11 Bundesliga 3 0 0 0 — 0 0 3 0
2011–12 Bundesliga 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Total 3 0 0 0 — 0 0 3 0
Fortuna Düsseldorf II 2012–13 Regionalliga West 2 1 — — — 2 1
2013–14 Regionalliga West 2 0 — — — 2 0
Total 4 1 — — — 4 1
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2012–13 Bundesliga 17 0 1 0 — — 18 0
2013–14 2. Bundesliga 11 0 1 0 — — 12 0
Total 28 0 2 0 — — 30 0
Darmstadt 98 2014–15 2. Bundesliga 21 4 0 0 — — 21 4
Mainz 05 2015–16 Bundesliga 21 1 2 0 — — 23 1
2016–17 Bundesliga 17 0 1 0 — 2Template:Efn 0 20 0
2017–18 Bundesliga 14 0 1 0 — — 15 0
Total 52 1 4 0 — 2 0 58 1
Mainz 05 II 2016–17 3. Liga 1 0 — — — 1 0
Brighton & Hove Albion 2018–19 Premier League 8 1 2 0 0 0 — 10 1
2019–20 Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
Total 8 1 2 0 1 0 — 11 1
Wigan Athletic (loan) 2019–20 Championship 6 0 0 0 0 0 — 6 0
Wigan Athletic 2019–20 Championship 5 0 0 0 0 0 — 5 0
Rangers 2020–21 Scottish Premiership 19 0 0 0 1 0 8Template:Efn 0 28 0
2021–22 Scottish Premiership 21 0 3 0 2 0 11Template:Efn 2 37 2
Total 40 0 3 0 3 0 19 2 65 2
Queens Park Rangers 2022–23 Championship 16 1 0 0 0 0 — 16 1
Rangers 2023–24 Scottish Premiership 14 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 19 0
2024–25 Scottish Premiership 15 1 0 0 2 0 6Template:Efn 0 23 1
Total 29 1 2 0 5 0 6 0 42 1
Career total 302 14 13 0 9 0 27 2 351 15

Template:Notelist

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Nigeria 2014 1 0
2015 5 0
2016 3 0
2017 6 0
2018 11 0
2019 6 0
2020 4 0
2021 7 1
2022 3 0
Total 46 1
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Balogun goal.[34]
List of international goals scored by Leon Balogun
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 October 2021 Japoma Stadium, Douala, Cameroon File:Flag of the Central African Republic.svg Central African Republic 1–0 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Rangers

Nigeria

References

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  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Template:Soccerway
  34. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "WikidataCheck".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links

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