For many aspiring footballers, Barcelona is the ultimate goal. So what happens when you end up at Camp Nou at the age of 19, and it all goes pear-shaped? That’s what happened to Jean-Clair Todibo.
But far from let that disappointment drag him down and define his career, the French centre-back used it to spur him on. And now he is one of the most coveted defenders in Europe, with the ability to pick his next destination.
The Nice and France centre-back has been attracting attention from the continent’s biggest sides for some time, and last summer entertained an offer from Manchester United when it looked as though Harry Maguire was going to be sold to West Ham. In the end, perhaps motivated by his negative experience in Catalunya, Todibo decided to stay put and remain with Nice, where he knew he was guaranteed regular football and could be the heartbeat of the team’s backline.
“I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t tell myself that perhaps I should play in a ‘top club’… But there are also guarantees when playing at Nice,” he told L’Equipe. “I experienced it differently from my previous situations in my career. My thinking was much more in-depth, thoughtful. I didn’t want to make a mistake in my choice. I remained very calm. Reflection is much more important than when I started. I’m waiting to be presented with the complete project.”
As the transfer window fast approaches, clubs will be queuing up to present their projects to Todibo. And United are set to be among them as they look to a future without Raphael Varane while being wary that they cannot always count on the fitness of Lisandro Martinez.
So why is the 24-year-old so in demand? GOAL has the lowdown…
Where it all began
Todibo was born in Cayenne, French Guiana in South America, and moved to Paris at the age of four. He joined the ranks of local club FC Les Lilas aged eight, and would play for them for eight years. But his life almost took a tragic turn when he just was nine years old.
“I was leaving my house to go to judo, I crossed the road and a car knocked me down. It turned into a big accident,” he told La Depeche. “I had an injury on both my leg bones and down to the ankle, and there were several fractures. I’ve still got the scars, but it’s history now.”
His coach at Les Lilas was concerned Todibo would never play football again, but he made a full recovery, joining Toulouse at the age of 16.
The big break
Todibo spent two years playing for Toulouse’s reserve side before making his first-team debut aged 18 in a derby against rivals Bordeaux. He rose to the occasion, helping his side win 2-1 and earning a standing ovation from the supporters when he was substituted.
Todibo performed consistently in his next few games and soon began negotiations with Barcelona, who spotted that he was out of contract with Toulouse at the end of the season. He had only played 10 games in Ligue 1 when he sealed a transfer to Camp Nou in January 2019, and while he was supposed to join the following summer, he ended up fast-tracking his move a few weeks later, signing a four-year deal containing a release clause of €150 milloon (£130m/$162m).
“I chose Barcelona because I wanted to be with the best players and learn every day with them,” he said at his presentation. “I’m not ready to be a starter, but I’m ready to learn from my team-mates.”
How it’s going
The move to Barca came too soon for Todibo, however, as he made just five appearances and was loaned out to Bundesliga side Schalke the following January after less than a year with the Catalans.
Todibo sees his time in La Liga as more of a learning curve than a resounding failure. “Because I wasn’t playing at Barcelona, people said I’d failed. It never affected me because I entered the professional world early and I had to learn as I progressed,” he told Telefoot. “I learned from my failure, and I prefer my story to be like that rather than a rosy one.”
Todibo had more unhappy experiences at Schalke and then Benfica before returning to his home country by signing on loan for Nice on transfer deadline day in February 2021. And it was at the club, owned by United’s minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, where he began to shine.
He quickly locked down his place in the team, starting 15 matches and convincing Nice to pay Barca €8.5m (£7m/$9m) plus €7.5m (£6.4m/$8m) in variables to sign him permanently. He has remained one of the first names on the teamsheet despite a changing cast of coaches at Nice, and has helped them build one of the best defences in Ligue 1.
Nice have the best defensive record this season, having let in just 25 goals in 32 matches. They had the second-best defence last season, too, despite finishing ninth in the table, while they had the joint-best in Todibo’s first full campaign.
Todibo, meanwhile, made his France debut last November in the 14-0 win over Gibraltar.
Biggest strengths
Todibo is renowned for his confidence and ability on the ball, which derives from his time spent playing as a holding midfielder in his youth career. He has said he was inspired by Andrea Pirlo and Thiago Silva, an indication of the ball-playing defender he aspires to be.
He takes a lot of touches for a defender, attempting 85 passes per game on average. That puts him within the top five percent of central defenders in Europe’s top five leagues. He also averages an 89% pass completion rate, which is among the top 20%. He also rates highly for progressive carries and successful take-ons.
But his ability with the ball at his feet does not come at the expense of his aptitude in other facets of the game, as he posseses impressive strength. “Jean-Clair Todibo has incredible potential,” said Nice coach Francesco Farioli. “He knows how to defend in tight spaces and in wide areas. He can attack as well as defend.”
Room for improvement
While he is strong at tackling and interceptions, Todibo scores low in other areas associated with old-school defending. He fares particularly badly in aerial duels, winning 1.53 per 90 minutes, while he also has a low rate of clearances and blocks compared to his peers.
What comes next?
Having bounced back from his disappointing spell at Barcelona, the time has come for Todibo to take another leap to a bigger club, with all respect to Nice. The defender has hinted that this might be his last season on the French Riviera.
“I don’t have my head elsewhere. I feel really good at Nice,” he said in February. “We’ll see what happens in the summer, but we’re not there yet. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I don’t want to give false hope.
“The goal is that if it is to be my final season at Nice, then I want to leave here having done something beautiful with the club. The supporters and the club deserve players who give everything on the pitch, and to achieve something substantial. Personally, if I am to leave, I want to leave something good behind.”
Nice were challenging Paris Saint-Germain for the title at the time, but they blew their hopes with a horrendous run of form, losing five games out of nine while winning just once. They are currently on course to finish fifth and qualify for the Europa Conference League.
Nice may have helped Todibo reboot his career, but there is a sense that he has outgrown them. Tottenham and United have declared their interest in him, according to reports, and it is believed Nice will demand around £40m ($50m) to let him go.
United should have the upper hand given Ratcliffe’s ties to both clubs. But will the Red Devils, who are having one of their worst-ever seasons, be able to convince him that they are the complete project?
