Leny Yoro

Leny Jean-Luc Yoro (born 13 November 2005) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United.

A Lille academy graduate, Yoro joined the club as a child and then became one of the youngest first-team players when he made his professional Ligue 1 debut in May 2022, at the age of 16 years, six months and one day. After a first senior season in which he was mainly used as a substitute, he became one of Lille's cornerstones as a teenager in his second full season and made his European debut in August 2023. In 2024, he signed for Manchester United for a reported fee of €62 million (£52.2 million), making him the most expensive player aged 18 or younger and one of the most expensive centre-backs in history.

Yoro represented France at under-17, under-18, under-19, under-21 and under-23 levels.

Leny Jean-Luc Yoro was born on 13 November 2005 in Saint-Maurice, France and spent his first years in the suburbs of Paris. He is the son of Alain Yoro, a former footballer of Ivorian descent who played for Lille reserve team, and Flore Baugnies who is of Northern French ancestry. Yoro is named after Lenny Kravitz, one of his mother's favourite singers. He has three younger brothers: Roméo, Eden and Esteban, of which two play within Lille youth system.

At the age of five, he started playing football at Alfortville where he stayed one season before moving with his family in the Lille area. He then pursued his football learning in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, where he grew up after his parents separated, and finally joined Lille's youth system in 2017. Ten years later, at 15 years old, he got his start in the UEFA Youth League, coming off the bench in the 79th minute against Sevilla on 20 October 2021. He hence chose to wear the number 15 shirt when he then turned professional.

"Leny at that time was still 16 and the idea then was that it would just be for pre-season. After just two days I said, ‘No, no he will stay with us here’. For me, players don’t have age if they have talent. [...] It was so easy to understand that he would be important to the team. In all my years as a coach, I’ve never seen such a young player with so much maturity. He has so much class, so much elegance. He’s a beautiful player."

Yoro debuted with Lille reserve team in 2022, and quickly signed his first professional contract with the club on 10 January 2022. He made his professional debut with Lille in a 3–1 Ligue 1 win over Nice on 14 May 2022 in the penultimate match of the season. At 16 years six months and one day of age, Yoro is the second youngest Lille player, behind Joël Depraeter-Henry and taking the second place from Eden Hazard. In early August, he extended his contract with his club until June 2025.

Next season, he became a permanent member of the professional squad named to play in the 2022–23 Ligue 1. On 17 September, he played his first professional match as a starter in a 2–1 home win against Toulouse. His then-manager Paulo Fonseca stated: "Leny deserved this start, given the way he worked with the team. He deserved to have an opportunity. He had a good match. [...] Being 16 years old, he gave a solid performance, with a lot of character." Fourth centre-back behind veteran and captain José Fonte, Tiago Djaló and Alexsandro, he ended the season with 13 Ligue 1 appearances, including 8 starts, and a total of more than 750 minutes played.