French footballer (born 1997)
Pierre Patron (born 20 August 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Championnat National club Quevilly-Rouen.
Life and career
Patron was born in Vannes in 1997,[2] and raised in Saint-Avé. His father was a driving instructor and his mother a childminder.[3] He played football for his hometown club, Vannes OC from age 10 to 15, before spending the next four years with Brest.[4] During that time, he passed his baccalauréat and began a college course in sports studies.[3] As a 17-year-old, he played in the senior squad that won the 2015 Coupe de Bretagne Senior, and the following season, he made one appearance in the fifth-tier Championnat de France Amateur 2 (CFA2)[5] and was part of the under-19 squad that reached the semi-final of that season's Coupe Gambardella, in which they lost to a Monaco under-19 side featuring the already first-team regular Kylian Mbappé. He was however second-choice goalkeeper behind Gautier Larsonneur at under-19 level, and was released in 2016.[3][4]
After trials with Lorient, Angers and Clermont, Patron signed for the latter as fourth-choice goalkeeper, with the prospect of moving up the pecking order if he had a good season with the B-team in the CFA2.[4] He played 19 matches, and in his second season trained regularly with the professional group while playing 20 matches in the 2017–18 Championnat National 3 (successor to the CFA2).[4][2] In August 2019, he was one of several younger players selected to start the Coupe de la Ligue first round match against third-tier Laval,[6] which Clermont won 3–0. He was named as substitute goalkeeper for the Ligue 2 team on 12 occasions that season, but never took the field.[2]
He signed for Le Mans, newly promoted to Ligue 2, in June 2019.[7] Initially third choice goalkeeper, a dislocated finger for Yoann Thuram gave Patron a seat on the bench, and when Jérémy Aymes was injured while making a clearance 11 minutes into the Coupe de la Ligue round of 32 match against Nice on 30 October, Patron made an unexpected first-team debut. He conceded twice in his first few minutes on the field, but kept a clean sheet thereafter as Le Mans beat the Ligue 1 side 3–2 to go through to the next round.[8] Three days later, Patron made his first appearance in Ligue 2, away to Clermont where he had spent the previous three years; he kept a clean sheet as Le Mans won 1–0.[2]
On 4 July 2022, Patron signed a contract with Charleroi in Belgium for the term of 2 years, with an option for 2 more.[9]
On 19 June 2024, Patron agreed to move to Quevilly-Rouen for two seasons.[10]
References