Ludovic Ajorque

Ludovic Ajorque (born 25 February 1994) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Mainz 05.

Ludovic Ajorque
Ajorque with Strasbourg in 2021
Personal information
Full name Ludovic Ajorque
Date of birth (1994-02-25) 25 February 1994
Place of birth Saint-Denis, Réunion
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Mainz 05
Number 17
Youth career
2011 AS Excelsior
2012–2014 Angers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2016 Angers 0 (0)
2012–2016 Angers II 37 (14)
2014–2015 → Poiré-sur-Vie (loan) 15 (2)
2014–2015 → Poiré-sur-Vie II (loan) 1 (0)
2015–2016 → Luçon (loan) 32 (9)
2016–2018 Clermont 65 (19)
2017 Clermont II 2 (1)
2018–2023 Strasbourg 135 (46)
2023– Mainz 05 18 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 August 2023

Developed at Angers, where he made only one Coupe de la Ligue appearance, he played for two years with Clermont in Ligue 2 before a €1.5 million move to Ligue 1 team Strasbourg in 2018. He has played over 130 times for Strasbourg, scoring over 40 goals and winning the Coupe de la Ligue in 2019.

Club career

Early career

Ajorque began his career at AS Excelsior on his native island before moving to Angers SCO, where he played mainly for the reserve team in the fifth tier. His sole game for Angers was on 12 August 2014 in the first round of the Coupe de la Ligue, playing the first 57 minutes of a 2–1 home win over Nîmes.[2]

In July 2016, following a season on loan at Luçon in the Championnat National, Ajorque transferred to Ligue 2 club Clermont on a three-year deal.[3] After 14 goals in 37 games in 2017–18, he signed a four-year deal at Strasbourg in Ligue 1.[4] The transfer fee was €1.5 million.[5]

Strasbourg

Ajorque made his top-flight debut on 12 August 2018, starting as the season began with a 2–0 win at Bordeaux, and scored the first of his nine goals on 1 September to open a 3–2 home loss to Nantes.[6] The following 19 January, he scored twice in a 5–1 win at Monaco,[7] and added another brace on 9 March as the team came from behind to draw with Lyon at the Stade de la Meinau.[8]

In the 2018–19 Coupe de la Ligue, Ajorque played four games and scored twice as the Alsatians won the trophy for the first time in 14 years. His penalty opened a 2–1 win at Lyon in the quarter-finals on 8 January, and he equalised in a 3–2 home win over Bordeaux three weeks later.[9] With this result, the team entered the UEFA Europa League, where he scored in each leg of a 4–3 aggregate win over Maccabi Haifa.[10]

In June 2020, Ajorque extended his contract until 2024.[11] In the ensuing season, in which his team finished two points above the relegation play-offs, he scored 16 goals in 35 games; this put him joint fourth behind Kylian Mbappé, Wissam Ben Yedder and Memphis Depay.[12] In 2021–22, his 12 goals put him in 10th.[13] On 7 November, he was sent off for the first time in his career for a foul on Fábio in a 2–2 draw at Nantes.[14]

Mainz 05

On 24 January 2023, Ajorque signed for Bundesliga club Mainz 05 for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half year contract.[15]

International career

Born in Réunion, Ajorque is of Malagasy descent and was approached to join the Madagascar national team in March 2018.[16] He has said he wants to concentrate on club football.[17]

Career statistics
As of match played 11 January 2023[18]
Appearances by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Angers II 2012–13 CFA 2 71———71
2013–14 CFA 2 2210———2210
2014–15 CFA 2 83———83
Total 3714———3714
Angers 2014–15 Ligue 2 000010—10
Poiré-sur-Vie (loan) 2014–15 National 15210——162
Poiré-sur-Vie II (loan) 2014–15 CFA 2 10———10
Luçon (loan) 2015–16 National 32900——329
Clermont 2016–17 Ligue 2 2850021—306
2017–18 Ligue 2 37141020—4014
Total 65191041—7020
Clermont II 2016–17 CFA 2 21———21
Strasbourg 2018–19 Ligue 1 2590042—2911
2019–20 Ligue 1 26800106[lower-alpha 1]23310
2020–21 Ligue 1 351610——3616
2021–22 Ligue 1 361220——3812
2022–23 Ligue 1 13100——131
Total 1354630526214950
Career total 28791501036230896
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Strasbourg

References
  1. "Ludovic Ajorque" (in German). 1. FSV Mainz 05. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  2. Raguin, Antoine (9 February 2019). "Ligue 1. Ludovic Ajorque : « Sans Angers, je serais peut-être aujourd'hui à la Réunion »" [:Ligue 1. Ludovic Ajorque: "Without Angers, I would probably be in Réunion today"]. Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  3. "Transfert : Ludovic Ajorque (Angers) à Clermont" [Transfer: Ludovic Ajorque (Angers) to Clermont]. L'Équipe (in French). 26 July 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. "Football : le Réunionnais Ludovic Ajorque signe à Strasbourg" [Football: Réunion's Ludovic Ajorque signs for Strasbourg]. L'Info (in French). 5 June 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  5. "Ligue 1: Strasbourg et Ajorque détruisent Monaco, qui replonge en enfer" [Ligue 1: Strasbourg and Ajorque destroy Monaco, who fall back into Hell]. La Croix (in French). Agence France-Presse. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  6. Nus, Pierre; Dreosto, Luc (1 September 2018). "LIGUE 1 : Le Racing Club de Strasbourg s'incline 3 buts à 2 face à Nantes" [LIGUE 2: Racing Club de Strasbourg fall 3 goals to 2 against Nantes] (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  7. Rain, Arthur (19 January 2019). "Ligue 1, 21e journée: Strasbourg va humilier Monaco avec un doublé de Ludovic Ajorque (1-5)" [Ligue 1, 21st matchday: Strasbourg go and humiliate Monaco with a brace from Ludovic Ajorque (1-5)]. 20 minutes (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  8. "Ligue 1. Lyon mis en échec par Strasbourg" [Ligue 1. Lyon put in check by Strasbourg]. Le Télégramme (in French). 9 March 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  9. Lejolivet, Pierre (30 January 2019). "Strasbourg croque Bordeaux et rejoint Guingamp en finale de la Coupe de la Ligue" [Strasbourg crack Bordeaux and join Guingamp in the Coupe de la Ligue final]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  10. "Strasbourg squeak past Maccabi Haïfa; Lokomotiv Plovdiv next". Get Football News France. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  11. "Ligue 1 : Ludovic Ajorque prolonge de deux ans avec Strasbourg" [Ligue 1: Ludovic Ajorque extends for two years with Strasbourg]. L'Équipe (in French). 30 June 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  12. "Ligue 1 : Le classement final des buteurs de Ligue 1, le triplé pour Kylian Mbappé !" [Ligue 1: Final goalscorers ranking in Ligue 1, hat-trick for Kylian Mbappé!]. Ouest-France (in French). 25 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  13. "Mbappé termina como máximo goleador de la Ligue 1 con 28 goles" [Mbappé finishes as Ligue 1 top scorer with 28 goals] (in Spanish). Medio Tiempo. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  14. Aubry, Pierre-Alexandre (7 November 2021). "FC Nantes - RC Strasbourg : Pourquoi le rouge d'Ajorque a fait du mal... aux Nantais" [FC Nantes - RC Strasbourg: Why Ajorque's red card was bad for... Nantes]. 20 minutes (in French). Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  15. "MAINZ SIGN STRIKER AJORQUE". www.mainz05.de/en. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  16. "Madagascar : Ronny Rodelin (Caen) bientôt avec les Barea ?". sports.orange.fr. 30 March 2018.
  17. Okeleji, Oluwashina (5 May 2019). "2019 Africa Cup of Nations: Madagascar coach Dupuis to stick with squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  18. Ludovic Ajorque at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  19. "Strasbourg Win French League Cup After Penalty Shootout". The Quint. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
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