Nicolas Benezet


Nicolas Benezet is a French professional footballer who plays for the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer. He plays as an attacking midfielder and is known for his positional versatility and small frame.

Club career

France

Born in Montpellier, Benezet played in the youth academy of Montpellier before signing with Nîmes in 2004. He made his professional debut in the 2010–11 season on 15 October 2010 in a league match against Istres appearing as a substitute in a 0–0 draw. On 8 December 2010, he signed his first professional contract after agreeing to a three-year deal with Nîmes. Two days later, he rewarded Nîmes by scoring his first professional goal in a 3–2 victory over Istres in the Coupe de France. On 21 December, he scored his first professional league goal in a 2–0 win against Metz.
At the end of the 2012–13 season, top-flight clubs Sochaux-Montbéliard and Evian Thonon Gaillard showed interest in signing him and in July 2013, Benezet joined Evian.
On 3 July 2015, Benezet signed for En Avant de Guingamp.

Major League Soccer

In July 2019, following Guingamp's relegation from Ligue 1, Benezet joined Major League Soccer club Toronto FC on loan for the remainder of their season, with the club holding an option to make the transfer permanent at the conclusion of the loan, which would be triggered automatically if he started six regular season matches. Toronto chose not to acquire him permanently after the loan due to a lack of salary cap space after the re-signing of Michael Bradley.
In January, he returned to MLS, signing with Colorado Rapids, who paid a $500,000 transfer fee to Guingamp for him, after acquiring his MLS rights from Toronto in a trade.

Career statistics

Club