An apartment, a scooter and plane tickets provided by the club, as well as a salary much higher than that of 95% of the inhabitants of the country in which he plays. In six words: Antoine Lemarié is a professional footballer. And at almost 28 years old (February 9), after having traveled more than Phileas Fogg, he relishes this privilege much more than a 17 year old kid programmed to reach the highest level. In order to live “this dream since he was little”, the midfielder flew 10,000 km from Paris, to Cambodia.
At the beginning of December, he signed with Boeung Ket, a mid-table club in the local L1, based in the capital Phnom Penh. “This is the first time that I have signed a 100% professional contract, without needing to work on the side,” relishes the native of Thiais (Val-de-Marne), who grew up near Aix-en-Provence then dragged his crampons to Singapore, Australia, England, Finland and Greece before returning to Asia. I have exceptional living conditions, it is always hot. I am better here than in a 5th division club in France. »
To be exact, Antoine Lemarié, who defines himself as “a technical player, not very fast, with good endurance and very good shot quality” does not only live from football. His YouTube channel, followed by nearly 20,000 subscribers, allows him to earn “a little additional income” since his number of views exploded following his worst expatriate experience: nearly 100,000 views for a video in which he looks back at the nightmare experienced at the start of 2023 at Paniliakos Pyrgo (Greek D3).
Dilapidated apartment with traces of urine and dead cockroaches as options, unfulfilled financial promises, threats and aggression by the president of the club… Today, the Frenchman has left this painful memory behind him. “The pseudo-agent who brought me there was recently taken into police custody and will soon go on trial,” says the man who began sharing his life on YouTube during the spring 2020 confinement.
Singapore changed everything
“I received a lot of messages,” explains this PSG fan. People asked me: “how did you manage to find clubs abroad?” Every time, I answered the same thing. So I said to myself: “why not make a video to explain my journey?” »
Antoine Lemarié also followed the videos of Valentin Liénard, current defender of Thonon Evian Grand Genève (National 2, fourth division), who has 385,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel where he talks about his life and his amateur football matches. “The difference is that he went through training centers in Nice and Monaco,” continues Lemarié.
A journey a thousand miles from his own. His studies destined him for journalism, rather sports, but life played the role of Netflix screenwriters. In the summer of 2016, a vacation in Singapore, where his uncle and aunt live, changed his destiny. “My uncle played tennis in a multi-sport club and my cousin and I played football nearby. Our ball was deflated and I asked a team coach if I could use his pump. He asked me to come and train with them. » Finally, the “Frenchie” landed trials with several Singaporean teams, scheduled for the following January.
In the meantime, back in Aix, he takes on odd jobs in order to raise the money necessary for the adventure that is coming. If the trials do not lead to a contract, a local coach gives him a tip about playing in Australia. “I had almost no money left and I was getting ready to return to France. But I said to myself: “I might as well try the adventure to the end”. » After a long tourist trip to Asia to take advantage of the sabbatical year he had granted himself, the great adventure could begin, quickly summarized below:
- Forrestfield (Perth club, Australian D2). “It was semi-pro, we trained three times a week. Besides that, I was a valet in a luxury hotel and a waiter in a French restaurant. But my visa expired and I couldn’t finish the season. »
- Return to France to finish journalism studies, then departure for England. After a year without playing and sending countless emails, Lemarié arrived at Farsley (Leeds club, English D6). “I stayed two months, I realized that it wasn’t going to do it. I was told that I was going to start in the reserves but that I was not going to stay there. But nothing has changed. However, only the first team players were paid. »
- The Finnish epic in D3 clubs: FC Espoo, Jyväskylä, Vaajakoski. Returning to France in December 2019, the globetrotter contacted a former teammate, a Finn who lived in France during his childhood before returning to the country. “He told me I could come and do some testing, it looked good. I signed my contract with FC Espoo, and Covid arrived just after. » Nothing to stop Antoine Lemarié. The left-hander is making his mark in the country of Jari Litmanen, making ends meet by working in a moving company, giving French lessons or even selling ice cream in Helsinki…
- The trap in Greece, with the sun and a nice salary (around 1,000 euros per month) as bait then return to Finland, to Rops, a club in Rovaniemi. This saga will inspire 16 episodes on YouTube entitled “I sign at the North Pole” plus a few extras including videos on “the most beautiful goal of [sa] career” (a 40-meter strike) and on the playoffs which will lead to promotion to D2.
- Cambodia, finally in the promised land. “For Ligue 1 and the European championships, the step was undoubtedly too high, but Asia remained in the back of my mind. At the end of each season, I send videos with my “highlights”, either to agents or to clubs directly. A former teammate gave me the contact of a Thai agent who only came back to me a month after sending the video. After the Greek misadventure, I was wary. » Finally, the Grail, or not far from it, was at the end.
“It’s a source of pride,” concludes Antoine Lemarié, recently joined by his Finnish partner. My journey has been strewn with pitfalls, many would have given up after several seasons without pay. I did well to hang on, this is my reward. I was semi-pro, I missed being a professional player. » This is now a given. His current lease runs until the end of the season in May. Afterwards ? If the Cambodian adventure ends there, the gyrovague footballer would see himself continuing his epic elsewhere in Asia. And continue to share his adventures on YouTube.