Célia Chainez Bensalem is a French central midfielder for RC Strasbourg Alsace in the French Première Ligue, having come through Olympique Lyonnais before spells with Deportivo Toluca and LOSC Lille. A France youth international, she has represented her country at U16 and U19 level.
She joined Olympique Lyonnais at just seven years old, spending twelve seasons there and climbing all the way to the professional squad.
In 2023, at 18 years old, she made a bold move abroad by leaving Lyon for Mexico to sign with Toluca Femenil in Liga MX.
Toluca’s welcome announcement for her went viral locally: in a playful video she enters a Toluca bakery to order a French-style croissant, only to be handed a traditional Mexican concha instead.
In 2022 she celebrated a rare academy double: French D1 title with Lyon’s first team and the national U19 championship in the same season.
| Division 1 Féminine | 1× |
| Year | Club | AP | GL |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2025
-
present
|
RC Strasbourg | 4 | 0 |
|
2025
-
2025
|
LOSC Lille | 3 | 0 |
|
2023
-
2025
|
Deportivo Toluca | 30 | 3 |
|
2021
-
2023
|
Olympique Lyonnais | 1 | 0 |
| International Stats | |||
|
2022
-
2023
|
France U19 | 5 | 0 |
|
2020
-
2020
|
France U16 | 3 | 1 |
