Logan Costa

Logan Evans Costa ( ; born 1 April 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Villarreal. Born in France, he represents the Cape Verde national team.

Costa is a former French youth international, having represented them at U16 and U17 level, before switching to play for Cape Verde in 2022.

Early life Costa was born in Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, to a Cape Verdean family.

Club career Having started to play football in Argenteuil, Val-d'Oise, Costa joined the youth academy of Reims in 2016.

A player in Reims's Championnat National 2 reserve starting in the 2018–19 season, Costa captained the side during the following campaign. With a few first-team appearances in Ligue 1 games, he was loaned to Championnat National side Le Mans for the 2020–21 season.

After this promising loan spell, Costa was offered a contract extension by Reims, but chose to look elsewhere in search of more game time. Starting the season behind Rasmus Nicolaisen, Bafodé Diakité and Anthony Rouault, with a team aiming for promotion, Costa first only made bench appearances in Ligue 2. However, he established himself as a regular starter in the Coupe de France, even scoring his first goal against Trélissac.

On 22 August 2024, Costa joined La Liga club Villarreal on a six-year deal. He made his debut for the club on 26 August, coming on as a substitute in a league win over Celta Vigo. On 14 September, he scored his first goal for Villarreal in a 2–1 victory against Mallorca.

International career Costa was a youth international for France, playing with the under-16 and under-17 teams. He was also selected for the under-19s and under-20s, without playing any official games in a period where most of them were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 16 March 2022, he received his first international call-up for the Cape Verde national team. He debuted with Cape Verde in a 2–0 friendly win over Guadeloupe. He was later named in Cape Verde's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where he played in all five of their matches before they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

On 18 May 2026, he was called up by Cape Verde's head coach Bubista for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life Costa was originally a Roman Catholic but later decided to convert to Islam. He is one of three Muslim players in the Cape Verde squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the others being Jamiro Monteiro and Steven Moreira.

Controversy On 14 May 2023, Costa reportedly refused to participate in a Ligue 1 match against Nantes due to the game being part of a league-wide campaign against homophobia, with players wearing shirts with rainbow-themed decorations. However, he later denied the allegation that he refused to play in the match.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Toulouse Ligue 2: 2021–22 Coupe de France: 2022–23