Ludovic Sylvestre

Youth career

Born in the commune of Le Blanc-Mesnil in Seine-Saint-Denis, as a youth, Sylvestre spent time at Clairefontaine football academy until 2000, Guingamp and then Strasbourg.

Barcelona

In 2005, he was signed by La Liga side Barcelona. Playing for B teams he made just two league appearances for Barça. His debut came on 13 May 2006 as a 64th-minute substitute in a 3–2 away defeat to Sevilla. His full debut, seven days later, was also his last appearance for the club, a 3–1 away defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

Sparta Prague

In 2006 Sylvestre moved to Czech 1.Liga side Sparta Prague. His debut came on 29 July 2006 in a 0–0 home draw with Kladno. His European debut came on 14 September in a 2–0 win away to Scottish Premier League side Hearts in the First round of the 2006–07 UEFA Cup. He went on to make a total on 19 appearances in the 2006–07 season as Sparta won the league.

He started the 2007–08 season with Sparta Prague, making six appearances, before joining Viktoria Plzeň on loan in early 2008. He scored on his debut, a 2–0 home win over 1 FC Brno. He went on to make a total of 14 appearances, scoring one goal for Viktoria Plzeň that season.

Sylvestre made a total of 25 league appearances as well as eight appearances in the UEFA Cup for Sparta.

Mladá Boleslav

Later in 2008 Sylvestre joined Mladá Boleslav, signing a four-year contract with the club. He made his debut on 2 August 2008 in a 1–0 defeat away at former club Sparta Prague. His first goal came in the 2–0 home win over 1 FC Brno on 25 August. He made a total of 29 appearances in the 2008–09 season, scoring four goals as Mladá Boleslav finished 6th, just missing out on qualifying for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League by two points.

The 2009–10 season saw Sylvestre score seven goals in 27 appearances.

Blackpool

On 8 August 2010, Mladá Boleslav stated on their official website that Sylvestre had travelled to England for a medical the following day with newly promoted Premier League side Blackpool and that he was due to sign a two-year contract with them. On the proposed move, Sylvestre said: "'Naturally it is a big call for me, something new. The Czech chapter of my career is over and I would like to thank everyone at Mladá Boleslav. I have been happy playing here and will have good memories. It is difficult to leave Mladá Boleslav as I have a lot of friends there, but this is football life," adding, "I will have a medical and then sign. I am looking forward to playing in England and I am aware Blackpool have just been promoted and there is a big task."

Three days later it was confirmed that Sylvestre had signed a two-year contract with an option of a further year with Blackpool.

On 14 August he made his debut as a 59th-minute substitute as Blackpool marked their Premier League debut with a 4–0 win over Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium.

His full debut came on 21 August in the 6–0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates stadium in the club's second game of their debut season in the Premier League. Three days later he scored his first goal for the Tangerines in the second round of the 2010–11 League Cup, a 4–3 defeat to MK Dons at Stadium MK.

Red Star

In September 2016, Sylvestre joined Ligue 2 club Red Star, marking his return to his homeland after playing abroad for twelve years.

Career statistics

Honours

Sparta Prague