# Aleksi Paananen

Aleksi Paananen (born 25 January 1993) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Veikkausliiga club AC Oulu. He is often labeled as Thiago Alcantara or Diego Maradona of Finnish football, of which the latter he got the nickname ”Diego”.

## Career
### KuPS

Paananen started football with SiPS youth sector, before moving to KuPS in the nearby town of Kuopio. He made his senior debut with the KuPS first team in Veikkausliiga in 2010.

### Inter Turku

On 1 November 2018, Inter Turku announced the signing of Paananen for the 2019 season. He signed a 2-year deal.

### HJK

On 2 November 2022, Paananen signed a contract with HJK for the 2023 season, with an option for 2024.
On 5 November 2023, it was announced that Paananen will leave HJK after the season.

### AC Oulu

In November 2023, it was announced that Paananen had signed with fellow Veikkausliiga side AC Oulu on a two-year deal with an option for an additional year, starting in 2024.

## Career statistics

    As of 26 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | League cup | League cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| KuPS | 2010 | Veikkausliiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| KuPS | 2011 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| KuPS | 2012 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 5 |
| KuPS | 2013 | Veikkausliiga | 33 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5 | — | — | 44 | 9 |
| KuPS | 2014 | Veikkausliiga | 33 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 40 | 5 |
| KuPS | Total | Total | 110 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 143 | 21 |
| PK-37 (loan) | 2011 | Kakkonen | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 |
| SiPS (loan) | 2012 | Kolmonen | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 3 |
| Lahti | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| Lahti | 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 33 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 3 |
| Lahti | 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 33 | 0 |
| Lahti | 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 29 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
| Lahti | Total | Total | 118 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 147 | 3 |
| Inter Turku | 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 29 | 1 |
| Inter Turku | 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 3 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 29 | 4 |
| Inter Turku | 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 2 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 28 | 3 |
| Inter Turku | 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 4 |
| Inter Turku | Total | Total | 84 | 9 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 116 | 11 |
| HJK | 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| AC Oulu | 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 |
| AC Oulu | 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 |
| AC Oulu | Total | Total | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 348 | 28 | 51 | 6 | 41 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 456 | 37 |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Includes UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Includes UEFA Europa Conference League

## Honours

KuPS
* Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2010
* Finnish Cup runner-up: 2011, 2012, 2013
Lahti
* Finnish League Cup: 2016
Inter Turku
* Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2019, 2020
* Finnish Cup runner-up: 2020, 2022
* Finnish League Cup runner-up: 2022
HJK
* Veikkausliiga: 2023
* Finnish League Cup: 2023