On 7 September 2026 Venezia FC announced an agreement with HNK Rijeka for the temporary transfer, with an option to buy, of Calixte Paul Ligue until the end of the 2026/27 season.
The club’s statement describes it as a “temporary transfer with an option to buy of the 2005-born defender Calixte Paul ‘Junior’ Ligue until the end of the 2026/27 season”.
It is the last available day for Croatia, and it is this player’s third destination in twenty months. But the figure that makes his profile interesting is another one, and it sits in a line of statistics from Zurich’s reserve team.
The identity card
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Calixte Paul Ligue Junior, known as Junior |
| Born | Zurich, 21 March 2005 |
| Age | 21 |
| Height | 1.80 m |
| Position | defender, left-back |
| Zurich reserve side (2023-2025) | 41 appearances, 17 goals |
| Zurich first team (2023-2026) | 54 appearances, 1 goal |
| Super League debut | 5 March 2023, on at the 76th minute and scored the equaliser |
| Venezia | since January 2026 |
| Mantova, on loan | one appearance |
| Switzerland youth caps | 8 at Under 17, 7 at Under 18, 11 with 4 goals at Under 19, one at Under 20, two at Under 21 |
Seventeen goals in forty-one games, and he is not a forward
This is the number anyone reading a profile should stop on. A left-back who scores seventeen goals in forty-one games for his club’s reserve side is not playing as a left-back.
The simplest explanation is also the most likely, and Croatian reports on his arrival confirm it: in the youth ranks he was often used further forward, as a wide attacker and sometimes up front. The move to full-back came later, as it often does for players with pace and drive but without a centre-forward’s frame.
That leaves two possibilities, and they do not exclude each other. The first is that he is a full-back with rare attacking instinct, the kind who enters the box instead of stopping at the cross. The second is that he is a player still looking for his final position, and at twenty-one the time to decide is running out.
The step up to the first team, and what it is really worth
Fifty-four first-team appearances between eighteen and twenty-one, in the Swiss Super League, is a solid number. The debut is one of those you retell: 5 March 2023, on in the 76th minute, scores the equaliser.
The goal column, though, says something else: one goal in fifty-four games among the seniors, against seventeen in forty-one among the boys. It is the jump nearly everyone makes, and its size is the distance between youth football and the professional game. It is not a flaw in the player: it is the reason reserve-team numbers are never quoted on their own.
The Italian year, which is almost entirely unwritten
Venezia signed him in January 2026 and immediately loaned him to Mantova for the second half of the season. There, according to his encyclopaedic entry, he played a single match.
On the reason, as things stand, there are no public sources saying anything solid, and we are not inventing one: an injury, a coach’s choice and a slow adaptation all produce the same number, and from the outside that number does not tell them apart.
What can be said is that Venezia, after eight months, chose to send him out to play again rather than keep him in the squad, and did so in the season in which they returned to Serie A alongside Frosinone and Monza. It is the decision clubs take when a player is of use to them, but not now.
What a loan with an option to buy actually is
It is worth spelling out, because the formula is often read as a disguised sale. An option is a right held by the receiving club, not an obligation.
| Formula | What it means |
|---|---|
| straight loan | at the end of the season the player returns, full stop |
| loan with option | the receiving club may buy him on agreed terms, or may not |
| loan with obligation | the purchase is triggered, usually when a condition is met |
In Ligue’s case Venezia’s statement speaks of a temporary transfer with an option to buy until the end of the 2026/27 season. It means Rijeka are buying a season on trial plus the possibility of turning it into a signing, and that Venezia keep the player available to them if that season convinces neither side.
Neither club has published any figure, and none is reported here.
What to watch between now and June
Two things, and neither of them is goals.
The first is where Rijeka play him. If he lines up at full-back, the club is buying the profile Venezia bought in January. If he is seen further forward, then those seventeen reserve-team goals were not a statistical detail but his actual trade.
The second is his minutes in the first two months. A player arriving on the last available day, with the season underway, is judged on how quickly he enters the rotation: if by November he has a handful of appearances, as at Mantova, the option will not be exercised and the story restarts in June, with one year less.
Sources: official Venezia FC statement of 7 September 2026 on the temporary transfer with an option to buy of Calixte Paul Ligue to HNK Rijeka; Venezia FC’s statement on signing the player in January 2026; the calendar of registration periods for players arriving from abroad published by the Croatian federation; the player’s encyclopaedic entry for date and place of birth, height, position, appearances and goals with Zurich, the Mantova loan and his Switzerland youth caps; Croatian press reports on the deal for his more advanced use in the youth ranks. No club has declared a fee.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Junior Ligue?
Calixte Paul Ligue Junior, a Swiss defender born in Zurich on 21 March 2005, 1.80 m tall. He plays mainly as a left-back.
What was announced on 7 September 2026?
Venezia FC confirmed an agreement with HNK Rijeka for a temporary transfer with an option to buy until the end of the 2026/27 season. It is a loan with an option, not a permanent sale.
Why on 7 September?
Because it was the last day of the Croatian window for players arriving from abroad, which the Croatian federation sets from 27 June to 7 September 2026.
What are his numbers in Switzerland?
With Zurich's reserve side, between 2023 and 2025, 41 appearances and 17 goals. With the first team, between 2023 and 2026, 54 appearances and one goal.
How did his spell in Italy go?
Venezia signed him in January 2026 and immediately loaned him to Mantova for the second half of the season, where his encyclopaedic entry credits him with a single appearance.
Has he played international football?
Yes, through all of Switzerland's youth levels: 8 caps at Under 17, 7 at Under 18, 11 with 4 goals at Under 19, one at Under 20 and two at Under 21, debuting in March 2025.
Does an option to buy mean Rijeka will sign him?
No. An option is a right, not an obligation: Rijeka may buy him on the agreed terms, or may not, in which case the player returns to Venezia.
