| Aleksi Paananen | |
| Birth Date: | 1993 1, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Siilinjärvi, Finland[1] |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | AC Oulu |
| Clubnumber: | 19 |
| Youthclubs1: | KuPS |
| Years1: | 2010–2014 |
| Caps1: | 110 |
| Goals1: | 9 |
| Clubs1: | KuPS |
| Years2: | 2011 |
| Caps2: | 3 |
| Goals2: | 2 |
| Clubs2: | → PK-37 (loan) |
| Years3: | 2015–2018 |
| Caps3: | 118 |
| Goals3: | 4 |
| Years4: | 2019–2022 |
| Caps4: | 83 |
| Goals4: | 9 |
| Clubs4: | Inter Turku |
| Years5: | 2023 |
| Caps5: | 14 |
| Goals5: | 1 |
| Clubs5: | HJK |
| Years6: | 2024– |
| Caps6: | 3 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Clubs6: | AC Oulu |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2009–2010 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 15 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 3 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2010–2011 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 2 |
| Nationalteam3: | Finland U18 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2011 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Nationalyears5: | 2013 |
| Nationalcaps5: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals5: | 1 |
| Nationalteam5: | Finland U20 |
| Nationalyears6: | 2012–2013 |
| Nationalcaps6: | 13 |
| Nationalgoals6: | 0 |
| Nationalteam6: | Finland U21 |
| Pcupdate: | 1 July 2024 |
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”.[2]
On 1 November 2018, Inter Turku announced the signing of Paananen for the 2019 season.[3] He signed a 2-year deal.
On 2 November 2022, Paananen signed a contract with HJK for the 2023 season, with an option for 2024.[4]
On 5 November 2023, it was announced that Paananen will leave HJK after the season.[2]
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.[5]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Europe | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| KuPS | 2010 | Veikkausliiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2011 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |||
| 2012 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 5 | ||
| 2013 | Veikkausliiga | 33 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5 | — | 44 | 9 | |||
| 2014 | Veikkausliiga | 33 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 40 | 5 | |||
| Total | 110 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 143 | 21 | |||
| PK-37 (loan) | 2011 | Kakkonen | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Lahti | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 33 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 43 | 3 | |||
| 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | ||||
| 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 29 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |||
| Total | 118 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 147 | 3 | |||
| Inter Turku | 2019 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 3 | 7 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 29 | 4 | |||
| 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 23 | 2 | 4 | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | 28 | 3 | |||
| 2022 | Veikkausliiga | 20 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | – | 30 | 4 | |||
| 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 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 332 | 25 | 50 | 6 | 37 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 435 | 36 | |||