| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Julius Leo Joonatan Paananen [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 26 November 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Oulu, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AC Oulu | ||
| Number | 37 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| OrPa | |||
| 2016–2017 | OTP | ||
| 2017–2023 | OLS | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023– | OLS | 33 | (3) |
| 2023– | AC Oulu | 26 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Finland U17 | 5 | (2) |
| 2023– | Finland U18 | 6 | (0) |
| 2024– | Finland U19 | 2 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12 October 2024 | |||
Julius Leo Joonatan Paananen (born 26 November 2006) is a Finnish professional football midfielder for Veikkausliiga side AC Oulu.
Paananen signed his first professional contract with AC Oulu on 18 June 2023, on a deal until the end of 2024 with an option to extend. [2] He made his debut in Veikkausliiga on 6 October 2023, in away game against Ilves. [3] [4] His contract was extended in April 2025 on a two-year deal with a one-year option, [5] and later Paananen scored his first Veikkausliiga goal on 26 April, in a home loss against Inter Turku.
Paananen has represented Finland at under-17 and under-18 youth international levels. [6] [7]
His older brother Kasper Paananen is also a professional football player for SJK. [8]
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | League cup [b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| OLS | 2023 | Kakkonen | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2024 | Ykkönen | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 1 | |||
| Total | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 3 | ||
| AC Oulu | 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 3 | ||
| Total | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 37 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 6 | ||