Pierre-Yves Hamel

Early career

Born in Brest and having grown up in nearby Lesneven, Hamel played for RC Lesneven and FC Landerneau as a youth player before joining the academy of Rennes. While at Landerneau, Hamel was also training at the PEF Ploufragan, a centre which produced future Lorient teammate Sylvain Marveaux. He played in the Coupe Gambardella, an under-19 tournament, with Rennes in 2012. Hamel made his debut with the reserves in 2013 in the Championnat de France Amateur 2, the fifth tier of French football. That summer, Hamel took part in an under-21 tournament in Ploufragan, in which Rennes was victorious and Hamel was voted best player. He spent the next season with the reserves, captaining the side and scoring 7 goals in 14 games, missing half the season with injury. Hamel signed his first professional contract in April 2014. Hamel was not involved in the first-team by manager Philippe Montanier and had a loan request denied, instead playing with the reserves, scoring 8 goals in 20 games. At the end of the season, his contract was not renewed, and Hamel signed with Avranches in the third-tier. He appeared from the start on the opening day against Béziers, but did not play for the first-team after August, and left the club in the winter.

Lorient

On 7 January 2016, Hamel signed with Lorient of Ligue 1, and was assigned to the reserves in the fourth-tier, where he was reunited with former trainer at the Rennes academy Régis Le Bris. He scored 3 goals in 12 games,…

Often compared to Thomas Müller, Hamel describes his game as taking place in the last thirty metres, making a difference with his movement.

As of match played 21 May 2024

Hamel comes from a footballing family; his maternal grandfather played in Division 1 with Rennes, while both his father and paternal grandfather played at Avranches. He grew up supporting Brest, where his father was a youth coach. He initially played handball before football, and can speak Breton. When Pape Paye left Lorient in 2017, Hamel claimed his shirt number of 29, which he wears to represent his home department of Finistère.