Youssouf Fofana (born 10 January 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club AC Milan and the France national team.
 Fofana playing for France U20 in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Youssouf Fofana | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 10 January 1999 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Paris, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | AC Milan | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2013 | Espérance Paris 19ème | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Red Star | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Drancy | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Strasbourg | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Strasbourg B | 34 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Strasbourg | 30 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2024 | Monaco | 143 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | AC Milan | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | France U19 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | France U20 | 9 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | France U21 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022– | France | 25 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:47, 9 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:31, 14 October 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Early life
editYoussouf Fofana[2] was born on 10 January 1999 in Paris.[3] He is of Malian and Ivorian descent.[4]
Club career
editStrasbourg
editFofana began his career with various youth academies in Paris, before joining the youth academy of Strasbourg on 21 February 2017.[5] He made his professional debut with Strasbourg in a 2–0 Ligue 1 loss to Lyon on 24 August 2018.[6]
Monaco
editFofana played his final game for Strasbourg on 25 January 2020, a 3–1 away win over Monaco.[7] Four days later, he was signed by Monaco for €15 million,[8][9] and made his debut on 1 February, playing 71 minutes of a 3–1 away defeat to Nîmes.[10] On 25 November 2021, Fofana scored his first goal for Monaco, the winning goal in a 2–1 UEFA Europa League victory at home over Real Sociedad.[11] He scored his first league goal with the club in a 4–2 home defeat to Troyes on 31 August 2022.[12]
AC Milan
editOn 17 August 2024, Fofana completed his move to Serie A club AC Milan, signing a four-year contract until 30 June 2028. He chose the kit number 29.[13]
On 14 September 2024, Milan won 4–0 against Venezia in the Serie A. The second goal, a header following the corner kick, had initially been attributed to Matteo Gabbia prior to Fofana being credited with goal after a review.[14]
International career
editFofana was a youth international for France from under-19 to under-21 level.[15]
On 15 September 2022, Fofana received his first call-up to the France national team for two UEFA Nations League matches against Austria and Denmark.[16] In November, he was called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar by Didier Deschamps.[17] At the tournament, he played in six of France's seven matches, starting the ones against Tunisia in the group stage (1–0 loss) and Morocco in the semi-finals (2–0 win).[18][19] In the final against Argentina on 18 December, Fofana came on as a 96th-minute substitute in extra time for Adrien Rabiot. The game ended with a score of 3–3, and Argentina came out victorious on penalties.[20]
On 18 November 2023, Fofana scored his first goal with France, the seventh goal of a 14–0 win over Gibraltar in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying.[21] In the following match against Greece, he scored in a goal from twenty-five metres out in a 2–2 draw.[22]
Style of play
editFofana usually plays as a box-to-box midfielder with primarily defensive duties. His main qualities are his physical strength, stamina, and the ability to press opponents to win back possession of the ball.[23]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 9 November 2024[24]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Strasbourg B | 2017–18 | Championnat National 3 | 29 | 3 | — | — | — | 29 | 3 | |||
| 2018–19 | Championnat National 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 4 | — | — | — | 34 | 4 | |||||
| Strasbourg | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 22 | 3 | |
| 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 19 | 1 | |
| Total | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 4 | ||
| Monaco | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 9[d] | 1 | 46 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 10[e] | 0 | 47 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 4 | |||
| Total | 143 | 6 | 13 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | 175 | 7 | |||
| AC Milan | 2024–25 | Serie A | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[f] | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| Career total | 217 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 264 | 16 | ||
- ^ Includes Coupe de France
- ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
edit- As of match played 14 October 2024[25]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2022 | 8 | 0 |
| 2023 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 1 | |
| Total | 25 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fofana goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2023 | Allianz Riviera, Nice, France | 14 |  Gibraltar |
7–0 | 14–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 2 | 21 November 2023 | Agia Sophia Stadium, Athens, Greece | 15 |  Greece |
2–2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 3 | 26 March 2024 | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France | 17 |  Chile |
1–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Honours
editStrasbourg
Monaco
- Coupe de France runner-up: 2020–21[27]
France
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2022[28]
References
edit- ^ "Youssouf Fofana". AS Monaco FC. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ "Squad List: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: France (FRA)" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 12. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Youssouf Fofana". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ "Joueurs maliens ou d'origines maliennes à travers le monde du 08/09/2017". reference14sport (in French). Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Youssouf FOFANA s'engage en faveur de STRASBOURG – JA Drancy". 21 February 2017.
- ^ "Olympique Lyonnais vs. Strasbourg – 24 August 2018". Soccerway. Perform Group.
- ^ Rainbot, Arthur (25 January 2020). "Monaco - RC Strasbourg: Le RC Strasbourg bat Monaco 1-3 à l'extérieur". 20 Minutes (in French). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ Chirat, Antoine (29 January 2020). "AS Monaco : Youssouf Fofana signe à son tour !". Onze Mondial (in French). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ Borne, Fabien (30 January 2020). "Officiel : Youssouf Fofana signe lui aussi à Monaco". Dailymercato (in French). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "NÎMES / AS MONACO - (3 / 1) - J22 - 2019-2020" (in French). Ligue 1. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Monaco vs. Real Sociedad". Soccerway. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "VIDÉO : Le premier but de Youssouf Fofana en Ligue 1". BeSoccer (in French). September 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "OFFICIAL STATEMENT: YOUSSOUF FOFANA". AC Milan. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ https://www.milannews.it/news/gabbia-o-fofana-la-lega-serie-a-decide-sul-secondo-gol-di-milan-venezia-e-del-francese-549120
- ^ "Youssouf FOFANA convoqué en équipe de FRANCE U19 – JA Drancy". 15 February 2018. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- ^ "France Nations League squad: Badiashile, Fofana and Kolo Muani receive first-ever call-up, Dembele and Giroud return". Football Today. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ "Youssouf Fofana sur sa sélection pour la Coupe du monde : " On ne peut pas faire plus grand "". L'Équipe (in French). 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ "France-Maroc : Fofana et Konaté titulaires à la place de Rabiot et Upamecano, malades". Le Parisien (in French). 14 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "CdM : France 2-0 Maroc (fini)". Maxifoot.fr (in French). 14 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "ARGENTINE - FRANCE COMPOSITIONS". Eurosport (in French). 18 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Équipe de France : soir de record pour les Bleus, sans pitié face à Gibraltar". Le Figaro (in French). 18 November 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ^ "Les Bleus accrochés par la Grèce et privés d'un grand chelem en qualifications pour l'Euro 2024". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Potenza fisica, recupera palloni e tanta corsa: Alla scoperta di Youssouf Fofana, il mediano difensivo che piace al Milan".
- ^ "Y. Fofana: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ "Youssouf Fofana". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ Kezzouf, Youmni (31 March 2019). "Strasbourg remporte la Coupe de la Ligue aux tirs au but". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Monaco 0–2 Paris Saint Germain: PSG win sixth French Cup in seven years". BBC Sport. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ McNulty, Phil (18 December 2022). "Argentina 3–3 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
External links
edit
- Profile at the AS Monaco FC website
- Youssouf Fofana at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Youssouf Fofana – UEFA competition record (archive)
