Moussa Niakhaté
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Niakhaté with Lyon in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Moussa Niakhaté[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 8 March 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Roubaix, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Lyon | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 19 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | AMCS Comines | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2011 | Lille | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Wasquehal | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Boulogne | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Valenciennes B | 33 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Valenciennes | 72 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Metz | 35 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Mainz 05 | 128 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Nottingham Forest | 35 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Lyon | 55 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | France U19 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | France U20 | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | France U21 | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Senegal | 29 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 January 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
Moussa Niakhaté (born 8 March 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Lyon. Born in France, he plays for the Senegal national team.
Club career
Valenciennes
On 20 October 2014, he made his professional debut for Valenciennes in a home match against Dijon. On 1 July 2015, he signed his first professional contract with Valenciennes, a three-year deal.
For the 2016–17 season, Faruk Hadžibegić made him one of the key players in his squad.[3] On 19 December 2016, he scored his first goal in an away match against Auxerre.
Metz
On 22 June 2017, he joined Metz on a four-year deal.[4] He quickly established himself as a promising young player[5] and was called up several times to the France under-21 team by Sylvain Ripoll. At Metz, he became an undisputed starter and a key figure in the club’s central defense. During the 2017–18 season, he made 35 appearances and provided an assist in a match against Montpellier HSC in December 2017.
Mainz 05
His season allowed him to sign with Mainz on 7 July 2018 for a fee of €10 million plus bonuses.[6]
After wearing the captain's armband several times between 2019 and 2021 whenever the captain Danny Latza was absent, he became the captain following Latza's departure during the 2021–22 season, making him the youngest captain in the Bundesliga.[7]
Nottingham Forest
In July 2022, he moved to the Premier League by signing with Nottingham Forest.[8] In only his second match, he suffered a hamstring injury, with his absence expected to last several months.[9] He eventually returned in March 2023 after more than five months on the sidelines, having missed over thirty matches in all competitions.[10]
He established himself as a reliable defender in the league and took part in thirty-seven matches over two seasons.[11]
Lyon
On 4 July 2024, he joined Olympique Lyonnais. He became the second most expensive player in the club's history, behind Orel Mangala.[12][13] After a first season of adaptation, he established himself as a key figure in Lyon's central defense during the 2025–26 season. As one of the squad's vice-captains behind Corentin Tolisso, he scored his first goal for Lyon on 27 November 2025, from a penalty against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv, contributing to a 6–0 victory for OL in the UEFA Europa League.
International career
Born in France, Niakhaté is Senegalese by descent. He is a former youth international for France.[14] He debuted with the senior Senegal national team in a 5–1 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification win over Mozambique on 24 March 2023.[15]
In December 2023, Niakhaté was named in Senegal's squad for the postponed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations held in the Ivory Coast.[16] In their round of 16 match against the hosts, he missed a penalty in the shoot-out which Senegal lost 5–4 following a 1–1 draw after extra time.[17]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 19 March 2026[18]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Valenciennes B | 2013–14 | CFA 2 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||||
| 2015–16 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 33 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||||
| Valenciennes | 2014–15 | Ligue 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |||
| Total | 72 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 77 | 1 | |||
| Metz | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | |
| Mainz 05 | 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 128 | 9 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 135 | 9 | ||||
| Nottingham Forest | 2022–23 | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | |||
| Total | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |||
| Lyon | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 9[a] | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| 2025–26 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 9[a] | 1 | 35 | 1 | |||
| Total | 55 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | 76 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 348 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 397 | 12 | ||
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 18 January 2026[19]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senegal | 2023 | 7 | 0 |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 0 | |
Honours
Individual
References
- ^ "Updated squad lists for 2022/23 Premier League". Premier League. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ "Moussa Niakhaté". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "Ligue 2 - VAFC : Élève assidu, Moussa Niakhaté apprend vite à Valenciennes". La Voix du Nord. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ Ch. J. (22 June 2017). "Football : Moussa Niakhaté débarque au FC Metz". Le Républicain lorrain. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ sgobbi (7 July 2018). "Moussa Niakhaté rejoint la Bundesliga !". Football Club de Metz (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ "Moussa Niakhaté à Mayence (officiel)". L'Équipe. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ "OL : que vaut réellement Moussa Niakhaté ?". footmercato.net. 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Transferts : Moussa Niakhaté (Mayence) signe trois ans à Nottingham Forest". lequipe.fr. 6 July 2022.
- ^ "Nottingham Forest : Moussa Niakhaté absent pendant quelques mois !". wiwsport.com. 20 August 2022.
- ^ "Les coulisses du retour «INESPERE» de Moussa Niakhaté". seneplus.com. 17 March 2023.
- ^ "L'international sénégalais Moussa Niakhaté s'engage jusqu'en 2028". ol.fr. 4 July 2024.
- ^ Mathias Fayet (4 July 2024). "OL : Moussa Niakhaté est lyonnais ! (officiel)". Onze Mondial. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ David Hernandez (4 July 2024). "Mercato : Niakhaté signe 4 ans à l'OL pour 31,9 millions d'euros". Olympique & Lyonnais. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ Demmerlé, Arnaud (28 July 2017). "FC Metz : 10 choses à savoir sur Moussa Niakhaté, le vent de fraîcheur".
- ^ "Sénégal/ Mozambique : Ce geste de Moussa Niakhaté envers les stadiers". 27 March 2023.
- ^ "Afcon 2023: Senegal and Sadio Mane set for defence of title". BBC Sport Africa. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ "Afcon 2023: Senegal v Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. 29 January 2024.
- ^ "M. Niakhate". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "Moussa Niakhaté". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "Senegal and Morocco dominate the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 Best XI". Confederation of African Football. 21 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
External links
- Profile at the Nottingham Forest F.C. website
- Moussa Niakhaté at Soccerway
- Moussa Niakhaté at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Moussa Niakhaté at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)
- Moussa Niakhaté – UEFA competition record (archive)