Assan Ouédraogo

Assan Ouédraogo
Ouédraogo with Germany in 2026
Personal information
Full name Forzan Assan Ouédraogo[1]
Date of birth (2006-05-09) 9 May 2006[2]
Place of birth Mülheim, Germany
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[3]
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 RB Leipzig
Number 8
Youth career
2011–2014 Union Mülheim
2014–2023 Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2024 Schalke 04 17 (3)
2024 Schalke 04 II 1 (0)
2024– RB Leipzig 22 (4)
International career‡
2021–2022 Germany U16 6 (1)
2022–2023 Germany U17 17 (1)
2024–2025 Germany U19 8 (1)
2025– Germany U20 2 (1)
2025– Germany U21 2 (1)
2025– Germany 1 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Winner2023 Indonesia
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner2023 Hungary
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:47, 16 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:05, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

Forzan Assan Ouédraogo (born 9 May 2006) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Germany national team.

Club career

Schalke 04

Born in Mülheim to Burkinabè parents, Ouédraogo began his career with TuS Union 09 Mülheim, spending three years before a move to Schalke 04 in 2014.[4] He signed a contract extension in November 2022.[5] Ahead of the 2023–24 season, he was promoted to the first team, scoring his first goal in a 2–2 away friendly draw with 1. FC Bocholt on 6 July, also getting the assist for Simon Terodde's goal.[6][7] He scored in another friendly game as Schalke 04 beat Polish opposition Górnik Zabrze 5–0 on 15 July, and these pre-season performances saw him touted as a player with a lot of potential.[8][9]

Ouédraogo marked his professional debut in the 2. Bundesliga with a goal; being named as a surprise starter in the away game against Hamburger SV, he received the ball in the penalty area from teammate Simon Terodde, he cut onto his right foot, beating a Hamburger SV defender in the process, before placing the ball beyond goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes.[10] Despite his team losing 5–3, his first half goal earned him a spot in Schalke 04 history, as he beat Julian Draxler's record as Schalke's youngest goal-scorer in official matches. He also is the youngest player ever of Schalke 04 in competitive and professional matches with an age of 17 years and 80 days, beating Volker Abramczik's record.[11] Following the game, manager Thomas Reis said of Ouédraogo: "it was important that we carefully integrated him into training", also stating that he would give him a "necessary break" and "ground him if [he has] to", highlighting that he did not want to rush Ouédraogo's progress.[12]

RB Leipzig

On 13 June 2024, Ouédraogo moved to RB Leipzig for a reported fee of €10 million, signing a five-year contract.[13][14] He rejected a move to Bayern Munich, and subsequently stated that he made the decision for his development, claiming that young players make biggest strides at RB Leipzig.[15] On 20 September 2025, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win over FC Köln.[16] He continued impressing during the 2025–26 season, earning praise from head coach Ole Werner and Leipzig star man Christoph Baumgartner for his development and hard work; these comments came against the backdrop of a game-winning goal from long range against Werder Bremen.[17][18] During the same match, Ouédraogo suffered a knee injury which forced him to miss the entire month of December.[19] During his January return against SC Freiburg, Ouédraogo again injured his left knee, necessitating a two-month-long recovery.[20] Ouédraogo returned to the pitch as a substitute on 4 April 2026 against Bremen. He scored once during the season's second half, netting a consolation goal in a 1–4 loss versus Freiburg.[21] Compared to Leipzig's other regular starters during the season, Ouédraogo averaged the highest number of points per match.[22]

International career

Ouédraogo has represented Germany at under-16 and under-17 level.[23] At the 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, he scored the winning penalty as Germany beat France 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out victory in the final.[24] His parents are from Burkina Faso.[9] On 1 November 2023, Ouédraogo was called up to the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Indonesia.[25]

In November 2025, he received his first senior call-up from head coach Julian Nagelsmann after Nadiem Amiri was sidelined with an injury, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[26] On 17 November, he made his debut in a 6–0 victory over Slovakia, scoring just 102 seconds after coming on.[27]

On 5 June 2026, Ouédraogo was called up to Germany's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a replacement for the injured Lennart Karl.[28]

Style of play

A box-to-box midfielder, Ouédraogo is capable of using both feet, and is lauded for his speed, dribbling, creativity and goal-scoring ability.[9] Ouédraogo can play any position in midfield, possessing dynamism which can often lead to the creation of dangerous goalscoring situations.[29] Due to his height, physicality, technique in tight spaces, and ability to carry the ball forward, Ouédraogo has been likened to players such as Paul Pogba, Ryan Gravenberch and Khépren Thuram.[30]

Personal life

Ouédraogo's father is former Burkina Faso international footballer Alassane Ouédraogo.[31] Ouédraogo is Muslim.[32]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 May 2026[33]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League DFB-Pokal Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Schalke 04 2023–24 2. Bundesliga 17300—173
Schalke 04 II 2023–24 Regionalliga West 10——10
RB Leipzig 2024–25 Bundesliga 30002[a]050
2025–26 Bundesliga 19410—204
Total 2241020254
Career total 4071020437
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 17 November 2025[34]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Germany 202511
Total11
Germany score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ouédraogo goal
List of international goals scored by Assan Ouédraogo
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
117 November 2025Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany1 Slovakia6–06–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Germany U17

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023™ – Squad List: Germany (GER)" (PDF). FIFA. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023™ – Squad List: Germany (GER)" (PDF). FIFA. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  3. ↑ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023™ – Squad List: Germany (GER)" (PDF). FIFA. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  4. ↑ Ernst, Andreas (3 June 2023). "Schalke: Top-Talent Ouedraogo - gut genug für die Profis?" [Schalke: Top talent Ouedraogo - good enough for the pros?]. waz.de (in German). Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Schalke 04 bindet Offensiv-Talent Assan Ouédraogo langfristig" [Schalke 04 binds attacking talent Assan Ouédraogo in the long term]. schalke04.de (in German). 9 November 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "FC Schalke 04: Fans feiern den Youngster nach einem Testspiel" [FC Schalke 04: Fans celebrate the youngster after a friendly]. lomazoma.com (in German). 6 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Schalke kommt in Bocholt nicht über Remis hinaus" [Schalke cannot get beyond a draw in Bocholt]. wdr.de (in German). 6 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "5-0 win over Gornik Zabrze in Mittersill". schalke04.de. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "Ein Mega-Talent als königsblauer Hoffnungsträger" [A mega talent as a royal blue beacon of hope]. t-online.de (in German). 24 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Tor gegen den HSV: Assan Ouedraogo knackt Schalke-Rekord" [Goal against HSV: Assan Ouedraogo breaks the Schalke record]. waz.de (in German). 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "S04-Teenie bricht Legenden-Rekord" [S04 teenager breaks legend's record]. sport1.de (in German). 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Witte, Marcel (28 July 2023). "Schalke 04 will Ouedraogo behutsam aufbauen: Auf Höhenflug folgen Schmerzen" [Schalke 04 wants to build up Ouedraogo carefully: Pain follows the flight]. ruhr24.de (in German). Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "Assan Ouédraogo moves to RB Leipzig". FC Schalke 04. 13 June 2024.
  14. ↑ "Exceptional talent Assan Ouedraogo moves to RB Leipzig!". RB Leipzig. 13 June 2024.
  15. ↑ Laushway, Jack (18 July 2024). "Assan Ouédraogo explains why he rejected Bayern Munich". Bavarian Football Works. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  16. ↑ "First RBL start, first goal for Assan Ouedraogo". RB Leipzig. 23 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "RB Leipzig celebrate Assan Ouédraogo's (19) "perfect week" - Get German Football News". 24 November 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  18. ↑ Hochrainer, Sebastian. "Bremen besiegt: Ouedraogo zaubert Leipzig zum Bayern-Verfolger". sportschau.de (in German). Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  19. ↑ sportschau.de. "Sehnenverletzung: Nationalspieler Ouédraogo fehlt RB Leipzig wochenlang". sportschau.de (in German). Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Ouedraogo fehlt Leipzig bis Ende März". kicker (in German). Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  21. ↑ sportschau.de. "Fußball | Bundesliga: RB beendet Saison mit derber Pleite in Freiburg". sportschau.de (in German). Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "RB Leipzig Stats, Bundesliga". FBref.com. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  23. ↑ Assan Ouédraogo at DFB (also available in German)
  24. 1 2 "Germany take title with shoot-out win over France". UEFA. 2 June 2023.
  25. ↑ "Wück nominiert den Kader für FIFA U 17-WM" [Wück Nominates the Squad For the FIFA U17 World Cup] (in German). German Football Association. 1 November 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  26. ↑ "DFB-Kader - Ouédraogo ersetzt Amiri" (in German). Sportschau. 10 November 2025.
  27. ↑ "DFB-Elf begeistert und fährt zur WM 2026" (in German). ZDFheute. 17 November 2025.
  28. ↑ "Im WM-Kader: Ouédraogo ersetzt verletzten Karl!" (in German). Bundesliga. 5 June 2026.
  29. ↑ "Exceptional talent Assan Ouedraogo moves to RB Leipzig!". rbleipzig.com (in German). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  30. ↑ "Assan Ouédraogo: Schalke's Record-Breaking Teenage Talent". Breaking The Lines. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  31. ↑ "Forzan Ouédraogo, la pépite de Schalke 04" [Forzan Ouédraogo, the nugget of Schalke 04]. burkina24.com (in French). 16 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  32. ↑ RBLive. "Essen verschlafen: Erster Ramadan allein seit Wechsel zu RB Leipzig". rblive.de (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  33. ↑ Assan Ouédraogo at WorldFootball.net
  34. ↑ Assan Ouédraogo at National-Football-Teams.com
  35. ↑ "Germany win FIFA U-17 World Cup after shootout drama". FIFA.com. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  36. ↑ "Fritz-Walter-Medaille - Preisträger 2023". DFB.de (in German). 8 September 2023.
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