Moussa Niakhaté

Moussa Niakhaté
Niakhaté with Lyon in 2025
Personal information
Full name Moussa Niakhaté[1]
Date of birth (1996-03-08) 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 63 (0)
International career‡
2014–2015 France U19 3 (0)
2015–2016 France U20 8 (0)
2018–2019 France U21 11 (0)
2023– Senegal 36 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Senegal
Africa Cup of Nations
Runner-up2025 Morocco
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 May 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 July 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]

On January 18, 2026, he won the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, defeating Morocco 1–0 after extra time.[18] Two months later, the title was withdrawn from Senegal and awarded to Morocco by forfeit. The CAF sanctioned the Senegalese team for leaving the pitch to protest a refereeing decision before returning a few minutes later.

On May 21, 2026, Niakhaté was officially selected by Senegal's coach Pape Thiaw from his list of 28 players to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 August 2026[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Valenciennes B 2013–14 CFA 2 130———130
2014–15 160———160
2015–16 40———40
Total 330———330
Valenciennes 2014–15 Ligue 2 901000—100
2015–16 2801010—300
2016–17 3511010—371
Total 7213020—771
Metz 2017–18 Ligue 1 3501020—380
Mainz 05 2018–19 Bundesliga 33110——341
2019–20 33110——341
2020–21 32320——343
2021–22 30430——334
Total 128970——1359
Nottingham Forest 2022–23 Premier League 1400000—140
2023–24 2111010—231
Total 3511010—371
Lyon 2024–25 Ligue 1 31020—9[a]0420
2025–26 32020—9[a]1431
2026–27 0000—3[b]030
Total 63040—211881
Career total 356111605021140912
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ↑ Three appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 1 July 2026[21]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Senegal 202370
202490
202590
2026110
Total360

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Updated squad lists for 2022/23 Premier League". Premier League. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  2. ↑ "Moussa Niakhaté". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "Ligue 2 - VAFC : Élève assidu, Moussa Niakhaté apprend vite à Valenciennes". La Voix du Nord. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  4. ↑ Ch. J. (22 June 2017). "Football : Moussa Niakhaté débarque au FC Metz". Le Républicain lorrain. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  5. ↑ sgobbi (7 July 2018). "Moussa Niakhaté rejoint la Bundesliga !". Football Club de Metz (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  6. ↑ "Moussa Niakhaté à Mayence (officiel)". L'Équipe. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "OL : que vaut réellement Moussa Niakhaté ?". footmercato.net. 28 June 2024.
  8. ↑ "Transferts : Moussa Niakhaté (Mayence) signe trois ans à Nottingham Forest". lequipe.fr. 6 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Nottingham Forest : Moussa Niakhaté absent pendant quelques mois !". wiwsport.com. 20 August 2022.
  10. ↑ "Les coulisses du retour "INESPERE" de Moussa Niakhaté". seneplus.com. 17 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "L'international sénégalais Moussa Niakhaté s'engage jusqu'en 2028". ol.fr. 4 July 2024.
  12. ↑ Mathias Fayet (4 July 2024). "OL : Moussa Niakhaté est lyonnais ! (officiel)". Onze Mondial. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ Demmerlé, Arnaud (28 July 2017). "FC Metz : 10 choses à savoir sur Moussa Niakhaté, le vent de fraîcheur".
  15. ↑ "Sénégal/ Mozambique : Ce geste de Moussa Niakhaté envers les stadiers". 27 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "Afcon 2023: Senegal and Sadio Mane set for defence of title". BBC Sport Africa. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "Afcon 2023: Senegal v Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. 29 January 2024.
  18. ↑ J.-F.G. (18 January 2026). "Le Sénégal gagne la CAN : Moussa Niakhaté (OL), l'autre grand vainqueur du jour". Le Progrès (in French).
  19. ↑ "La liste du Sénégal pour la Coupe du Monde 2026 est connue". FIFA (in French). 20 May 2026. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "M. Niakhate". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  21. ↑ "Moussa Niakhaté". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  22. ↑ "Senegal and Morocco dominate the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 Best XI". Confederation of African Football. 21 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
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