Mohammed "Momo" Sylla (born 13 March 1977) is a former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a winger. Born in Ivory Coast, he played for the Guinea national team at international level.
Club career
Sylla started his football career at French Second Division club
Créteil
Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...
, on the outskirts of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, before moving on to
Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
when he was 18. He also played for
Le Mans
Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
, before moving to Scotland to sign for St Johnstone, where he was considered to be a fan favourite. Sylla was also considered to be quite an aggressive player during his time at St. Johnstone, as he picked up 16 yellow cards.
Celtic signed him for £650,000 in August 2001. Sylla played in a variety of different positions while at Celtic, but was never a first-team regular. Celtic won the league twice during Sylla's time at the club in 2001–02 and 2003–04. Sylla contributed nine league appearances to the first of these titles and fourteen to the second.
Celtic released Sylla in 2005 and he then signed for
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
at the beginning of the 2005–06 season. He then had a short stint with
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
club
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
in early 2007 and a trial with Nottingham Forest, before retiring.
International career
Born in the Ivory Coast, Sylla played for the Guinea national team internationally making 56 appearances between 1999 and 2007.
Personal life
Sylla is the youngest of six children. He has two brothers and three sisters. From age 10, he was brought up by his sisters in Paris, as his mother, Massiami Bamba, and father believed that opportunities would be better for him than they were in Africa.
He is one of at least two Guinean football players commonly known as Mohammed Sylla. Another, Mohamed Lamine Sylla, played with Willem II,
Martigues
Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte.
A ...
and Ayr United, amongst others.Ayr United Match reports 1997-98 , Hand of David Ayr United Fans Site. The overlapping nature of the two players' careers has led to a degree of media confusion regarding the details of their transfers.
Honours
Celtic
*
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2003–04, 2004–05
*
UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...