Ousseynou Cissé (born 7 April 1991) is a 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 plays for

Championnat National 3 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

club

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically Anglicization, anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home t ...

. Born in France, he plays for the Mali national team. Mainly a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, he can also play as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Early life

Cissé was born in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, France to a Malian father and a Senegalese mother.

Club career

Amiens

Cissé joined

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

' youth academy in 2007 aged 16, after a spell with

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

. He made his senior debuts in 2009, appearing with the side in

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

. On 5 August 2011 Cissé played his first match as a professional, starting in a 0–1 away loss against

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1931 and plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of football in France. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Auguste Delaune. Reims is one of the mo ...

for the

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

championship. He appeared in 19 matches during the campaign, as his side was relegated as dead last.

Dijon

On 19 July 2012, Cissé signed a two-year deal with

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, also in the second division. On 7 March 2014 he scored his first professional goal, scoring the second in a 2–2 draw with

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or by the abbreviation AJA, is a French professional association football, football club based in the Communes of France, commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club plays in L ...

Rayo Vallecano

On 4 July 2015 Cissé moved abroad for the first time in his career, after agreeing to a three-year contract with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

. Following limited first team opportunities, Cissé joined Belgian side

Waasland-Beveren Sportkring Beveren (SK Beveren) is a Belgian professional association football club based in Beveren, East Flanders. The club is affiliated with the founded number 4068 and has yellow and blue as its colours. The team was founded in 1936 in H ...

in January 2016 on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season, making twelve appearances for the club and scoring once.

Tours

On 15 July 2016, after reaching an agreement with

to terminate his contract, Cissé joined

club

Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), was a football club based in Tours, France. Formed in 1919, the club adopted the name Tours FC in 1951 after several other name changes. The club was dissolved on 26 February 2025 d ...

. Over the following season, Cissé made a total of 26 appearances in all competitions, and scoring once before being released by the club.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 29 June 2017, Cissé joined English

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

on a two-year deal. On 6 January 2018, Cissé scored his first goal for the club, the winning goal in a 0–1, third round

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

victory over

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. On 11 August 2018, Cissé scored his first league goal, a 90th-minute winner, in a 1–0 home victory over Bury. After two seasons in which he made 68 appearances in all competitions and scored 3 goals, Cissé announced on 11 May 2019 he would be leaving the club at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Gillingham

On 24 June 2019, Cissé joined League One club Gillingham on a free transfer effective from 1 July 2019. He made his debut for the club in their opening fixture of the 2019–20 season, a 1–1 draw away to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

. He scored his first and only goal for the club in the next league fixture as they were defeated 1–2 at home to

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

. He signed for League Two side

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

on a six-month loan deal on 17 January 2020 and remained with the club until the curtailment of the season due to the Coronavirus outbreak. He was released by Gillingham at the conclusion of the 2019–20 season, having only made 5 appearances for the club in all competitions.

Leyton Orient

On 16 July 2020, Cissé joined

on a permanent basis, signing a two-year contract.

Oldham Athletic

On 7 August 2021, Cissé departed Leyton Orient by mutual agreement, joining

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

on a one-year contract. Oldham confirmed at the end of the season that they would not be offering Cissé a new contract and he would be leaving the club.

Eastleigh

On 27 June 2022, Cissé agreed to join

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

following his departure from Oldham. He was released after one season at the club.

Ebbsfleet United

On 26 June 2023, Cissé signed for newly promoted National League club

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger ...

International career

Cissé was called up by Mali national team manager

Alain Giresse Alain Jean Giresse (; born 2 August 1952) is a French association football, football coach and former player who last managed Kosovo national football team, Kosovo. Giresse was French Player of the Year in 1982, 1983 and 1987. Nominally an Midfi ...

for a friendly against

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

and a

2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, the 31st edition of the international men's football champions ...

match against

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. He made his international debut on 6 June 2015, in a 2–2 draw against the former.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Amiens *

runner-up:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Milton Keynes Dons *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

third-place promotion: 2018–19

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cisse, Ousseynou 1991 births Living people Footballers from Suresnes French men's footballers Malian men's footballers Mali men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Amiens SC players Dijon FCO players Tours FC players Rayo Vallecano players S.K. Beveren players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players UF Mâconnais players Ligue 2 players Championnat National players Championnat National 3 players Belgian Pro League players English Football League players National League (English football) players French expatriate men's footballers Malian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Malian expatriate sportspeople in England Malian expatriate sportspeople in Spain French sportspeople of Malian descent French sportspeople of Senegalese descent 21st-century French sportsmen