Seko Mohamed Fofana (born 7 May 1995) 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 as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.

Club career

Manchester City

Born in

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 ...

, France, Fofana began his youth career at

Paris FC Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: Help:IPA/French, aʁi futbol klœb, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris, France. They will compete in Ligue ...

when he was nine and stayed there for six years before joining

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

. After two years at Lorient, he moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

when he joined

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in 2013 and was immediately sent to the development squad. Fofana began to be a regular in the under-18s in the 2013–14 season, making 20 appearances and scoring 5 goals in the league and playing 7 times scoring twice in the club's

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

campaign against

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

and Benfica Juniors. During

's U21 friendly match against

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Croatian First Football League, Supersport HNL, o ...

, he was racially abused by one of the opposition player just before half-time. As a result, players from Manchester City's U21 squad walked off the pitch, prompting the match to be cancelled. After the match, Manager

Patrick Vieira Patrick Paul Vieira (; born 23 June 1976) is a French professional association football, football manager and former player who is the head coach of Serie A club Genoa CFC, Genoa. He was named in the FIFA 100 of the greatest living footballers i ...

praised the action of the players to walk out.

Fulham (loan)

On 27 November 2014, Fofana signed for

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on loan until 31 January 2015. He made his Fulham debut two days later, where he came on as a substitute for Emerson Hyndman in the 63rd minute, in a 2–1 win over

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. His form and performance convinced Fulham to extend the loan spell until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for the club on 21 March 2015 to secure a 2–0 win away to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. Having established himself under the management of

Kit Symons Christopher Jerry "Kit" Symons (born 8 March 1971) is a professional association football coach and former player who was most recently assistant manager of Greek Super League side Atromitos. As a player, he was a defender who began his career ...

, Fofana went on to make 25 appearances scoring once before returning to his parent club.

Bastia (loan)

After making two appearances for City during their pre-season tour in Australia (playing the second half of a 2–0 win over

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

, and coming on as a late substitute in Manchester City's 1–0 win over Melbourne City), the

club agreed to send Fofana out on loan again to gain further experience. The Frenchman subsequently returned to his native France, to join

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

on a season-long loan on 29 July 2015. He made his

debut in the opening game of the season 10 days later, on 8 August 2015, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2−1 win at home to

. He then scored his first goal on 12 December 2015, in a 1–1 draw against

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

, followed up by assisting in the next game on 19 December 2015, in a 2–0 win over

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. In a 1–0 win over

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

on 16 January 2016, Fofana received a straight red card in the 65th minutes. After the match, he was given a four match ban and Fofana, himself, apologised for his action. In total, he made 32 appearances and scoring once for Bastia.

Udinese

After three years at Manchester City, Fofana joined

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

, signing a five-year deal for worth £2.5 million. In addition, the move included a possible €2 million bonus and Bastia receiving 15% of the total compensation, up to €700K. Fofana made his Udinese debut in the opening game of the season playing 79 minutes before being substituted, in a 4–0 loss against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

Lens

On 18 August 2020, Fofana signed a four-year contract with

club

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

. He scored his first goal on 21 February 2021 against

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 ...

. After a string of good performances, he was awarded the Ligue 1 Player of the Month for September 2021. In May 2022, Fofana won the

Prix Marc-Vivien Foé The Prix Marc-Vivien Foé is an annual award in honour to the late Marc-Vivien Foé, given to the African player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season in Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's ...

as the best African player in France's top flight for the 2021–22 campaign, following a season in which he scored eight goals in 37 appearances. On 31 August 2022, he signed a contract extension with the club until 2025.

Al-Nassr

On 18 July 2023, Fofana joined

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club

Al Nassr Al-Nassr Football Club () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of the Saudi football league system. Al-Nassr is one of only three clubs to have participated ...

on a three-year deal, reportedly for a fee of €25 million.

Al-Ettifaq

On 30 January 2024, Fofana joined fellow Saudi Arabian side

Al-Ettifaq Al-Ettifaq Club (), commonly known as Al-Ettifaq or simply Ettifaq, is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which competes in the Saudi Pro League. The club was established by the merger of three Dammam-based clubs in 1945. Al- ...

on a six-month loan. On 17 August 2024, Fofana re-joined Al-Ettifaq on a one-year loan.

Rennes

On 1 January 2025, Fofana returned to Ligue 1 and joined

on a four-and-a-half years contract. The transfer was completed for a fee of €20 million, establishing him as the most expensive sale in the history of the Saudi Pro League.

International career

Fofana was eligible to play for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

, as his parents come from there. Fofana previously represented France U16, France U17, France U18 and France U19. On 3 April 2017, Fofana chose to represent the Ivory Coast, the country of his parents. Fofana made his debut for Ivory Coast in a 2–0

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

loss to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

on 11 November 2017. In December 2023, Fofana was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 34th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournam ...

. He scored the opening goal of the tournament four minutes into Ivory Coast's 2–0 win over

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

on 13 January 2024.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fofana goal.''

Honours

Al-Nassr *

Arab Club Champions Cup The Arab Club Champions Cup (, ) is a club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by top clubs from the Arab world. The tournament is contested by a total of 37 teams from Asia and Africa. F ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Ivory Coast *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

Individual *

: 2021–22 * UNFP Ligue 1

Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to: * BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award * Canadian Press Team of the Year Award *GPA Gaelic Team of the Year * IRB International Sevens Team of the Year * IRB International Team of the Year * J.League Team of ...

: 2021–22,

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

* UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: September 2021

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fofana, Seko 1995 births Living people Footballers from Paris Men's association football midfielders Ivorian men's footballers Ivory Coast men's international footballers French men's footballers France men's youth international footballers French sportspeople of Ivorian descent Ivorian people of French descent English Football League players Ligue 1 players Serie A players Saudi Pro League players Manchester City F.C. players Fulham F.C. players SC Bastia players Udinese Calcio players RC Lens players Al-Nassr FC players Al-Ettifaq FC players Stade Rennais FC players French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Ivorian expatriate men's footballers Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in England Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Africa Cup of Nations–winning players 21st-century French sportsmen