Moussa Niakhaté

About

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.

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. On 19 December 2016, he scored his first goal in an away match against Auxerre.

On 22 June 2017, he joined Metz on a four-year deal. He quickly established himself as a promising young player 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.

His season allowed him to sign with Mainz on 7 July 2018 for a fee of €10 million plus bonuses.
After wearing the captain’s armband several times between 2019 and 2021 whenever the captain Danny Latza…