| Mohamed-Ali Cho | |
| Full Name: | Mohamed-Ali Cho |
| Birth Date: | 19 January 2004 |
| Birth Place: | Stains, France |
| Height: | 1.81 m[1] |
| Position: | Forward |
| Currentclub: | Nice |
| Clubnumber: | 25 |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2011 |
| Youthclubs1: | Chantilly |
| Youthyears2: | 2011–2015 |
| Youthclubs2: | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Youthyears3: | 2015–2020 |
| Youthclubs3: | Everton |
| Years1: | 2020 |
| Clubs1: | Angers B |
| Caps1: | 1 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2020–2022 |
| Clubs2: | Angers |
| Caps2: | 53 |
| Goals2: | 4 |
| Years3: | 2022–2024 |
| Clubs3: | Real Sociedad |
| Caps3: | 30 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2024– |
| Clubs4: | Nice |
| Caps4: | 18 |
| Goals4: | 2 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam1: | England U16 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2022 |
| Nationalteam2: | France U19 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 2 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2023– |
| Nationalteam3: | France U20 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 6 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 1 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2021– |
| Nationalteam4: | France U21 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 7 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 16:58, 18 August 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 23:00, 25 March 2024 (UTC) |
Mohamed-Ali Cho (born 19 January 2004), commonly known as Momo Cho, is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Nice. Born in France and raised in England, Cho previously represented England as a youth international before switching his allegiance to France.
Cho was born in France to an Ivorian father and a French mother of Moroccan origins and moved to England at one week old, where his family worked in London.[2] He spent his childhood moving between England and France several times. Cho briefly returned to France at age 6 to play in Chantilly's and then Paris Saint-Germain's academy, before returning to England at age 11.[3]
A youth product of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Everton, Cho signed his first professional contract with Angers on 2 May 2020.[4] In doing so, he became the second youngest player to sign a professional contract in France (behind Eduardo Camavinga).[5] Angers planned to initially use him in the reserve teams, but he quickly became part of the first team.[6] He made his professional debut with Angers in a 2–0 Ligue 1 loss to Bordeaux on 30 August 2020.[7] He was one of the 10 youngest players to play in the top European leagues during the season.[8] He started his first match for Angers in the cup on 11 February 2021, in a 2–1 win against Rennes.[9] He made his first league start on 17 April 2021 against Rennes.[10]
On 15 June 2022, it was announced that Cho had signed a five-year deal with La Liga side Real Sociedad.[11] The transfer fee paid to Angers was reportedly in the region of €12 to €15 million.[12] On 21 December, he scored his first goal at the club in a 5–0 away win over CD Coria in the Copa del Rey second round.[13] On 4 June 2023, he scored his first La Liga goal in a 2–1 victory over Sevilla.[14]
On 8 January 2024, Cho returned to France, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with Ligue 1 club OGC Nice, for a reported transfer fee of €12 million.[15] [16]
Born in France, raised in England, and of Ivorian and Moroccan descent, Cho is eligible for all four national teams. He was a youth international for England with two caps for the England U16s.[4] [17] He has also played for the England U15s.[18] In early 2021, Cho said that he hadn't decided on who to represent internationally, stating: "I am well aware of the options I have and we will see later".[19] He switched to represent the France U21s in April 2021.[20]
| Season | League | National Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Angers B | 2020–21 | National 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Angers | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 53 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 56 | 4 | |||||
| Real Sociedad | 2022–23 | La Liga | 19 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Total | 30 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | 40 | 2 | ||||
| Nice | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 2 | |||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | |||
| Total | 18 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 3 | ||||
| Career total | 102 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 118 | 9 | |||