| Youssouf Fofana | |
| Full Name: | Youssouf Fofana |
| Birth Date: | 10 January 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Paris, France |
| Height: | 1.85 m[1] |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | AC Milan |
| Clubnumber: | 29 |
| Youthyears1: | 2005–2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | Espérance Paris 19ème |
| Youthyears2: | 2013–2014 |
| Youthclubs2: | Red Star |
| Youthyears3: | 2014–2017 |
| Youthclubs3: | Drancy |
| Youthyears4: | 2017–2018 |
| Youthclubs4: | Strasbourg |
| Years1: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs1: | Strasbourg B |
| Caps1: | 34 |
| Goals1: | 4 |
| Years2: | 2018–2020 |
| Clubs2: | Strasbourg |
| Caps2: | 30 |
| Goals2: | 3 |
| Years3: | 2020–2024 |
| Clubs3: | Monaco |
| Caps3: | 143 |
| Goals3: | 6 |
| Years9: | 2024– |
| Clubs9: | AC Milan |
| Caps9: | 0 |
| Goals9: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | France U19 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2018–2019 |
| Nationalteam2: | France U20 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 9 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 1 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam3: | France U21 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2022– |
| Nationalteam4: | France |
| Nationalcaps4: | 21 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 3 |
| Club-Update: | 23:15, 19 May 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 23:31, 5 July 2024 (UTC) |
Youssouf Fofana (born 10 January 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club AC Milan and the France national team.
Youssouf Fofana[2] was born on 10 January 1999 in Paris.[3] He is of Malian and Ivorian descent.[4]
Fofana began his career with various youth academies in Paris, before joining the youth academy of Strasbourg on 21 February 2017.[5] He made his professional debut with Strasbourg in a 2–0 Ligue 1 loss to Lyon on 24 August 2018.[6]
Fofana played his final game for Strasbourg on 25 January 2020, a 3–1 away win over Monaco.[7] Four days later, he was signed by Monaco for €15 million,[8] [9] and made his debut on 1 February, playing 71 minutes of a 3–1 away defeat to Nîmes.[10] On 25 November 2021, Fofana scored his first goal for Monaco, the winning goal in a 2–1 UEFA Europa League victory at home over Real Sociedad.[11] He scored his first league goal with the club in a 4–2 home defeat to Troyes on 31 August 2022.[12]
On 17 August 2024, Fofana completed his move to Serie A club AC Milan, signing a four-year contract until 30 June 2028. He chose the kit number 29.[13]
Fofana was a youth international for France from under-19 to under-21 level.[14]
On 15 September 2022, Fofana received his first call-up to the France national team for two UEFA Nations League matches against Austria and Denmark.[15] In November, he was called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar by Didier Deschamps.[16] At the tournament, he played in six of France's seven matches, starting the ones against Tunisia in the group stage (1–0 loss) and Morocco in the semi-finals (2–0 win).[17] [18] In the final against Argentina on 18 December, Fofana came on as a 96th-minute substitute in extra time for Adrien Rabiot. The game ended with a score of 3–3, and Argentina came out victorious on penalties.[19]
On 18 November 2023, Fofana scored his first goal with France, the seventh goal of a 14–0 win over Gibraltar in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying.[20] In the following match against Greece, he scored in a goal from twenty-five metres out in a 2–2 draw.[21]
Fofana usually plays as a box-to-box midfielder with primarily defensive duties. His main qualities are his physical strength, stamina, and the ability to press opponents to win back possession of the ball.[22]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Strasbourg B | 2017–18 | National 3 | 29 | 3 | — | — | — | 29 | 3 | ||||
| 2018–19 | National 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 34 | 4 | — | — | — | 34 | 4 | ||||||
| Strasbourg | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 22 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 1 | ||
| Total | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 4 | |||
| Monaco | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | 46 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | 47 | 2 | |||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 143 | 6 | 13 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | 175 | 7 | ||||
| AC Milan | 2024–25 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 207 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 250 | 15 | |||
| France | 2022 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2024 | 6 | 1 | ||
| Total | 21 | 3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fofana goal.
| Date | scope=col | Venue | scope=col | Cap | scope=col | Opponent | scope=col | Score | scope=col | Result | scope=col | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2023 | Allianz Riviera, Nice, France | 14 | 7–0 | 14–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | ||||||
| 2 | 21 November 2023 | Agia Sophia Stadium, Athens, Greece | 15 | 2–2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | ||||||
| 3 | 26 March 2024 | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France | 17 | 1–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Strasbourg
Monaco
France