Malick Fofana
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Malick Martin Fofana | ||
| Date of birth | 31 March 2005 | ||
| Place of birth | Aalst, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lyon | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Eendracht Aalst | ||
| 2014–2022 | Gent | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2023 | Jong Gent | 13 | (4) |
| 2022–2024 | Gent | 41 | (2) |
| 2024– | Lyon | 32 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2020 | Belgium U15 | 3 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Belgium U17 | 10 | (5) |
| 2022–2023 | Belgium U18 | 6 | (2) |
| 2022 | Belgium U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023– | Belgium U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 2024– | Belgium | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 October 2024 | |||
Malick Martin Fofana (born 31 March 2005) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Lyon and the Belgium national team.
Club career
Fofana started playing football at Eendracht Aalst before joining Gent's youth academy at the age of nine. There, he signed his first professional contract in January 2022.[1][2][3]
After he already participated in the pre-season friendlies,[4] Fofana made his professional debut for Gent on the 30 July 2022, replacing Hugo Cuypers during a 1–1 home Division A draw against Sint-Truiden.[5] Only a week later, he was awarded his first start against Westerlo, leading his team to a 2–1 home win.[6]
On 10 January 2024, Fofana joined Ligue 1 side Lyon for a fee of €17 million, plus €5 million in add-ons, and a 20% sell-on clause on a future sale in favor of Gent; he signed a contract until June 2028 with the French club.[7][8][9] In the process, he became the third Belgian player in the history of Lyon, following Eric Deflandre and Jason Denayer.[9]
International career
Fofana is a youth international for Belgium, having first established himself as a regular goalscorer with the under-17 national team,[1][2] with whom he played the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[10]
Fofana made his debut for the Belgium under-21 national in a 1-0 home win over Kazakhstan in September 2023, making further appearances the following month in wins over Malta and Hungary.[citation needed]
In October 2024, Fofana received his first call up to the Belgium national team for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League games against Italy and France.[11]
Personal life
Born in Belgium, Fofana is of Guinean and Filipino descent.[9]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 15 December 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong Gent | 2022–23 | Belgian National Division 1 | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | 13 | 4 | |||
| Gent | 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6[b] | 1 | — | 28 | 3 | ||
| Total | 41 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 4 | ||
| Lyon | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 21 | 4 | ||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6[d] | 3 | — | 21 | 6 | ||
| Total | 32 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 3 | — | 42 | 10 | |||
| Career total | 85 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 115 | 17 | ||
- ^ Includes Belgian Cup, Coupe de France
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
Lyon
- Coupe de France runner-up: 2023–24[12]
References
- ^ a b "Officieel: AA Gent deal met Fofana". Voetbalbelgie.be. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ a b Fiammetti, Alexandre (20 January 2022). "La Gantoise offre un premier contrat professionnel à un énorme talent". Walfoot.be (in French). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Gantoise : la pépite guinéenne Malick Fofana s'offre son premier contrat pro". Foot224 – Actualité Sport Guinée (in French). 20 January 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Vandenbussche, Bart (18 June 2022). "AA Gent opent voorbereiding met ruime zege, Sven Kums scoort pareltje". Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Woos, Loïc (30 July 2022). "Saint-Trond arrache un point sur la pelouse de La Gantoise". Walfoot.be (in French). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Floren, Steve (7 August 2022). "Malick voor het eerst in de basis bij Gent: "Ik krijg heel veel berichtjes"". Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "L'international Espoirs belge Malick Fofana s'engage avec l'OL jusqu'en 2028". www.ol.fr (in French). Olympique Lyonnais. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Transferts : Malick Fofana s'engage avec l'OL (officiel)" (in French). L'Équipe. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ a b c Lizin, Cédric (10 January 2024). "Le Diablotin Malick Fofana quitte La Gantoise et file à Lyon contre 22 millions d'euros". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ Defawe, Maxence (12 May 2022). "Fofana, Mawete, Monticelli : 3 pépites belges à suivre durant l'Euro U17". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Geen De Bruyne en Lukaku bij Rode Duivels, wel selectie voor Fofana, Ngonge, Smets en Vandevoordt" (in Dutch). Sporza. 4 October 2024.
- ^ "PSG beat Lyon 2-1 to win French Cup final in Mbappe's farewell appearance". Reuters. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
External links
- Malick Fofana at Soccerway
- Belgium profile at Belgian FA