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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Born in Belgium, Fofana is of Guinean and Filipino descent.[9]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 21 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 | 1 | 0 | 6[d] | 3 | — | 22 | 6 | ||
| Total | 32 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | — | 43 | 10 | |||
| Career total | 85 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 116 | 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
[edit]Lyon
- Coupe de France runner-up: 2023–24[12]
References
[edit]- ^ 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
[edit]- Malick Fofana at Soccerway
- Belgium profile at Belgian FA
- 2005 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Aalst, Belgium
- Footballers from East Flanders
- Belgian people of Guinean descent
- Belgian people of Filipino descent
- Black Belgian sportspeople
- 21st-century Belgian sportsmen
- Belgian men's footballers
- Men's association football wingers
- K.A.A. Gent players
- Olympique Lyonnais players
- Belgian Pro League players
- Belgian National Division 1 players
- Ligue 1 players
- Belgium men's youth international footballers
- Belgium men's under-21 international footballers
- Belgium men's international footballers
- Belgian expatriate men's footballers
- Belgian expatriate sportspeople in France
- Expatriate men's footballers in France