.jpg) Ndong in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Didier Ibrahim Ndong[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1994-06-17)17 June 1994 (age 31) | ||
| Place of birth | Lambaréné, Gabon | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Esteghlal | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cercle Mbéri Sportif | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2015 | CS Sfaxien | 40 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | Lorient | 48 | (2) |
| 2016–2018 | Sunderland | 54 | (1) |
| 2018 | →Watford (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | Guingamp | 12 | (0) |
| 2019–2023 | Dijon | 84 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | →Yeni Malatyaspor (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Al-Riyadh | 26 | (1) |
| 2024– | Esteghlal | 35 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | Gabon U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2012– | Gabon | 53 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 31 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 November 2025 | |||
Didier Ibrahim Ndong (born 17 June 1994) is a Gabonese professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forPersian Gulf Pro League sideEsteghlal and theGabon national team.[2]
Born inLambaréné,Gabon, Ndong began his career atCercle Mbéri Sportif.[3] In 2011, Ndong moved toTunisia, where he made his professional debut playing forCS Sfaxien during the2011–12 CLP-1 season.[4] He made his first appearance under then manager Nabil Kouki on 26 September 2012, starting and playing 80' minutes againstJS Kairouan before being substituted off, marking his only appearance for the first team that year.[5] The following season, Ndong made more appearances for the first team under newly appointed managerRuud Krol, while receiving training by formerAjax defenderHatem Trabelsi, he made 12 appearances during the regular season, scoring once againstStade Tunisien on 14 April 2013, playing as an attacking right midfielder for the club fromSfax.[6] He made six further appearances for CS Sfaxien during the playoffs helping his side to win the national championship and their 8th title overall.[7]
On 3 January 2015, Ndong signed forLigue 1 sideLorient on a four-and-a-half-year contract.[8]
On 31 August 2016, Ndong signed forPremier League clubSunderland, on a five-year contract, for a club record transfer fee (excluding add-ons[9]) of £13.6 million.[10] He made his debut on 12 September 2016, in a 3–0 defeat toEverton.[11] Ndong was a key member of the Sunderland team in his initial season and scored his first goal for Sunderland, on 4 February 2017 in a 4–0 win overCrystal Palace.[12] The club were later relegated to theChampionship for the first time in ten years, following a 1–0 loss toBournemouth at theStadium of Light on 29 April 2017.[13] He initially stayed with Sunderland following their relegation to the Championship playing regularly. On 13 January 2018, he was sent off for a straight red card againstCardiff City in what would be his final appearance for Sunderland ahead of his loan to Watford.
Ndong signed for Premier LeagueWatford on loan on 31 January 2018 during theJanuary Transfer Window.[14] Although signed on a loan, Watford had an option to sign the midfielder on a permanent basis. He was suspended for his first game, following a red card in his final game for Sunderland. However, after the suspension ended, he still did not play for Watford and was an unused substitute only three times during his disappointing four-month loan spell.
Sunderland were relegated toEFL League One at the end of the2017–18 season and a number of high-profile players, including Ndong, expressed their desire to leave the club rather than play in England's third tier.[15] In May 2018, Sunderland was bought byStewart Donald who talked publicly about his intention to get fair prices for outgoing players.[16] Through the summertransfer window of 2018, Ndong was linked to a number of clubs, includingFiorentina,Benfica andTorino, the latter of which agreed a £6.6m fee for the player, but Ndong's personal demands proved to be a stumbling block.[17] By the time the players were due to return for pre-season training on 2 July, a move had not materialised. Ndong failed to report to the club's training ground as expected, resulting in the club withholding the player's wages.[18] Ndong remained absent from the club for the remainder of pre-season and the early matches of the2018–19 season. Sunderland fans' feelings toward the club's record signing became increasingly hostile, made worse when Ndong appeared to post an image onInstagram of him sitting poolside at a holiday resort.[19]
A similar situation was unfolding with teammatePapy Djilobodji who had also failed to return to training while trying to engineer a move away from Sunderland. When Djilobodji did eventually return to the club, he was almost immediately sacked for alleged breach of contract. Djilobodji had reached an agreement with the club to remain absent during July (with a proviso that he keep himself fit), but he returned for training late and failed a series of fitness tests.[20] The parallels with the Ndong situation were noted at the time of Djilobodji's sacking, with public comments from Stewart Donald suggesting that the players were "deliberately devaluing themselves" in order to engineer cheaper moves away from the club. Donald hinted that legal proceedings could follow.[21]
After the Djilobodji sacking, attention turned to Ndong, who was still absent from the club. Reports in Gabon suggested Ndong feared the repercussions of a return to North East England, including possible arrest (the grounds on which he feared he would be arrested were not made clear).[22] Ndong's representatives suggested the player was considering commissioning a negotiator to represent him in discussions with the club. On 21 September, Ndong reportedly issued a statement via representatives that he had been spending time in Morocco, but wished to return to Sunderland to fight for his place in the team. He offered to take a pay cut.[23] Ndong returned to the club on 24 September and, following a brief meeting with the club management, was served notice for breach of contract.
A statement from Sunderland, released on the club's official website stated:[24]
Sunderland AFC has given notice under its contract with Didier Ndong. The player, who was under contract with the club until June 2021, failed to return to Sunderland for pre-season training in July as scheduled, nor in the subsequent months that followed. No reason was given for his failure to report and continued absence. As a result, the club has accepted Didier Ndong's repudiatory breaches of contract and notice of the same has been provided to the player. Sunderland AFC does so whilst retaining the right to pursue the player and any club he may subsequently join in relation to compensation for the value of the player.
Following his sacking, Ndong had to leave the United Kingdom due to hisresidence permit expiring. He returned to Gabon and began training with an unnamed club inLibreville in October 2018, amid reports of personal financial difficulties.[25] On 11 October 2018, Sunderland released a statement on their website indicating that an amicable agreement had been reached and Ndong was no longer an employee of the club. The statement indicated that Sunderland would receive compensation when Ndong signed for a new club.[26]
On 28 December 2018,En Avant Guingamp announced that they were due to sign Ndong, following medical exams and finalising a deal with Sunderland.[27] He was officially presented on 4 January 2019.[28]
On 26 August 2021, he joined Turkish clubYeni Malatyaspor on a season-long loan.[29] On 10 March 2022, he loan was terminated early by mutual consent.[30]
On 12 August 2023, Ndong joinedSaudi Pro League clubAl-Riyadh on a free transfer.[31]
On 14 November 2012, Ndong made his debut forGabon in a 2–2 draw againstPortugal.[32]
In 2013, Anicet Yala, coach of theGabon national U20 team, called him up to be a member of the squad for the2013 African Youth Championship inAlgeria.[33]
He played in the2015 Africa Cup of Nations. He started the first game againstBurkina Faso, playing 63 minutes, with Gabon winning 2–0.[34] In the second match against theCongo, he played 56 minutes before being replaced byGuélor Kanga (defeated 0–1).[35] He came on as a substitute in the third and final group match againstEquatorial Guinea in the 69th minute, replacingAndré Poko (defeated 2–0).[36] Gabon finished third in its group and was eliminated from the competition.[37]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[39] | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| CS Sfaxien | 2011–12 | Tunisian Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 18 | 1 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 24 | 2 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 2 | 8 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 48 | 3 | ||||
| Lorient | 2014–15 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 40 | 2 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 48 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 54 | 2 | ||||
| Sunderland | 2016–17 | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | Championship | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 54 | 1 | ||||
| Watford (loan) | 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Guingamp | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Ligue 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 | ||||
| Dijon | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 29 | 0 | |||||
| 2022–23 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 29 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 84 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 90 | 0 | ||||
| Malatyaspor (loan) | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 22 | 0 | |||
| Al-Riyadh | 2023–24 | Saudi Pro League | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 31 | 2 | |||
| Esteghlal | 2024–25 | Iran Pro League | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 10[a] | 0 | – | 42 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 3[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 12 | 0 | |||
| Total | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 328 | 6 | 28 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 379 | 8 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabon | 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 53 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 September 2023 | Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium, Nouakchott, Mauritania |  Mauritania | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
CS Sfaxien[40]
Guingamp
Gabon U23
Esteghlal
Gabon squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
