 Kessié withIvory Coast in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Franck Yannick Kessié[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1996-12-19)19 December 1996 (age 28) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ouragahio, Ivory Coast | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Central midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Al-Ahli | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 79 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2014 | Stella Club | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Atalanta | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Stella Club | 10 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Atalanta | 30 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | →Cesena (loan) | 37 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | →AC Milan (loan) | 71 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | AC Milan | 103 | (23) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Barcelona | 28 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Al-Ahli | 70 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Ivory Coast U17 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Ivory Coast U20 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Ivory Coast Olympic | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014– | Ivory Coast | 96 | (15) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:51, 21 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:32, 14 November 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Franck Yannick Kessié (born 19 December 1996) is an Ivorian professionalfootballer who plays as acentralmidfielder forSaudi Pro League clubAl-Ahli and theIvory Coast national team.
After advancing throughAtalanta, Kessié joinedAC Milan in 2017 on loan, securing a permanent move two years later and playing a pivotal role in theirSerie A success in the 2021–22 season. In 2022, he joinedBarcelona, clinching titles inLa Liga andSupercopa de España, before his transfer to Al-Ahli in 2023.
Born inOuragahio, Kessié began his career inStella Club d'Adjamé, joining their youth setup in 2010.[3] In 2014, he was promoted to the first team.[3]
On 29 January 2015, Kessié signed a three-year contract withSerie A clubAtalanta.[4] He was assigned to the club'sPrimavera squad upon his arrival and contributed with seven appearances for the side. His first match in Europe occurred on 1 March, as he started in a 2–0 away win againstAC Milan Primavera.[citation needed]
On 18 April 2015, Kessié was called up to the first team for a match againstRoma,[5] but remained an unusedsubstitute in the 1–1 draw the following day.
On 26 August 2015, Kessié joinedCesena in theSerie B on a one-year loan deal.[6] He made his professional debut on 26 September, coming on as a substitute forAntonino Ragusa in a 0–0 away draw againstPerugia.[7]
Kessié scored his first professional goal on 31 October 2015, netting the last in a 2–0 home win againstVirtus Lanciano.[8] He became an undisputed starter afterwards, appearing in 37 matches and scoring four goals as his side missed out promotion inthe play-offs.
After returning from loan, Kessié was promoted to the first team by managerGian Piero Gasperini.[9] After appearing with the main squad during the pre-season, he made his debut forLa Dea on 13 August 2016, starting and scoring the last in a 3–0Coppa Italia home win againstCremonese.[10] Six days later, he renewed his contract until 2021.[11]
Kessié made his debut in the main category of Italian football on 21 August 2016, as he started and scored a brace in a 4–3 home loss againstLazio.[12] He scored another goal seven days later, in a 2–1 away defeat toSampdoria.[13]
Kessié subsequently became a mainstay in Gasperini's starting eleven, scoring the winners againstTorino (2–1 home win)[14] and Roma (2–1 home win),[15] both throughpenalties. He also scored the equalizer againstEmpoli on 20 December 2016, withMarco D'Alessandro scoring alast-minute winner.[16]
On 2 June 2017, Kessié joined fellow Serie A sideAC Milan on a two-year loan deal with the obligation to buy.[17][18] Originally, he chose 19 as hisshirt number but soon was persuaded by the club's management to leave it forLeonardo Bonucci, who transferred to Milan a few weeks later; as a result, Kessié changed it to 79.
He made his debut for Milan and helped the club to win the first leg of Europa League qualification match againstCS U Craiova on 27 July.[19] On 20 August 2017, in Milan's opening Serie A match of the season, he scored a penalty in a 3–0 victory overCrotone.[20] In a match againstCagliari on 21 January 2018, Kessié scored two goals, one being from the penalty spot, to give Milan the win.[21] Milan reached the Coppa Italia final, but lost 4-0 to Juventus, Kessié playing the full game. Following Bonucci's departure he was offered his original shirt number back yet refused, citing that he did not want to force Milan fans to spend any extra money on his personalized shirts due to yet another number change.[22] As Juventus won the league-cup double, Milan qualified for the2018 Supercoppa Italiana final against Juventus. They lost 1-0 and Kessié was sent off in the 74th minute.[23]
Milan finished the2020–21 Serie A season in second place, with Kessié scoring 13 times in 37 appearances, and qualified for the2021–22 UEFA Champions League after an eight-year absence.[24]Kessie became the first player to score at least ten penalties for AC Milan in a Serie A season sinceZlatan Ibrahimovic in 2011–12; he played 50 matches this season in all competitions, a record between Serie A players withPolitano,[25] and was described as player of the season for Milan by some critics.[26][27]
On 12 September 2021 against Lazio, Kessié won a penalty kick but failed to convert it; Milan still managed to win the match 2–0.[28] On 28 September, in a UEFA Champions League match againstAtlético Madrid, as Milan was leading by 1–0, Kessié was sent off in the 29th minute, his side eventually lost 1–2.[29] On 31 October against Roma, he converted a penalty kick to score the second and seal a 2–1 victory for Milan.[30] On 7 November, while playingagainst Inter he fouledHakan Çalhanoğlu in the penalty box, causing a penalty kick which the latter scored in a 1–1 draw.[31]On 4 December, Kessié scored the first goal against Salernitana in an eventual 2–0 win.[32]On 22 December, Kessié scored a brace againstEmpoli, reaching 14 Serie A goals during the 2021 calendar year; the last AC Milan midfielder to score so much in a single calendar year wasKaká in 2008.[33]
On 22 May 2022, Kessié scored the third goal in a 3–0 rout against Sassuolo, sealing theScudetto title for the club; after the goal, Kessié went to Milan fans at theMapei Stadium and did his trademark salute, it was Kessié's last match and goal with Milan, as he announced his departure a few days later and thanked the fans.[34]
On 4 July 2022,Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement with Kessié after his contract expires withAC Milan and on 6 July, he signed a four-year deal until 30 June 2026, and his buy out was set at €500m.[35]
On 13 August 2022, he made his debut for the club, as a substitute toPedri, in a 0–0 draw againstRayo Vallecano in the league.[36] On 19 March 2023, Kessié scored the winning goal againstReal Madrid inEl Clasico, his first for the club, hitting homeAlejandro Balde's cutback in the 92nd minute to make it 2–1 for theBlaugrana.[37] Kessié's strike was the 3,000th goal scored by Barcelona at theCamp Nou inLa Liga.[38]
On 9 August 2023, Kessié joinedSaudi Pro League clubAl-Ahli in a €12.5m deal.[39] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win overAl-Okhdood on 24 August. Kessié also scored another winning goal in a 1–0 win overAl-Khaleej on 29 December.
During the2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite on 16 September 2024, Kessié scored the only goal in the match against Iranian clubPersepolis to secured the 3 points for Al-Ahli. In the final match held in Jeddah on 3 May 2025, he won the competition, after previously scoring a goal in the 42nd minute when defeating the Japanese representative, Kawasaki Frontale.[40]
Kessié representedIvory Coast atunder-17 andunder-20 levels, appearing in the2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup and2015 Toulon Tournament. During the former tournament, theRoyal Moroccan Football Federation submitted a complaint toFIFA claiming that Kessié was aged 22 and not 16;[41] FIFA later denied that claim.
At the age of 17, Kessié played his first international game with the senior national team on 6 September 2014, starting in a 2–1 home win againstSierra Leone for the2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.[42] On 4 January 2017, he was included inMichel Dussuyer's 23-man squad ahead of the2017 Africa Cup of Nations,[43] starting in all matches as his side was knocked out in the group stage.
At the2019 Africa Cup of Nations, he finished as the joint-top assist provider of the tournament, alongsideIsmaël Bennacer, with three assists. His team were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual championsAlgeria after losing 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw on 11 July; Kessié converted his nation's first penalty in the shoot-out.[44][45][46]
Kessié started in all four of the Ivory Coast's matches at the2021 Africa Cup of Nations,[47] scoring once in a 3–1 win over Algeria inGroup E.[48] He was substituted with an injury 30 minutes into the round of 16 loss toEgypt.[49]
In December 2023, Kessié was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[50][51] He captained the team in the tournament's opening match, a 2–0 win overGuinea-Bissau on 14 January 2024.[52] During the round of 16 match against defending championsSenegal, he came off the bench in the second half, in which he managed to score the equalizer from a penalty in the 86th minute in a 1–1 tie. He eventually netted the last penalty in the shoot-outs in a 5–4 win, which qualified his country to the quarter-finals.[53] He later scored a goal in thefinal match againstNigeria which ended in a 2–1 victory.[54]
When Kessié was 11 years old, his father, who used to be a professional footballer in his youth before enlisting in the Ivorian army, died due to an illness. Therefore, one of his goal celebrations is amilitary salute performed in order to pay tribute to his late father.[55] Growing up, his idol wasYaya Touré.[56]
Kessié is a practicing Muslim.[57][58][59] He regularly fasts during the Islamic month ofRamadan.[60][61]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cesena (loan) | 2015–16 | Serie B | 37 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 4 | ||
| Atalanta | 2016–17 | Serie A | 30 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 7 | ||
| AC Milan (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie A | 37 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 12[b] | 0 | — | 54 | 5 | |
| 2018–19 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 42 | 7 | ||
| AC Milan | 2019–20 | Serie A | 35 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21 | 37 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 11[b] | 1 | — | 50 | 14 | |||
| 2021–22 | 31 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5[d] | 0 | — | 39 | 7 | |||
| Milan total | 174 | 35 | 17 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 223 | 37 | ||
| Barcelona | 2022–23 | La Liga | 28 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8[e] | 1 | 2[f] | 0 | 43 | 3 |
| Al-Ahli | 2023–24 | Saudi Pro League | 31 | 10 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 10 | ||
| 2024–25 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12[g] | 2 | 1[h] | 0 | 44 | 4 | ||
| 2025–26 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5[g] | 2 | 3[i] | 3 | 18 | 6 | ||
| Total | 70 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 95 | 20 | ||
| Career total | 339 | 59 | 27 | 3 | 56 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 429 | 71 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 2014 | 4 | 0 |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 18 | 5 | |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | |
| Total | 96 | 15 | |
Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 November 2019 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny,Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Niger | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 8 October 2020 | King Baudouin Stadium,Brussels, Belgium |  Belgium | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 17 November 2020 | Barikadimy Stadium,Toamasina, Madagascar |  Madagascar | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 4 | 30 March 2021 | Stade National, Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Ethiopia | 2–0 | 3–1 | |
| 5 | 11 October 2021 | Stade de l'Amitie,Cotonou, Benin |  Malawi | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 20 January 2022 | Japoma Stadium,Douala, Cameroon |  Algeria | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 7 | 24 September 2022 | Stade Robert Diochon,Rouen, France |  Togo | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 28 March 2023 | Stade Omnisports de Malouzini,Moroni, Comoros |  Comoros | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 9 | 6 January 2024 | Laurent Pokou Stadium,San-Pédro, Ivory Coast |  Sierra Leone | 2–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 10 | 29 January 2024 | Charles Konan Banny Stadium,Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast |  Senegal | 1–1 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 11 | 11 February 2024 | Alassane Ouattara Stadium,Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Nigeria | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 12 | 11 October 2024 | Laurent Pokou Stadium,San-Pédro, Ivory Coast | Sierra Leone | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 13 | 2–1 | |||||
| 14 | 10 October 2025 | Côte d'Or National Sports Complex,Saint Pierre, Mauritius |  Seychelles | 7–0 | 7–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 15 | 14 October 2025 | Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Kenya | 1–0 | 3–0 |
AC Milan
Barcelona
Al-Ahli
Ivory Coast
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