 Seri training withNice in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jean Michaël Seri[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1991-07-19)19 July 1991 (age 34) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Grand-Béréby, Ivory Coast | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Central midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Maribor | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | Africa Sports d'Abidjan | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | ASEC Mimosas | 16 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | →Porto B (loan) | 19 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Paços de Ferreira | 54 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Nice | 103 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Fulham | 65 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | →Galatasaray (loan) | 27 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | →Bordeaux (loan) | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Hull City | 76 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Al-Orobah | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Maribor | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Ivory Coast U23 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015– | Ivory Coast | 64 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:57, 6 December 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:10, 31 December 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Jean Michaël Seri (born 19 July 1991) is an Ivorian professionalfootballer who plays as acentral midfielder forSlovenian PrvaLiga clubMaribor and theIvory Coast national team.[3][4]
In his native Ivory Coast, the young Seri was nicknamed "Galla", because he tried to emulate the formerMonaco andParis Saint-Germain midfielderMarcelo Gallardo, whose technical skills he admired. Seri joined the Ivorian football academy that was opened in 2001 by the Ivorian footballerCyril Domoraud. "Jean is gifted, intelligent and respectful," Domoraud said in retrospect. "In his young days, he was one step ahead of the others, thanks to his ball control."[5]
Born in the south-western city ofGrand-Béréby, Seri began his career as a youth player withAbidjan clubAfrica Sports d'Abidjan in July 2007.[citation needed] The best clubs in Ivory Coast fought for his services. In January 2010, Seri started his career as a senior player by joiningASEC Mimosas, the most successful club in Ivorian football, where he needed just one season to prove himself and become one of the best players in the country. "He is a great listener, and his state of mind is impeccable," raved Sébastien Desabre, ASEC Mimosas's head coach from October 2010 to October 2012 when Seri was a senior player there, and that quality enabled Seri to make steady progress.[5]
On 2 November 2012, Seri joinedPrimeira Liga clubPorto on loan, after impressing their scouts. However, there was no place for Seri in the club's first team. He was thus forced to play for the club'sreserve team, scoring once in 19Segunda Liga matches in the first five months of 2013.[5][6][7]
On 31 August 2013, two months after finishing his loan spell at Porto (theDragões), Seri joined anotherPrimeira Liga clubPaços de Ferreira on a permanent basis and on a free transfer by signing a three-year deal.[8] He debuted for thePacenses on 14 September 2013 againstBenfica in aPrimeira Liga 3–1 away loss.[citation needed] On 2 March 2014, he scored a goal in the 54th minute to register his first competitive goal for Paços de Ferreira in a 3–1 Primeira Liga home win overMarítimo to send his side away from the relegation zone.[citation needed] It was at Paços de Ferreira where Seri's magnificent range of passing and ability to dictate the tempo of the game made him a fans' favourite. The club finished in eighth place in the2014–15 Primeira Liga, andLigue 1 clubNice were quick to sign Seri before bigger clubs took notice.[5]
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On 11 June 2015, Seri officially joinedLigue 1 clubNice for a transfer fee of €1 million.[5][9][10] On 27 May 2015, prior to the opening of the transfer window, the club had announced the "very likely" arrival of Seri.[11][12] On 8 August 2015, Seri made his competitive debut for Nice in their opening match of the2015–16 Ligue 1 season, playing the entire match in the 2–1 home loss toMonaco. On 27 September 2015, he scored in the 53rd minute to register his first competitive goal for Nice in a 4–1 Ligue 1 away win overSaint-Étienne.[7]
In July 2018, Seri joinedFulham on a four-year deal until 2022 with an option for Fulham to extend the contract by a further year.[13]
Seri scored his first goal for his new club on 26 August, opening the scoring againstBurnley with a spectacular strike from outside the area. Seri picked the ball up and took one touch around an oncoming defender before curling in a long-range effort into the top corner ofJoe Hart's net and the goal was awarded with thePremier League Goal of the Month for August.[14]
On 18 July 2019, Seri joinedGalatasaray on a season-long loan deal, with an option to buy.[15] Eventually, he would leave Galatasaray and return to Fulham at the end of the season.
On 30 January 2021, Seri joined Ligue 1 clubBordeaux on loan until the end of theseason.[16]
Following his return from his loan spell atBordeaux, Seri began playing again forFulham starting his first match for the club for the season againstHuddersfield Town, which saw Fulham win 5–1 in theChampionship on 14 August 2021.[17] On 2 May 2022, Seri both featured and scored in a 7–0 victory overLuton Town, this victory securing the Championship title for Fulham.[18] Despite promotion back to the Premier League, it was announced that Seri would be leaving the club at the end of his contract in June 2022.[19]
Seri returned to the Championship on 8 July 2022 to joinHull City on a three-year contract.[20] On 30 July 2022, he would mark his debut with the winning goal in a 2–1 home victory overBristol City.[21] His next goal for the Tigers would come on 10 April 2024, scoring his side's second goal in a 2–2 draw withMiddlesbrough.[22]
On 23 August 2024, Seri signed for newly promotedSaudi Pro League clubAl-Orobah.[23]
Seri made a total of three appearances for theIvory Coast under-23 team, all of them at the2011 CAF U-23 Championship held in Morocco, playing every minute of all their three Group B matches against South Africa, Egypt and Gabon. Ivory Coast finished third in Group B and thus did not qualify for the semifinals.
On 27 February 2014, Seri received his first senior international call up for theIvory Coast in an upcomingfriendly match againstBelgium;[24] he was an unused substitute inThe Elephants' 2–2 away draw (held on 5 March 2014) against Belgium.[25] On 6 September 2015, Seri made his senior international debut in a2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match againstSierra Leone, playing the entire match in the 0–0 away draw. On 17 November 2015, Seri scored a goal in the 64th minute of the2018 FIFA World Cup qualification second round second leg 3–0 home win overLiberia to register his first senior international goal.
Seri played two of Ivory Coast's three2017 Africa Cup of Nations Group C matches as they finished third in Group C and thus did not qualify for the quarter-finals. In the2019 edition of the tournament he also made two group stage appearances, starting againstSouth Africa andMorocco.[26]
Seri was a member of the Ivory Coast's squad for the2021 Africa Cup of Nations and started in all four of the team's matches as they reached the round of 16, losing 5–4 toEgypt in apenalty shootout.[27]
In December 2023, Seri was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations, and ended up winning the tournament.[28][29][30]
Seri is a devoutChristian.[31][32]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Paços de Ferreira | 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 2[d] | 1 | 33 | 2 |
| 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 | |||
| Total | 54 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 68 | 3 | ||
| Nice | 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 41 | 3 | |
| 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 39 | 7 | ||
| 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9[e] | 0 | — | 43 | 2 | ||
| Total | 103 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | — | 123 | 12 | |||
| Fulham | 2018–19 | Premier League | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Championship | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | |||
| Total | 65 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 70 | 2 | ||||
| Galatasaray (loan) | 2019–20 | Süper Lig | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 6[f] | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
| Bordeaux (loan) | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Hull City | 2022–23 | Championship | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Championship | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 76 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 77 | 2 | ||||
| Al-Orobah | 2024–25 | Saudi Pro League | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Maribor | 2025–26 | 1. SNL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 346 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 398 | 22 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 2015 | 4 | 1 |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 64 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 November 2015 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Liberia | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 18 November 2018 | Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea |  Guinea | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3 | 19 June 2019 | Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |  Zambia | 2–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 13 November 2021 | Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin |  Mozambique | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Galatasaray
Fulham
Ivory Coast
Individual
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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