 Bakayoko in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tiémoué Bakayoko[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1994-08-17)17 August 1994 (age 31)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Paris, France | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2004 | Paris 15e Olympique | ||
| 2004–2006 | CA Paris-Charenton | ||
| 2006–2008 | Montrouge FC 92 | ||
| 2008–2013 | Rennes | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2014 | Rennes B | 16 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Rennes | 24 | (1) |
| 2014–2017 | Monaco | 63 | (3) |
| 2017–2023 | Chelsea | 29 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | →AC Milan (loan) | 31 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | →Monaco (loan) | 20 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | →Napoli (loan) | 32 | (2) |
| 2021–2023 | →AC Milan (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Lorient | 20 | (2) |
| 2024–2025 | PAOK | 4 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2010 | France U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2011 | France U17 | 7 | (0) |
| 2011 | France U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2014 | France U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | France U21 | 13 | (0) |
| 2017 | France | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 April 2025 | |||
Tiémoué Bakayoko (born 17 August 1994) is a French professionalfootballer who plays as adefensive midfielder.
Bakayoko plays as acentre midfielder, but can adapt to other positions such as abox-to-box midfielder due to his ability to break up play. He is considered to have all-round ability, as well as possessing physical power and athleticism, with France managerDidier Deschamps describing him as "a complete midfielder."
After suffering a fractured leg as a young player, Bakayoko joined the academy atRennes at the age of 13. At 14, he was turned down by theClairefontaine academy. His senior career began at Rennes, where he made 24 appearances before moving toMonaco in 2014 for €8 million.[4] In his first two seasons at the club, Bakayoko made 31 Ligue 1 appearances, but was a regular starter in the2016–17 season, contributing to Monaco's Ligue 1 title win as well as being named in the2016–17 UEFA Champions League squad of the season. In 2017, he joinedPremier League sideChelsea for £40 million, but after a poorfirst season with the club, he was loaned out in all future seasons. Bakayoko was eventually released by Chelsea in 2023 and signed for Lorient later that year.
Bakayoko made his only senior international appearance for theFrance national team in March 2017.
Bakayoko was born inParis[5] and played for Paris 15e Olympique at the age of five. Aged nine, he played for CA Paris Charenton before moving to Montrouge FC 92. As a young player, Bakayoko suffered a broken leg which stopped him playing football for eight months.[6] In 2008, at the age of 13, he joined the academy at Rennes.[6] At 14, he was rejected by the renowned Clairefontaine academy.[7]
Bakayoko made his debut for theLigue 1 team on 24 August 2013 in a Ligue 1 match againstÉvian TG, playing the whole match in a 2–1 away win.[8][9]
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Bakayoko joinedMonaco in July 2014 for £7 million,[10] and made his debut for the club on 10 August 2014 in a Ligue 1 match againstLorient. He was replaced byValère Germain after 32 minutes in a 2–1 home loss.[11][12][13] His early substitution by Monaco managerLeonardo Jardim created a strained relationship between the two, with Bakayoko saying: "From then on, something was a little broken between him and me".[6] After his debut, Bakayoko didn't start another match for over two months, with the remainder of his season blighted by injuries and inconsistent form.[7] Difficulties between Jardim continued, with Bakayoko feeling unfairly treated by his manager who had become frustrated at Bakayoko's progress, questioned his attitude during training and was critical of Bakayoko for sometimes being late for meetings.[7]
"Makélélé helped me greatly. When he arrived at Monaco I wasn't a very, very good player, but I had a lot of discussions with him. He gave me a lot of advice and he allowed me to play my style of football more simply."
Following his first two seasons at Monaco, in which he made 31 Ligue 1 performances, Bakayoko decided to change his behaviour to fulfil his potential, which included moving from a luxury villa to an apartment and changing the colour of his car from pink to black.[11][6] Additionally, he began boxing, changed his diet and improved his strength.[7] He was helped by former France internationalClaude Makélélé, who had been appointed director of football at Monaco in 2016,[15] on how to improve his football and take care of himself off the pitch.[11][6][7][14] Bakayoko also sought advice from his former youth coach at Rennes, Yannick Menu.[11][7] As a result, and withJérémy Toulalan andMario Pašalić having both left the club in 2016, Bakayoko became a regular starter for Monaco, helping the club to the Ligue 1 title in the 2016–17 season and named in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League squad of the season.[11] It was a decisive season for Bakayoko. Not only had he established himself as an important part of Monaco's team with consistent performances, he had fewer injuries and his application during training was no longer criticised.[7]
During the2016–17 UEFA Champions League round of 16-second leg match at theStade Louis II on 15 March 2017, Bakayoko scored the final goal (it was his first everUEFA Europa League orUEFA Champions League goal) with a header from aThomas Lemar free-kick to help Monaco secure a vital goal againstManchester City. Monaco won 3–1 and won the tie on the away goals rule (aggregate score 6–6).[16]
During an interview, Bakayoko said a recurrence of an knee injury from 2015 leading to a crack in themeniscus caused him a lot of discomfort during his final season at Monaco: "People don't know but throughout the whole of last season I suffered because of my knee. I really had to grit my teeth in every match."[17]
On 15 July 2017, Bakayoko signed forPremier League clubChelsea on a five-year contract for a fee around the margin of £40 million,[18][14] making him the club's second most expensive signing at the time, afterFernando Torres.[19] He made his Chelsea debut in a 2–1 away win overTottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on 20 August 2017.[20] On 5 February, he was sent off for the first time in his Chelsea career, in a 4–1 loss away toWatford. Bakayoko was given his marching orders for two bookable offences, one onÉtienne Capoue and the other onRicharlison, both in the first half.[21]
Bakayoko failed to impress in his first season. He was criticised for his performances by fans and pundits alike, with games against bothWatford, where he was sent off after only 30 minutes, and a 3–0 away defeat byNewcastle United on the last day of the Premier League season being singled out as two of his worst.[22][23][24][25][26]
Bakayoko continued his poor form into the2018–19 season, finding himself culpable forInter Milan's equaliser in a 1–1 pre-season draw, having lost possession in midfield.[27]
On 14 August 2018, Bakayoko signed forSerie A clubAC Milan on a season-longloan for a fee of €5 million with an option to make the move permanent for €35 million.[28][29]
His career in Italy did not get off to a good start, and he was labelled 'confused’, 'a disaster', and 'messy' after a poor performance in aUEFA Europa League game againstOlympiacos, in which he gifted the Greek team the opener in a 3–1 win.[30][31] However, his form improved dramatically late in 2018.[32]
Bakayoko was subjected to racial abuse by the travelling Lazio ultras during the second leg of theCoppa Italia semifinal match againstLazio, in which the game was not suspended and saw Milan eliminated 1–0.[33][34]
On 31 August 2019, Bakayoko agreed to rejoin Ligue 1 club Monaco on loan until the end of the2019–20 season,[35] with an option to make the move permanent for a reported fee of €42.5 million.[36]
On 6 October 2020, Bakayoko returned to Italy withNapoli on a season-long loan. He would play again forGennaro Gattuso, the current manager of the club who was in charge of AC Milan when Bakayoko spent the2018–19 season there.[37] He made his debut for the club on 17 October 2020, as Napoli beatAtalanta 4–1 at home.[38] On 10 January 2021, he scored his first goal for the club to grant Napoli a late win, 2–1 at home to Udinese.[39]
On 30 August 2021, Bakayoko returned to Milan on a two-year loan until 2023 with an option to buy.[40] On 11 December againstUdinese, he started the match in the midfield alongsideBennacer, On the 17th minute, he failed to receive the latter's pass which was intercepted by Udinese players and ended in their only goal of the match which ended 1–1.[41] On 22 December, he came on as substitute againstEmpoli, he gave the opponents a penalty after the ball touched his hand.[42]
On 16 June 2023, Chelsea confirmed Bakayoko would depart after the end of the season.[43]
On 31 August 2023, Bakayoko joinedLorient on a free transfer until 2025.[44] On 11 February 2024, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2-0 victory overReims.[45]
On 31 August 2024, Bakayoko signed a one year contract, with an option for a second year, with Greek sidePAOK.[46]
Bakayoko was a finalist in the2014 Toulon Tournament.[47]
Bakayoko was called up to the senior France squad for the first time to faceLuxembourg and Spain in March 2017 afterPaul Pogba withdrew through injury.[48] He made his debut on 28 March 2017 against the latter, replacingAdrien Rabiot at half-time of a 2–0 friendly home loss.[49]
He was approached by theIvory Coast national team before he chose France in 2017.[50][51] With only one cap for France in a friendly match, he remainseligible to switch nationality.
Bakayoko has been compared toYaya Touré due to his strong all-round qualities of pace, intelligent reading of the game, ability to intercept passes and accomplished tackling, passing and dribbling,[11][52] as well as being physically powerful and athletic.[11] He plays as a centre midfielder in thecentre of the pitch, breaking up attacks and making driving forward runs; as such, he has also been labelled a "box-to-box midfielder." Bakayoko's manager at Monaco,Leonardo Jardim, said: "He wins a lot of balls, brings balance to the team. He passes the ball well and wins his duels. That is Bakayoko's role."[53][54] France managerDidier Deschamps described Bakayoko as "a complete midfielder", and said: "He has an important athletic presence, he's good at recovery, he scores decisive goals and is able to project himself."[55] His manager at Milan,Gennaro Gattuso, said that Bakayoko plays as a deep-lying midfielder in an atypical way, because sometimes prefers to point and go past the opponent instead of launching the ball, so creating a numerical advantage in favour of his team.[56][57]
Bakayoko is of Ivorian descent.[citation needed]
In July 2022, Bakayoko was controversially held at gunpoint by Milan police in a case of mistaken identity.[58]
| 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 | ||
| Rennes | 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| Monaco | 2014–15 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | — | 23 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14[c] | 1 | — | 51 | 3 | ||
| Total | 63 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 5 | ||
| Chelsea | 2017–18 | Premier League | 29 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5[c] | 1 | – | 43 | 3 | |
| AC Milan (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie A | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 42 | 1 | |
| Monaco (loan) | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| Napoli (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie A | 32 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| AC Milan (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| Lorient | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 2 | |||
| PAOK | 2024–25 | Super League Greece | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 240 | 12 | 25 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 43 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 323 | 15 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Monaco
Chelsea
AC Milan
Individual
