Seko Fofana

Born in Paris on May 7, 1995, Seko Mohamed Fofana had his first contact with football at the Paris FC schools, represented FC Lorient, and completed his training in the youth ranks of Manchester City, the club with which he won the Premier League International Cup in 2014/15, before leaving on loan to Fulham FC. After 25 games for the Craven Cottage club, the midfielder moved to Corsica to play for SC Bastia and begin his career in the French league. He played in 32 games, starting in 25 and playing the full 90 minutes in 18 of the 38 matchdays of the 2015/16 season, scoring one goal and providing one assist, which caught the attention of Udinese. He played four seasons in Italy, during which he scored 13 goals and made just as many decisive passes. At the age of 24, at the peak of his career, he moved to Lens and took his place in Franck Haise's squad. The midfielder and captain's influence in Ligue 1 was such that, in 2021/22, he received the Marc-Vivien Foé Award, a distinction given to the best African player in the French top flight, after scoring eight goals and providing one assist. The following season, he once again led the team and ended second place in the table, returning to the Champions League after 21 years. Fofana contributed directly to 12 goals in that historic campaign for RC Lens. Recruited by Al-Nassr when the Saudis began gathering European football stars, the latest Dragon played in 25 games - scoring three goals, making one assist, and winning an Arab Football Association Union Cup before establishing himself as a key player in Ivory Coast's 2023 African Cup of Nations victory and being loaned to Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq for the second half of 2023/24 and the first half of 2024/25. His adventure in the Middle East came to an end and he returned to his native country to play for Stade Rennais, whom he represented in 2024/25 and the first half of 2025/26. On the last day of the winter transfer window, having just helped Ivory Coast reach the quarter-finals of the CAN, Seko Fofana joined FC Porto on a loan from Rennes.