Ibrahima Cissé (born 15 February 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

club Schalke 04. Born in France, he has represented Mali at international youth level.

Early life

Cissé was born in

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granvi ...

, Eure-et-Loir, France, in a family with Malian origins, with two of his elders brothers – Salif and Kalifa – who also embraced a professional footballing career.

Club career

Early career

Cissé came through the youth ranks of La Berrichonne de Châteauroux in his native region, before moving to Gent in 2019.

Gent

Cissé made his professional debut for Gent on the 9 December 2021, replacing

Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui (born 23 November 1990) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Belgian club Gent and captains the Cameroon national team. Club career Ngadeu trained as a youth with Canon Yaoundé. Aft ...

at the 62nd minute of a 1–0 Europa Conference League home win against FC Flora.

Schalke 04

On 3 May 2022, Cissé agreed to join Schalke 04 on a free transfer for the 2022–23 season, signing a four-year contract.

International career

Cissé was an under-20 international with Mali, with whom it took part in the 2021 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. He played at the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations with Mali's under-23 international, where he won the bronze medal with his team and was named on the Team of the Tournament. He was selected for Mali's Olympic team for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

in Paris. Cissé received his first call up to the senior team for the Africa Cup of Nations qualification in October 2024.

Career statistics

Honours

Mali U23 *

U-23 Africa Cup of Nations The Total Africa U-23 Cup of Nations (known as the CAF U-23 Championship until 2015) is the main international football competition for CAF nations, played by under 23 years old players. It is held every four years with the top three teams qualif ...

bronze medal:

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Schalke 04 website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cissé, Ibrahima 2001 births Living people Sportspeople from Dreux Malian men's footballers Mali men's under-20 international footballers French men's footballers French sportspeople of Malian descent Men's association football defenders Olympic footballers for Mali Belgian Pro League players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players K.A.A. Gent players FC Schalke 04 players FC Schalke 04 II players Malian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Footballers from Centre-Val de Loire Footballers at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century French sportsmen