Moussa Wagué (born 4 October 1998) is a Senegalese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

club

Panserraikos Panserraikos Football Club (), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and well-supported clubs in northern G ...

and the Senegal national team.

Club career

Eupen

Wagué joined

K.A.S. Eupen K.A.S. Eupen (short for Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen, English: ''Royal General Sports Association Eupen'', simply referred to as Eupen) is a Belgian professional association football club located in Eupen, Liège (province), Prov ...

from the

Aspire Academy Aspire Academy () is a sports academy based in the Aspire Zone in Qatar, founded in 2004 with the goal to scout and help develop Qatari athletes, whilst also providing them with secondary school education. History Aspire Academy was establis ...

in November 2016. He made his professional debut in a 0–1 loss to

Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...

on 21 January 2017. Wagué spent two seasons with Eupen under coach

Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He last managed Super League Greece club Astera ...

, helping the team remain in the Belgian top division.

Barcelona

In August 2018, Wagué completed a transfer from Eupen to

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

, for a fee of €5 million. He initially joined the reserves ahead of the 2018–19 season. On 13 January 2019, Wagué scored his first goal for Barcelona B in a 2–0 win at the Miniestadi against

CD Alcoyano Club Deportivo Alcoyano, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcoy, in the autonomous community of the Valencian Community. Founded in 1928, it plays in , holding home games in '' Estadio El Collao'', with a capacity of 4,850 seats. Hi ...

. Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde named Wagué as one of the five promising young players to whom he hoped to give first team opportunities. Wagué made his senior side debut on 6 March 2019, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of the Catalan Super Cup against

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

. On 13 April 2019, he made his official debut in a La Liga match against

Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...

where he played a full 90 minutes; he described it as a "dream come true". Wagué again featured for the first team on 4 May 2019, impressing despite Barcelona's 0–2 defeat to

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was foun ...

. He would appear once more in Barcelona's La Liga finale, coming on as a second half substitute in a 2–2 draw with

Eibar Eibar (, ) is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Euskadi. It is the capital of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Debabarrena. Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants ( Eustat, 2018). Its chief industry is ...

. Wagué was officially promoted to the first team ahead of the 2019–20 season, and given the number 16 shirt. He made his first Champions League start for Barcelona on 10 December 2019, as his side defeated

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

2–1.

Loan to Nice

In 31 January 2020, French club

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional association football, football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of Footb ...

confirmed a loan transfer for Wagué, keeping him until the end of the 2019–20 season, with an option to buy for €15,000,000. He made his debut for Nice in their 2–1 victory over

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

on 2 February 2020, coming on as a second half substitute. On 7 March 2020, Wagué provided the winning assist in Nice's 2–1

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

victory against rivals

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

. Upon the cancellation of the Ligue 1 season due to the COVID-19 outbreak in France, he returned to Barcelona after Nice decided not to activate his purchase option.

Loan to PAOK

On 21 September 2020, Barcelona confirmed the loan transfer of Wagué to Greek side

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

on loan for the rest of the season. On 13 December 2020, he suffered a severe knee injury during PAOK's local derby against

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki (), is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club founded on 25 March 1914 in Thessaloniki. Nicknamed ''God of War'', Aris was one of the strongest Greek clubs during t ...

. As a result he was slated to miss nine months of action.

Gorica

On 18 July 2022, he joined

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

club Gorica On 9 December 2022, he was released from the club after having his contract mutually terminated.

Anorthosis Famagusta

On 28 June 2023, Wagué joined

Anorthosis Famagusta Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

of the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

International career

Wagué was part of the Senegal U20s that came in 4rd place at the

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

. He made his senior international debut in a friendly 1–1 tie with

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

on 23 March 2017. In June 2018, Wagué was named in Senegal's 23-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

in Russia. He became the youngest African goalscorer in World Cup history when he scored in Senegal's match against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

at the age of just 19 years and 263 days. Wagué represented Senegal in the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

, which took place in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He participated in the first two group stage games and the semifinal match for a Senegal squad that reached the tournament final.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 24 June 2018. Senegal score listed first, score column indicates score after Wagué's goal.''

Honours

Barcelona *

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

: 2018–19 PAOK *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

: 2020-21 Senegal U23 *

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Senegal *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

runner-up:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

References

External links

Wague Maxifoot Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wague, Moussa 1998 births Living people People from Bignona Sportspeople from Ziguinchor region Senegalese men's footballers Senegal men's international footballers Senegal men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Belgian Pro League players Segunda División B players La Liga players Ligue 1 players Super League Greece players Croatian Football League players Aspire Academy (Senegal) players K.A.S. Eupen players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players OGC Nice players PAOK FC players HNK Gorica players Panserraikos F.C. players Senegalese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in France Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Croatia 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players 21st-century Senegalese sportsmen