Seydou Keïta (;

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

to Keita; born 16 January 1980) is a Malian former 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 le ...

. A versatile midfielder, he operated as both a

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

or defensive midfielder. Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four), winning 14 titles with the latter club after signing in 2008. He started his youth career in Mali and his professional career with Marseille. His career would take him to clubs in France, Spain,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Italy and Qatar. Keita represented Mali since the age of 18, appearing in seven

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

tournaments and winning 102 caps. In addition to his Malian nationality, he also has French nationality.

Club career

Marseille

Born in Bamako, Mali, Keita finished his football formation in France with

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

, joining the club at the age of 17. He played mainly for the reserve squad during his three-year spell. Keita made his

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

debut for ''L'OM'' on 19 September 1999 in a 1–0 home win against Troyes AC, adding three games in the season's UEFA Champions League. In the summer of 2000, he left the

Stade Vélodrome The Stade Vélodrome (; oc, Estadi Velodròm, ), known as the Orange Vélodrome for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, ...

Lorient and Lens

Keita signed for Lorient in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

, being instrumental (37 games, one goal) as the team promoted to the top level in 2001. He appeared slightly less due to injury in the following season, which ended in immediate relegation, but brought the conquest of the Coupe de France, the club's first-ever; he played the full 90 minutes in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against SC Bastia. In 2002, Keita joined fellow league side Lens, eventually becoming

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and scoring a career-best 13 goals in the 2006–07 season – his fifth and last – helping ''Les Sang et Or'' to fifth position in the league and the last-16 in the UEFA Cup.

Sevilla

On 11 July 2007, Keita signed a four-year contract with Sevilla for a €4 million transfer fee, plus a 10–15% capital gain for the club if it sold the player above €4 million. He appeared in both legs of that year's

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...

, a 6–3 aggregate win against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. Keita was an automatic first-choice for the Andalusians during 2007–08, helping the team to the fifth position in the league. On 3 November 2007 he scored from long-distance in a 2–0 home win also over Real Madrid, and added three in nine matches in the Champions League, including one against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in a 3–1 group stage home victory which was the opposition's first loss of the campaign.

Barcelona

On 26 May 2008, Keita agreed to a four-year deal with Barcelona who paid his €14 million buy-out clause (making Lens eligible to receive €1.3 million from Sevilla). He became the first Malian player to ever represent the Catalans, and his new release clause was set at €90 million. Keita made his official debut for Barcelona in a Champions League qualifier against Poland's Wisła Kraków on 13 August 2008, a 4–0 home win. He made his league debut against

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio Los ...

on the 31st, coming on as a substitute for Andrés Iniesta midway through the second half of a 0–1 away loss. Keita scored his first goal for the team on 16 November 2008, in a 2–0 win at Recreativo de Huelva. The following week he added another, in a 1–1 home draw to Getafe; he finished his first season at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...

with 46 official appearances as ''Barça'' won the treble, and played 20 minutes in the Champions League final, taking the place of Thierry Henry in the 2–0 triumph against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. On 25 October 2009, Keita scored his first career hat-trick, in a 6–1 home win against Real Zaragoza, and contributed with 29 games – 23 starts – as Barcelona renewed its domestic supremacy. In the 2010–11 campaign he made more appearances than any other outfield player and, on 31 August, aged 31, signed a contract extension that would link him to the club until 2014.

Dalian Aerbin

On 7 July 2012, Keita announced he would be leaving Barcelona after four seasons, invoking a clause in his contract allowing him to leave the club even though he still had two years left. The following day, he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Chinese Super League side Dalian Aerbin, being reportedly paid €14 million per year.

Valencia

On 30 January 2014, Keita returned to Spain after signing with Valencia, with the 34-year-old agreeing to a six-month contract with the option for an additional year. He made his debut for the ''Che'' on 16 February, replacing Paco Alcácer for the last 20 minutes of a 0–0 away draw against former club Sevilla. On 13 March, midway through the first half of an away fixture against PFC Ludogorets Razgrad for the UEFA Europa League, he was sent off for a challenge on

Roman Bezjak Roman Bezjak (born 21 February 1989) is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a forward for Austrian side USV Wies. He made his debut for the Slovenian national team in 2013. Club career Celje Bezjak made his debut for Celje on 9 April 2008 ...

that resulted in a penalty kick, but his team eventually won it 3–0 and 4–0 on aggregate. Keita scored Valencia's fastest-ever goal on 27 March 2014, netting after nine seconds at Almería. He also had to leave before the end of the first half with an injury, as the hosts came from behind for a 2–2 draw.

Roma

On 5 June 2014, Keita signed a one-year contract with Serie A club

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

. He made his competitive debut in the opening day of the season, against

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

(2–0 win), and scored his first goal on 9 November to help defeat

Torino F.C. Torino Football Club (), commonly referred to as Torino or simply Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont. They currently play in Serie A. Founded as ''Foot-Ball Club Torino'' in 1906, Torino are among the mos ...

3–0 also at the

Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...

. Keita agreed to a new one-year deal in the 2015 off-season.

El Jaish

Keita retired at the age of 37, after one season in the

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotio ...

with El Jaish.

International career

Keita helped Mali's under-20s finish third at the

1999 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between 3 and 24 April 1999. This was the 12th edition of the tournament. Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. :1.Teams that ...

in Nigeria, scoring the only goal in the last match against Uruguay, and being named the tournament's best player. He made his senior debut for Mali on 9 April 2000, in a

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

qualifier against Libya. He wore the no.12 shirt as he represented the country in six

tournaments: in the 2010 edition in Angola he scored twice, both goals coming in the 4–4 group stage draw against the hosts, who were leading 4–0 with 11 minutes to go; ''Les Aigles'', however, could not make it past the group stage. From 2007 to 2008, he scored an impressive 8 goals in 20 international matches from his midfield position. Keita also participated in the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

in South Africa, scoring in the 1–1 quarterfinal draw against the hosts as Mali eventually won the shootout.

Personal life

Keita's uncle, Salif Keïta, was also a footballer. He played, amongst others, for

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

, Marseille, Valencia and Sporting CP, and was once voted African Footballer of the Year. Keita married Zubaida Johnson, of Cape Verdean descent. On 12 May 2008, he became the father of a son, Mohammed, who was born in Seville, also father of Hanane, Ishana and Zulaykah all born in Barcelona, Catalonia.

Career statistics

Club

:Sources:

International

:Source: :''Scores and results list Mali's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mali goal''.

Honours

Lorient * Coupe de France: 2001–02 Lens *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Sevilla *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Barcelona * La Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

* Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12; runner-up

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

* UEFA Champions League: 2008–09,

* UEFA Super Cup:

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

Mali * FIFA World Youth Championship third place:

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

third place:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Individual * FIFA World Youth Championship Golden Ball: 1999 *Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament:

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

* UNFP

Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to: *BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award *Canadian Press Team of the Year Award *GPA Gaelic Team of the Year *IRB International Sevens Team of the Year *IRB International Team of the Year *J.League Team of the Y ...

: 2006–07 * CAF Team of the Year:

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Seydou 1980 births Living people Malian emigrants to France Naturalized citizens of France Footballers from Bamako Malian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders JS Centre Salif Keita players Olympique de Marseille players FC Lorient players RC Lens players Sevilla FC players FC Barcelona players Valencia CF players Dalian Professional F.C. players AS Roma players El Jaish SC players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players La Liga players Chinese Super League players Serie A players Qatar Stars League players UEFA Champions League winning players Mali men's under-20 international footballers Mali men's international footballers 2002 African Cup of Nations players 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players FIFA Men's Century Club Malian expatriate men's footballers Malian expatriate sportspeople in France Malian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Malian expatriate sportspeople in China Malian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Malian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar