Franck Yannick Kessié (born 19 December 1996) is an Ivorian 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 ...
who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
club
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
and the
Ivory Coast national team.
Club career
Born in
Ouragahio, Kessié began his career in
Stella Club d'Adjamé, joining their youth setup in 2010. In 2014, he was promoted to the first team.
Atalanta
On 29 January 2015, Kessié signed a three-year contract with
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
club
Atalanta
Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...
. He was assigned to the club's
Primavera squad upon his arrival and contributed with seven appearances for the side. His first match in Europe occurred on 1 March, as he started in a 2–0 away win against
AC Milan Primavera
Associazione Calcio Milan Youth Sector ( it, Settore giovanile dell'Associazione Calcio Milan) is the youth system of Italian football club AC Milan. The Youth Sector is made up of various boys' and girls' squads divided by age groups. Starting f ...
.
On 18 April 2015, Kessié was called up to the first team for a match against
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 ...
, but remained an unused
substitute in the 1–1 draw the following day.
Cesena (loan)
On 26 August 2015, Kessié joined
Cesena
Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and '' comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137.
History
Cesena was ...
in the
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
on a one-year loan deal. He made his professional debut on 26 September, coming on as a substitute for
Antonino Ragusa in a 0–0 away draw against
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and par ...
.
Kessié scored his first professional goal on 31 October 2015, netting the last in a 2–0 home win against
Virtus Lanciano. He became an undisputed starter afterwards, appearing in 37 matches and scoring four goals as his side missed out promotion in
the play-offs.
Return to Atalanta
After returning from loan, Kessié was promoted to the first team by manager
Gian Piero Gasperini
Gian Piero Gasperini (born 26 January 1958) is an Italian football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of Italian side Atalanta.
Playing career
Gasperini entered the Juventus youth system at the age of 9; during his stay ...
. After appearing with the main squad during the pre-season, he made his debut for ''La Dea'' on 13 August 2016, starting and scoring the last in a 3–0
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
home win against
Cremonese
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...
. Six days later, he renewed his contract until 2021.
Kessié made his debut in the main category of Italian football on 21 August 2016, as he started and scored a brace in a 4–3 home loss against
Lazio
it, Laziale
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. He scored another goal seven days later, in a 2–1 away defeat to
Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s ...
.
Kessié subsequently became a mainstay in Gasperini's starting eleven, scoring the winners against
Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
(2–1 home win) and Roma (2–1 home win), both through
penalties
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* P ...
. He also scored the equalizer against
Empoli on 20 December 2016, with
Marco D'Alessandro scoring a
last-minute winner.
AC Milan
On 2 June 2017, Kessié joined fellow Serie A side
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 season ...
on a two-year loan deal with the obligation to buy. Originally, he chose 19 as his
shirt number but soon was persuaded by the club's management to leave it for
Leonardo Bonucci
Leonardo Bonucci (; born 1 May 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and captains both club Juventus and the Italy national team. Known for his technique and ball-playing ability, he is regarded as one of the ...
, who transferred to Milan a few weeks later; as a result, Kessié changed it to 79. Following Bonucci's departure in the next summer transfer window, he was offered his original shirt number back yet refused, citing that he did not want to force Milan fans to spend any extra money on his personalized shirts due to yet another number change.
2017–18
He made his debut for Milan and helped the club to win the first leg of Europa League qualification match against
CS U Craiova on 27 July. On 20 August 2017, in Milan's opening Serie A match of the season, he scored a penalty in a 3–0 victory over
Crotone
Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages unti ...
. In a match against
Cagliari
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitan ...
on 21 January 2018, Kessié scored two goals, one being from the penalty spot, to give Milan the win.
2018–19
On 31 August 2018, he scored the opening goal against Roma in an eventual 2–1 win.On 16 January 2019, Kessie was sent off in
2018 Supercoppa Italiana final against Juventus, which the latter won 1-0.On 13 April, he scored the only goal in 1–0 win against Lazio.
On 26 May, he scored a brace against
SPAL in an eventual 3-2 win.
2019–20
On 5 October 2019, he scored the winning goal in an away fixture against Genoa.
On 7 July 2020, he scored the equalizer to help Milan comeback in a 4–2 win against Juventus.
On 12 July, he scored a penalty for a final 2–2 score against
Napoli
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
.On 15 July he scored the equalizer against Parma in a 3–1 win, a powerful shot from 25 metres.
2020–21: Personal success
On 27 September, Kessie scored his first goal of the season against
Crotone
Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages unti ...
, a penalty kick in a 2–0 win.
On 1 November, he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win against Udinese at
Stadio Friuli.
On 29 November against Fiorentina, he scored a penalty and missed another as his team managed to win 2-0. On 6th of December against Sampdoria at
Luigi Ferraris, he scored from the penalty spot in the final minute of the first half, to gave his team the lead in difficult 2-1 win.
On 28 February 2021, he scored from a penalty kick against Roma as his side won 2–1.
On 23 May, he scored two penalties in a 2–0 away win over his former club Atalanta, to secure second place for Milan in the
2020–21 Serie A
The 2020–21 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 119th season of top-tier Italian football, the 89th in a round-robin tournament, and the 11th since its organization under an own league committee, the Lega Serie ...
and qualification for the
2021–22 UEFA Champions League
The 2021–22 UEFA Champions League was the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid ...
after an eight-year absence.
Kessie became the first player to score at least ten penalties for AC Milan in a Serie A season since
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan ( sr-Cyrl, Златан) is a male given name of Slavic origin meaning ''Golden''. The name is common amongst all South Slavic countries, namely in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia. The name is f ...
in 2011–12; he played 50 matches this season in all competitions, a record between Serie A players with
Politano.
He scored 13 league goals this season, a personal record,
he also assisted six goals, described as 'player of the season for Milan by some critics.
2021–22: Scudetto winner and departure
On 12 September 2021 against Lazio, Kessie won a penalty kick but failed to convert it; Milan still managed to win the match 2–0.
On 28 September, in a UEFA Champions League match against
Atletico, as Milan was leading by 1-0, Kessie was sent off in the 29th minute, his side eventually lost 1-2..On 31 October against Roma, he converted a penalty kick to score the second and seal a 2–1 victory for Milan. On 7 November, while playing
against Inter he fouled
Hakan Çalhanoğlu in the penalty box, causing a penalty kick which the latter scored in a 1–1 draw.
On 4 December, Kessie scored the first goal against Salernitana in an eventual 2-0 win.
On 22 December, Kessie scored a brace against
Empoli, reaching 14 Serie A goals during the 2021 calendar year; the last AC Milan midfielder to score so much in a single calendar year was
Kaká in 2008.
On 22 May 2022, Kessie scored the third goal in a 3-0 rout against Sassuolo, sealing the
Scudetto
The ''scudetto'' ( Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous se ...
title for the club; after the goal, Kessie went to Milan fans at the
Mapei Stadium and did his trademark salute, it was Kessie's last match and goal with Milan, as he announced his departure a few days later and thanked the fans.
2022–23: Barcelona
On 4 July 2022,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
announced that they had reached an agreement with Kessiè after his contract expires with
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 season ...
and on 6 July, he signed a four-year deal until 30 June 2026, and his buy out clause will be set at €500m. On 13 August, he made his debut for the club, as a substitute, in 0–0 draw against
Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La ...
in the league.
International career
Kessié represented
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
at
under-17 and
under-20 levels, appearing in the
2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fifteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates between 17 October and 8 November. Nigeria won the tournament after defeating Mexico 3–0 in the final, cla ...
and
2015 Toulon Tournament
The 2015 Toulon Tournament was the 43rd edition of the Toulon Tournament. The competition began on 27 May and ended on 7 June 2015.
Participants
AFC
*
*
CAF
*
*
CONCACAF
*
*
*
UEFA
*
*
*
Source:
Squads
Venues
Group stage
Group A
...
. During the former tournament, the
Royal Moroccan Football Federation
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation ( ar, الجامعة الملكية المغربية لكرة القدم), (french: Fédérarion Royale marocaine de football) is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It bec ...
submitted a complaint to
FIFA claiming that Kessié was aged 22 and not 16; FIFA later denied that claim.
At the age of 17, Kessié played his first international game with the senior national team on 6 September 2014, starting in a 2–1 home win against
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
for the
2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches determined the participating teams for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
A total of 16 teams competed in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Prior to November 2014, it was expected that Morocco woul ...
. On 4 January 2017, he was included in
Michel Dussuyer
Michel Dussuyer (born 28 May 1959) is a French football coach and former professional player.
Playing career
Dussuyer played club football as a goalkeeper for Cannes, Nice and Alès.
Coaching career
Dussuyer was an assistant coach at Cannes bet ...
's 23-man squad ahead of the
2017 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...
, starting in all matches as his side was knocked out in the group stage.
At the
2019 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football championshi ...
, he finished as the joint-top assist provider of the tournament, alongside
Ismaël Bennacer, with three assists. His team were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual champions
Algeria
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after losing 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw on 11 July; Kessié converted his nation's first penalty in the shoot-out.
Personal life
When Kessié was 11 years old, his father, who used to be a professional footballer in his youth before enlisting in the Ivorian army, died due to an illness. Therefore, one of his goal celebrations is a
military salute performed in order to pay tribute to his late father. Growing up his idol was
Yaya Touré.
Career statistics
Club
International
''Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first.''
Honours
AC Milan
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
:
2021–22
Barcelona
*
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 ...
:
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
Individual
*
Serie A Team of the Year:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
References
External links
Profileat the FC Barcelona website
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessie, Franck
1996 births
Living people
People from Gôh-Djiboua District
Ivorian footballers
Ivory Coast youth international footballers
Ivory Coast under-20 international footballers
Ivory Coast international footballers
Association football midfielders
Atalanta B.C. players
A.C. Cesena players
A.C. Milan players
FC Barcelona players
Serie A players
Serie B players
La Liga players
2017 Africa Cup of Nations players
2019 Africa Cup of Nations players
2021 Africa Cup of Nations players
Olympic footballers of Ivory Coast
Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Ivorian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Spain