Massadio Haïdara (born 2 December 1992) is a 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

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for club Brest. Born in France, he plays for the Mali national team.

Club career

Nancy

Haïdara made his professional debut on 11 December 2010 in a league match against

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy ...

. On 10 January 2011, he signed his first professional contract after agreeing to a three-year deal with Nancy.

Newcastle United

On 25 January 2013, Haïdara signed for English club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for an undisclosed fee (reportedly £2 million) to become Newcastle's ninth first-team player with French nationality and fourth of five French players signed in the January 2013 transfer window. He made his debut for Newcastle on 21 February 2013 in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

against

Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv, also known as Football Club Metalist Kharkov or FC Metalist Kharkov ( ), is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2023–24 season. It was rev ...

. Haïdara came on as a first-half substitute in the match against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

on 17 March 2013. A few minutes later, he was stretchered off as a result of a knee-high tackle on him by

Callum McManaman Callum Henry McManaman (born 25 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for side Wigan Athletic. Born in Huyton, Merseyside, but lived and brought up in Rainhill, Merseyside. McManaman began his youth career at ...

and taken to hospital; and returned to first-team action on 11 April against Benfica. Referee

Mark Halsey Mark R. Halsey (born 8 July 1961) is an English retired professional football referee who was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, later based in Bolton, Greater Manchester. mentions: ''Newcastle-Online.com'' website. Halsey primarily refe ...

did not see the incident, so McManaman received no card, and because one of his assistants did see it, albeit not clearly,

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

were unable to act. At the end of the season, their rules were changed to permit retrospective action "when match officials are not in a position to fully assess a 'coming together' of players." He made his first league appearance of the 2016–17 season against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

on 7 May 2017, the day that Newcastle clinched the Championship title. The following season he also had to wait until the final game of the season to make his first league appearance, this time against Chelsea.

Lens

In July 2018, after his contract with

expired, Haïdara signed on a free transfer for French club

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

of the

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

, the second-tier French league.

Brest

On 30 August 2024, Haïdara signed for Ligue 1 club Brest for no transfer fee.

International career

Haïdara has represented

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at U21 level. On 9 November 2018, he was called up to the Mali senior national team. He made his debut for Mali on 26 March 2019 in a friendly against

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, as a starter. In June 2019, Haidara was named in the list of 23 Malian players selected to participate 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 ...

. Expected at

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 34th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournam ...

, he injured himself in the morning of the announcement of the list of players selected for the competition by coach Eric Chelle and was therefore absent from it.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Newcastle United *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

: 2016–17

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haidara, Massadio 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Trappes Footballers from Yvelines French men's footballers Malian men's footballers Men's association football defenders AS Nancy Lorraine players Newcastle United F.C. players RC Lens players Stade Brestois 29 players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Premier League players English Football League players France men's youth international footballers France men's under-21 international footballers Mali men's international footballers 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players French expatriate men's footballers Malian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in England Malian expatriate sportspeople in England Black French sportspeople French sportspeople of Malian descent 21st-century French sportsmen