Chaka Traorè

Chaka Traorè (born 23 December 2004) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club AC Milan.

Parma
Traorè made his professional debut with Parma in a 2–1 Coppa Italia loss to Lazio on 21 January 2021. On 10 April 2021 he made his Serie A debut in a 3–1 loss against AC Milan; he also became the first 2004-born player to play in Serie A.

AC Milan
On 30 August 2021, Traorè moved to Serie A club AC Milan, immediately joining the youth sector roster. In July 2023, he extended his contract with the club until June 2028 and was promoted to the senior team. He made his senior debut for AC Milan on 28 November 2023 in a 3–1 Champions League loss to Borussia Dortmund, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute. Traorè made his first league appearance for AC Milan four days later in a 3–1 win against Frosinone. He started and scored his first senior goal for AC Milan on 2 January 2024 in Coppa Italia, securing a 4–1 win over Cagliari. On 7 January, Traorè scored his first Serie A goal in a match against Empoli, contributing to a 3–0 win.

Loan to Palermo
On 1 February 2024, he joined Serie B club Palermo on loan for the rest of the season, with an option to make the move permanent.

International career
Traorè was called up to the Ivory Coast U23s in March 2023.

Personal life
Born in Ivory Coast, he moved to Italy where he grew up.

In 2015 he took a small boat from Africa's north coast with the aim to reach Italy. Once in Italy, Traorè and his agent, who was later found guilty of assisting illegal immigration, were headed to Parma. Traorè was traveling under a false name and was listed as Cissè in his passport. In Italy, the then 11-year-old took on various part-time jobs to survive before he finally was discovered by U.S. Audace—a prominent academy club in the provincial capital.