Franck Kessié

Franck Yannick Kessié (born 19 December 1996) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli and the Ivory Coast national team.

After advancing through Atalanta, Kessié joined AC Milan in 2017 on loan, securing a permanent move two years later and playing a pivotal role in their Serie A success in the 2021–22 season. In 2022, he joined Barcelona, clinching titles in La Liga and Supercopa de España, before his transfer to Al-Ahli in 2023.

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 club Atalanta. 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.

On 18 April 2015, Kessié was called up to the first team for a match against Roma, but remained an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw the following day.

Cesena (loan)
On 26 August 2015, Kessié joined Cesena in the Serie B 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.

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. 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 home win against Cremonese. 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. He scored another goal seven days later, in a 2–1 away defeat to Sampdoria.

Kessié subsequently became a mainstay in Gasperini's starting eleven, scoring the winners against Torino (2–1 home win) and Roma (2–1 home win), both through penalties. 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 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, who transferred to Milan a few weeks later; as a result, Kessié changed it to 79.

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. In a match against Cagliari on 21 January 2018, Kessié scored two goals, one being from the penalty spot, to give Milan the win. Milan reached the Coppa Italia final, but lost 4-0 to Juventus, Kessié playing the full game. Following Bonucci's departure 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. As Juventus won the league-cup double, Milan qualified for the 2018 Supercoppa Italiana final against Juventus. They lost 1-0 and Kessié was sent off in the 74th minute.

Milan finished the 2020–21 Serie A season in second place, with Kessié scoring 13 times in 37 appearances, and qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League 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 in 2011–12; he played 50 matches this season in all competitions, a record between Serie A players with Politano, and was described as player of the season for Milan by some critics.

2021–22: Scudetto winner and departure
On 12 September 2021 against Lazio, Kessié 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 Atlético Madrid, as Milan was leading by 1–0, Kessié 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, Kessié scored the first goal against Salernitana in an eventual 2–0 win. On 22 December, Kessié 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, Kessié scored the third goal in a 3–0 rout against Sassuolo, sealing the Scudetto title for the club; after the goal, Kessié went to Milan fans at the Mapei Stadium and did his trademark salute, it was Kessié's last match and goal with Milan, as he announced his departure a few days later and thanked the fans.

Barcelona
On 4 July 2022, Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement with Kessié after his contract expires with AC Milan and on 6 July, he signed a four-year deal until 30 June 2026, and his buy out was set at €500m.

On 13 August 2022, he made his debut for the club, as a substitute to Pedri, in a 0–0 draw against Rayo Vallecano in the league. On 19 March 2023, Kessié scored the winning goal against Real Madrid in El Clasico, his first for the club, hitting home Alejandro Balde's cutback in the 92nd minute to make it 2–1 for the Blaugrana. Kessié's strike was the 3,000th goal scored by Barcelona at the Camp Nou in La Liga.

Al Ahli
On 9 August 2023, Kessié joined Saudi Pro League club Al Ahli in a €12.5m deal.

International career
Kessié represented Ivory Coast at under-17 and under-20 levels, appearing in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup and 2015 Toulon Tournament. During the former tournament, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation 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 for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. On 4 January 2017, he was included in Michel Dussuyer's 23-man squad ahead of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, starting in all matches as his side was knocked out in the group stage.

At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, 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 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.

Kessié started in all four of the Ivory Coast's matches at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring once in a 3–1 win over Algeria in Group E. He was substituted with an injury 30 minutes into the round of 16 loss to Egypt.

In December 2023, Kessié was named in the Ivory Coast's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. He captained the team in the tournament's opening match, a 2–0 win over Guinea-Bissau on 14 January 2024. During the round of 16 match against defending champions Senegal, he came off the bench in the second half, in which he managed to score the equalizer from a penalty in the 86th minute in a 1–1 tie. He eventually netted the last penalty in the shoot-outs in a 5–4 win, which qualified his country to the quarter-finals. He later scored a goal in the final match against Nigeria which ended in a 2–1 victory.

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.

Kessié is a practicing Muslim. He regularly does fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan.

International
Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first.

Honours
AC Milan
 * Serie A: 2021–22

Barcelona
 * La Liga: 2022–23
 * Supercopa de España: 2023

Ivory Coast
 * Africa Cup of Nations: 2023

Individual
 * Africa Cup of Nations top assist provider: 2019
 * Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2023
 * Serie A Team of the Year: 2020–21