Ismaïla Sarr

Ismaïla Sarr (born 25 February 1998) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Marseille and the Senegal national team.

Early career
Born in Saint-Louis, Senegal, Sarr started his football career with Senegalese football club Génération Foot.

Metz
On 13 July 2016, Sarr signed his first professional contract with FC Metz for five years. He made his league debut as a substitute in a 3–2 win against Lille OSC on 13 August, in Metz's first match of the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season. He made his first professional start in a 3–0 win at FC Nantes on 11 September.

On 8 February 2017, Sarr scored his first Ligue 1 goal in a 2–1 win against Dijon FCO. He went on to score four more goals in his final eight appearances of the season, ending 2016–17 with five goals and five assists from 31 league appearances.

Rennes
On 26 July 2017, Sarr signed a four-year contract with Ligue 1 side Rennes. The transfer fee paid to Metz was reported as €17 or 20 million, depending on the source. Sarr claimed that he had chosen to sign for Rennes ahead of FC Barcelona, saying: "I could have gone to Spain and join the great Barcelona, but leaving Metz to join them was too early. I saw Rennes as a club that will help me progress and reach great heights".

2017–18 season
Sarr made his debut for Rennes in the team's 2017–18 season opener against ES Troyes AC on 5 August 2017 and scored his first goal against FC Toulouse on 26 August.

His first season at the Breton club was curtailed by a malleolus fracture sustained in a match against AS Saint-Étienne on 24 September. On 28 September, it was announced by coach Christian Gourcuff that Sarr's injury would require surgery that would prevent him from playing until 2018.

Sarr ended the season with five goals and five assists from 24 Ligue 1 appearances as Rennes finished in fifth place and qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League.

2018–19 season
During the 2018–19 season, Sarr made his UEFA Europa League debut, scoring the opening goal of a 2–1 against Czech club FK Jablonec on 20 September 2018. This goal was later included on a shortlist of ten for UEFA Goal of the Season. On 13 December 2018, he scored twice, as Rennes clinched qualified for the knockout phase with a 2–0 home win over FC Astana. His fourth Europa League goal of the season came from a header against Arsenal in a 3–1 round of 16 first leg win on 7 March 2019. However, on 14 March, Rennes lost the second leg in London 3–0 and were eliminated.

In Ligue 1, Sarr scored eight goals and registered six assists. His form saw him nominated for the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season award.

He also made a significant contribution to Rennes winning their first Coupe de France in 48 years. On 6 January 2019, he scored the equalising goal in a 2–2 draw with Stade Brestois 29 and scored in the subsequent penalty shootout that took the team through to the fourth round of the tournament. On 2 April, he assisted Senegalese teammate M'Baye Niang's opening goal in an eventual 3–2 semi-final win against Olympique Lyonnais. Rennes went on to face Paris Saint Germain at the Stade de France in the 2019 Coupe de France Final on 27 April, with Sarr scoring the winning kick of the penalty shootout after the underdogs had recovered from a 2–0 deficit to draw 2–2 during regulation time.

Overall, Sarr scored 18 goals and registered 16 assists from 77 appearances for Rennes.

Watford
On 8 August 2019, Sarr joined Premier League club Watford on a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Rennes was a club record for Watford and reported as "in the region of €30 million.

2019–20 season
Sarr made his debut for Watford as a substitute in a 3–1 Premier League defeat to West Ham United at Vicarage Road on 24 August 2019. Three days later, on his first start for Watford, he scored his first goal in English football in an EFL Cup tie against Coventry City.

On 30 November 2019, Sarr scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–1 loss at Southampton. On 22 December, he was voted man of the match in Watford's 2–0 home win over Manchester United – a match in which he scored the opening goal and was fouled for the penalty kick that was converted by captain Troy Deeney.

On 29 February 2020, Sarr scored twice and assisted Deeney's third goal in Watford's 3–0 home victory over defending European Champions Liverpool, handing them their first defeat of the 2019–20 season and ending the club's 44-match unbeaten league run.

On 26 July, Watford were relegated to the EFL Championship after losing 3–2 to Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in their final match of the season. Sarr ended 2019–20 with five goals and four assists in the Premier League.

2020–21 season
During 2020–21, Sarr scored thirteen goals and provided ten assists, winning Watford's Player of the Season. On 24 April 2021, he scored the only goal of a 1–0 win over Millwall which ensured Watford's promotion back to the Premier League.

2021–22 season
Sarr started 2021–22 by scoring five goals in the opening twelve Premier League matches. This included scoring once in a 3–2 win against Aston Villa in the opening game of the season, twice in a 3–1 win at Norwich City, once in a 1–1 draw at home to Newcastle United, and once in a 4–1 home win over Manchester United. However, Sarr struggled with injury for the rest of the season and did not score in his final ten appearances as Watford were relegated for the second time in three seasons.

2022–23 season
On 8 August 2022, Sarr scored a goal from his own half in a 1–1 draw with West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns. The goal was later awarded EFL Championship Goal of the Season. On 5 October, he played his 100th match for Watford, scoring in a 2–1 loss to Swansea City.

Sarr ended the season with 10 goals from 39 matches in all competitions.

During his four seasons at Watford he scored a 34 goals from 131 appearances.

Marseille
On 24 July 2023, Sarr joined French club Olympique de Marseille for an undisclosed fee.

Sarr made his debut for Marseille in a 1–0 loss to Panathinaikos in a UEFA Champions League qualifier on 9 August. He scored his first goal in a 2–0 Ligue 1 win over Brest at the Stade Vélodrome on 26 August.

International career
Sarr has represented his country with the Senegal U23 national team. In 2015, he played in 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations. At that time, his age was only 17. He contributed that Senegal finished the competition in a fourth place, playing three games.

He played for the first time with Senegal national team for a match against Namibia in September 2016 in Dakar (2–0) for 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, for which Senegal had already qualified. As a symbol, he came into play in the 67th minute in place of the former resident of Génération Foot and Metz, Sadio Mané. On 8 January 2017, Sarr scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Libya in Stade Municipal de Kintélé, Brazzaville.

In May 2018, he was named in Senegal's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

In 2019, Sarr was part of the Senegal squad that reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, for only the second time in the nation's history. He played the full 90 minutes of the final on 19 July 2019, as they lost 1–0 to Algeria.

Sarr was part of Senegal's squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations; the Lions of Teranga went on to win the tournament for the first time in their history. He scored once in a 3–1 win over Equatorial Guinea at the quarter-final stage.

He was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion by President of Senegal Macky Sall following the nation's victory at the tournament.

Sarr started all four of Senegal's matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, scoring in a 2–1 win over Ecuador that qualified the nation for the round of 16 for the first time since its debut in 2002.

In December 2023, he was named in Senegal's squad for the postponed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations held in the Ivory Coast.

International

 * Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first.

Honours
Rennes
 * Coupe de France: 2018–19
 * Trophée des Champions runner-up: 2019

Senegal
 * African Cup of Nations: 2021; runner-up: 2019

Individual


 * EFL Goal of the Season: 2022–23


 * UEFA Europa League Goal of the Season: 2018–19
 * Watford Player of the Season: 2020–21
 * Watford Players’ Player of the Season: 2020–21

Orders
 * Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion: 2022