Malo Gusto

Malo Arthur Gusto (born 19 May 2003) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Chelsea and the France national team.

Early life
Malo Arthur Gusto was born on 19 May 2003 in Décines-Charpieu, a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon. Growing up in Villefontaine, Isère, his father first made him play rugby football, but the young Gusto soon chose to play association football, pursuing his dream to become a professional footballer while studying for a baccalauréat technologique.

Lyon
Malo Gusto started playing at the ASVF, later joining Bourgoin-Jallieu on a one-year spell, before entering the Olympique Lyonnais academy as an under-14, in a move resembling the one of his elder academy fellow Amine Gouiri. Gusto so happened to arrive in Lyon the same year that the club moved to the Stade des Lumières, in his home town.

There he was part of the same generation as Florent da Silva, Yaya Soumaré and Rayan Cherki, eventually signing his first professional contract with the French club in December 2020. At that point he had already made a few appearance on the team sheet for Ligue 1 games under Rudi Garcia's management, whilst already having shown his talent in the Youth League and National 2, with the reserve.

Malo Gusto made his professional debut for Olympique Lyonnais on the 24 January 2021, replacing Bruno Guimarães on the 90th minute of a 5–0 Ligue 1 away win against their Derby du Rhône rivals of Saint-Étienne. Having made another short Ligue 1 appearance at the end of the season, the young defender signed a new contract with Lyon in June, tying him to the club until 2024.

Gusto started his first game during Lyon's opening match against Brest on 7 August. By doing so he became the youngest defender to start a Ligue 1 game for OL since Samuel Umtiti.

While still appearing to be behind Dubois in the right back hierarchy, Gusto still took the spotlight on several occasions under Bosz's direction, as he started games such as the 2–0 Europa League away win against Rangers or the 2–1 Ligue 1 away loss against Paris Saint-Germain.

Chelsea
On 29 January 2023, Chelsea announced the signing of Malo Gusto on a deal until 2030. Lyon reported the transfer fee to be €30m plus €5m in bonuses. He was loaned back to Lyon until the end of the 2022–23 season. On 13 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League. On 24 September, he was shown his first red card in his career after Jarred Gillett went to the VAR monitor to review a late challenge he made on Lucas Digne in their home defeat to Aston Villa.

International career
Born in France, Gusto is of Portuguese descent through his father, and Martiniquais descent through his mother. He is a youth international for France: he first played as a midfielder for the under-16, but was later selected as a fullback with the U17 and U18. However, he did not play any official game with the latter, as the covid pandemic did not allow most youth international encounters or competitions to go on as planned during 2020–2021.

In September 2021, as the pandemic was slowing down, the young defender eventually gained his next French cap, this time playing with the under-19. He was called up for a friendly tournament in Slovenia, against Russia, Slovakia and the hosts, along with his teammate Rayan Cherki. There he started and played every minute of all three games, even ending up wearing the captain's armband.

However only a month later both he and Cherki were directly promoted to the under-21 team, by Sylvain Ripoll. The two of them made their debut coming of the bench with the espoirs on the 8 October 2021, helping their team to an important 5–0 win against Ukraine in the Euro qualifying.

On 9 October 2023, Gusto received his first call-up to the France national team for matches against the Netherlands and Scotland, replacing the injured Jules Koundé. On 13 October 2023, he made his international debut in the European Championship qualifier match against the Netherlands, coming off the bench in the 80th minutes, helping France to a 2–1 victory, clinching the qualification as a result.

Style of play
Gusto is seen as an agile and offensively minded player, ever since playing eight-a-side football at Villefontaine, and he first played as an attacking midfielder or a forward. While he was at the Lyon academy he played in several different positions, including wide midfielder, advanced playmaker, and right winger. He eventually settled as a right back, where he took full advantage of his speed and athleticism.

Honours
Chelsea
 * EFL Cup runner-up: 2023–24