Sikou Niakaté

Sikou Niakaté

Niakaté representing France U20 in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	(1999-07-10) 10 July 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	Montreuil, France
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Braga
Number	4
Youth career
2005–2006	Saint-Germain-en-Laye
2006–2013	Paris Saint-Germain
2013–2015	Boulogne-Billancourt
2015–2016	Évreux
2016–2017	Valenciennes
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2018	Valenciennes	29	(0)
2018–2023	Guingamp	54	(2)
2018–2019	→ Valenciennes (loan)	14	(0)
2021–2022	→ Metz (loan)	12	(0)
2022–2023	→ Braga (loan)	26	(3)
2023–	Braga	31	(1)
International career^‡
2018	France U19	6	(0)
2019	France U20	1	(0)
2023–	Mali	11	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:00, 22 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Sikou Niakaté (born 10 July 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Primeira Liga club S.C. Braga. Born in France, he plays for the Mali national team.

Personal life

Sikou Niakaté was born in Montreuil, France. He holds French and Malian nationalities.^[1]

Club career

Niakaté made his professional debut for Valenciennes FC in a 1–0 Ligue 2 loss to Nîmes Olympique on 31 July 2017, making his appearance at the age of 18.^[2][3]

On 31 August 2018, the last day of the 2018 summer transfer window, Niakaté joined Ligue 1 side Guingamp on a five-year contract. He was immediately loaned back to Valenciennes for the remainder of the season.^[4]

On 12 August 2021, he joined Metz on a season-long loan with an option to buy.^[5]

On 28 June 2022, Niakaté moved on loan to Braga in Portugal. Braga held an option to buy his rights at the end of the loan for €1.8 million, and if he played in half of the official games in the season, the option would become an obligation to buy.^[6] On 7 June 2023, Braga announced the triggering of the clause, with Niakaté signing a five-year contract.

On 20 September 2023, Niakate's 88th minute own goal prompted SC Braga 2–1 home defeat against SSC Napoli in SC Braga's first UEFA Champions League game in a decade.^[7][8]

International career

Niakaté was called up to the France U17 national team in December 2015, becoming the first player in Évreux FC 27 history to do so.^[9]

Niakaté was called up to the Mali national team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Gabon.^[10][11] He officially decided to represent the home country of his parents, Mali, in 2023. He made his debut for the African nation in a 4–0 victory of Mali against South Sudan during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, resulting in their qualification for the 2024 tournament.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 December 2024^[12]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Valenciennes	2016–17	Ligue 2	5	0	—		—		—		5	0
	2017–18	Ligue 2	24	0	1	0	3	0	—		28	0
	Total		29	0	1	0	3	0	—		33	0
Guingamp	2019–20	Ligue 2	23	1	1	0	—		—		24	1
	2020–21	Ligue 2	31	1	0	0	—		—		31	1
			54	2	1	0	—		—		55	2
Valenciennes (loan)	2018–19	Ligue 2	14	0	2	0	—		—		16	0
Guingamp B	2019–20	CFA 2	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
Metz (loan)	2021–22	Ligue 1	12	0	—		—		—		12	0
Metz B	2021–22	CFA 2	4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Braga (loan)	2022–23	Primeira Liga	26	3	3	0	2	0	3[a]	0	34	3
Braga	2023–24	Primeira Liga	19	0	1	0	1	1	11[b]	1	32	2
	2024–25	Primeira Liga	12	1	2	0	1	1	7[c]	1	22	3
	Total		31	1	3	0	2	2	18	2	54	5
Career total			171	6	10	0	7	2	21	2	209	10

1. One appearance in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
2. Nine appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 19 November 2024

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Mali	2023	4	0
	2024	7	0
Total		11	0

Honours

Braga

• Taça da Liga: 2023–24^[13]

References

1. "Sikou NIAKATE". unfp.org (in French). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
2. "Ligue1.com – French Football League – Domino's Ligue 2 – Season 2016/2017 – Week 31 – Nîmes Olympique / Valenciennes FC". www.ligue1.com.
3. "Sikou NIAKATé – Football : la fiche de Sikou NIAKATé (Valenciennes)".
4. "Sikou Niakaté (Valenciennes) signe cinq ans à Guingamp". L'Équipe (in French). 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
5. "Sikou Niakaté arrive en prêt !" (in French). Metz. 12 August 2021.
6. "SIKOU NIAKATÉ É GVERREIRO" (in Portuguese). Braga. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
7. "SC Braga 1-2 Napoli - Sikou Niakate own goal gifts Serie A champions late victory in opening game". Eurosport. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
8. UEFA.com. "Braga-Napoli: UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Group stage". UEFA.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
9. "Evreux Football Club 27 – articles – Sikou NIAKATE convoqué en équipe de France". efc27.com.
10. "Mondial 2018 : la liste du Mali pour le Gabon – Afrik-foot.com : l'actualité du football africain". www.afrik-foot.com.
11. FIFA.com. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – Matches – Gabon-Mali – FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016.
12. Sikou Niakaté at Soccerway
13. "Sp. Braga vence a Taça da Liga pela terceira vez" [Sp. Braga wins Taça da Liga for the third time]. Público (in Portuguese). 27 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.

External links

• Sikou Niakaté at Soccerway
• Sikou Niakaté – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
• Sikou Niakaté at L'Équipe Football (in French)
• Sikou Niakaté at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Sikou Niakaté at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)