Soualiho Meïté
Soualiho Meïté (born 17 March 1994) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Greek Super League club PAOK, on loan from Benfica.
.jpg.webp) Meïté with France U19 in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 17 March 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Paris, France | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
PAOK (on loan from Benfica) | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2006 | Gobelins | ||
| 2006–2007 | Vincennes | ||
| 2007–2011 | Auxerre | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2013 | Auxerre B | 30 | (2) |
| 2011–2013 | Auxerre | 22 | (1) |
| 2013–2016 | Lille B | 19 | (2) |
| 2013–2017 | Lille | 30 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → Zulte Waregem (loan) | 52 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Monaco | 2 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Bordeaux (loan) | 18 | (1) |
| 2018–2021 | Torino | 82 | (3) |
| 2021 | → AC Milan (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2021– | Benfica | 17 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Cremonese (loan) | 31 | (0) |
| 2023– | → PAOK (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009 | France U16 | 5 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | France U17 | 17 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | France U19 | 7 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | France U20 | 2 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 May 2014 | |||
Club career
Early career
On 14 March 2011, Meïté signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal with Auxerre. He was subsequently promoted to the senior team by manager Laurent Fournier and assigned the number 32 shirt. Meïté made his professional debut on 20 November in a 2–1 defeat against Valenciennes, appearing as a substitute.[2]
Monaco
On 17 June 2017, Meïté was transferred to Monaco for €8 million. He made his debut for the club on 16 September that year.
On 2 January 2018, Meïté was loaned to Bordeaux. He scored his first goal on 15 April in a 3–1 away win against Montpellier.[3]
Torino
On 10 July, Meïté was signed by Italian club Torino through an equal exchange with full-back Antonio Barreca, who moved to Monaco.[4] He made his debut for the Granata on 12 August during Coppa Italia against Cosenza (4-0) as a starter. He scored his first goal for the club on 26 August in a 2–2 draw against Inter Milan at San Siro.
On 14 January, Meïté signed with AC Milan, on loan from Torino with an option to buy.[5]
Benfica
Meïté joined Portuguese club Benfica in July 2021, signing a contract until 2026.[6]The next stop in Meite’s career was Benfica. In Lisbon he made 27 appearances before leaving on loan for Cremonese in the 2022-23 season, where he made 35 appearances and produced two assists.[7]
PAOK
On 27 August 2023, Meïté joined PAOK on loan with an option to buy.[8]The agreement for the 29-year-old French midfielder is for an option of four million euros, with the Lusitanians retaining a resale percentage (30%). Meïté made his debut with PAOK against OFI as a substitute on 3 october 2023. On 5 October Soualiho was named Fans' Man of the Match with a percentage of 31% against Eintracht Frankfurt in Toumba for the 2nd matchday of the UEFA Europa Conference League 2023-24 group stage.[9]
International career
Born in France, Meïté is of Ivorian descent.[10] A former France youth international, he represented his nation at under-16 and under-17 level. He played with the under-17 team at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[lower-alpha 1] | League Cup[lower-alpha 2] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Auxerre B | 2010–11 | CFA | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 20 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 2 | ||||||
| 2012–13 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 30 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||||||
| Auxerre | 2011–12 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Ligue 2 | 20 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 22 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |||
| Lille | 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 41 | 0 | |||
| Lille B | 2013–14 | CFA | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||||
| 2015–16 | CFA 2 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 19 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 2 | ||||||
| Zulte Waregem (loan) |
2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 40 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 46 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 52 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 58 | 2 | |||||
| Monaco | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Bordeaux (loan) | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||
| Torino | 2018–19 | Serie A | 35 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | — | 40 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 82 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | — | 94 | 3 | ||||
| AC Milan (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie A | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | ||
| Benfica | 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | |
| Cremonese (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| PAOK (loan) | 2023–24 | Super League Greece | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 319 | 10 | 23 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 0 | — | 371 | 12 | |||
- Includes Coupe de France, Belgian Cup, Coppa Italia and Taça de Portugal
- Includes Coupe de la Ligue and Taça da Liga
- 2 appearances in UEFA Champions League, 1 appearance in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
References
- "Meïté". S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- "Valenciennes v. Auxerre Match Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 20 November 2011. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- "Official | Bordeaux sign Soualiho Meïté on loan from Monaco | Get French Football News". www.getfootballnewsfrance.com. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
- "Meité al Toro | TORINO FC 1906 SITO UFFICIALE". Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
- "Comunicato Ufficiale: Soualiho Meïté". AC Milan.
- Rebelo, Marco (24 July 2021). "Welcome, Meïte!". S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- "MEITÉ NUOVO CALCIATORE DELLA CREMONESE" [Meïté is the new player of Cremonese] (in Italian). Cremonese. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- "Παίκτης του ΠΑΟΚ ο Μεϊτέ". PAOK. 27 August 2023.
- "Fans' Man of the Match ο Μεϊτέ". .paokfc.gr.
- Dia, 2021 01 13TransfertsUne offre de West Ham pour Boulaye; 2021. 01.13TransfertsMoussa Dembélé à l’Atlético, c’est presque fait; blessure, 2021 01 13TransfertsMilan s’intéresse toujours à Simakan malgré sa; Lyon, 2021 01 13TransfertsMercato : Islam Slimani est à (5 April 2017). "Côte d'Ivoire : Soualiho Meïté dit non aux Eléphants".
- "Soualiho Meïté » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- "Souahilo MEïTé - Football : la fiche de Souahilo MEïTé (Monaco)". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- Vaza, Marco (9 August 2023). "Benfica soube mudar para ganhar a Supertaça". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
External links
- Club Profile at the Wayback Machine (archived December 21, 2011)
- Soualiho Meïté – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
- Soualiho Meïté at L'Équipe Football (in French)
- Soualiho Meïté – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Soualiho Meïté at ESPN FC
- Soualiho Meïté at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Soualiho Meïté at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)