Yakou Méïté

Yakou Méïté (born 11 February 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Cardiff City. Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast at international level.

Yakou Méïté
Personal information
Full name Yakou Méïté[1]
Date of birth (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker / Winger
Team information
Current team
 Cardiff City
Number 22
Youth career
2009–2014 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Paris Saint-Germain B 45 (8)
2015–2016 Paris Saint-Germain 1 (0)
2016–2023 Reading 156 (42)
2017–2018 → Sochaux (loan) 31 (3)
2023– Cardiff City 10 (1)
International career‡
2013 Ivory Coast U17 5 (1)
2015 Ivory Coast U20 4 (0)
2017– Ivory Coast U23 1 (0)
2018– Ivory Coast 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2019

Personal life

Méïté was born and raised in France to Ivorian parents.

Club career

Paris Saint Germain

Méïté started his professional career at Paris Saint-Germain. He made his professional debut on 9 April 2016, in a Ligue 1 match against Guingamp, replacing Jean-Kévin Augustin after 91 minutes, in a 2–0 away win.[2]

Reading

On 29 July 2016, Méïté signed a three-year contract with English side Reading.[3] He made his debut for Reading as a substitute in an EFL Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle on 9 August 2016,[4] with his first goal for the club coming on 21 January 2017, during a 3–2 defeat to Derby County in the Championship.[5]

On 8 July 2017, Méïté moved to Sochaux, on a season-long loan deal.[6]

On 3 October 2018, Reading announced that Méïté had signed a new contract with Reading, until the summer of 2022.[7] On his return to Reading, he became a mainstay as the club's striker and scored 6 goals in 5 games, impressing manager Paul Clement.[8]

In August 2019, Méïté spoke out about racist abuse he received on social media.[9] He said he chose to do so due to the impact it had on players.[10] On 4 July 2020, he scored four goals in a 5–0 win away at Luton Town.[11]

On 17 May 2023, Reading announced that they had offered a new contact to Méïté, with his current deal due to expire at the end of June 2023.[12] On 21 June 2023, Méïté confirmed his decision to leave Reading at the end of his contract.[13]

Cardiff City

On 7 July 2023, Méïté signed a two-year contract with Cardiff City.[14]

International career

Méïté has represented the Ivory Coast U17s and U20s.[15] He debuted for the Ivory Coast U23s in a 5–0 friendly win over the Togo U23s on 27 March 2018.[16]

Méïté was called up to the senior Ivory Coast squad for a friendly against Togo in March 2018.[17] He was selected for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Guinea on 18 November 2018.[18] He made his debut for the Ivory Coast on 26 March 2019, in a 1–0 victory over Liberia, playing 73 minutes before being replaced by eventual goalscorer Jonathan Kodjia.[19]

Style of play

Méïté is a physically strong player. He has impressive strength, ability in the air, speed and tireless stamina. Paul Clement praised him for his workrate and willingness to battle for every ball.[8]

Personal life

Yakou Meïté is the cousin of Bamo Meïté, who is also a professional footballer.[20]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 29 April 2023[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Paris Saint-Germain B 2013–14 CFA 1 0 — — — — 1 0
2014–15 CFA 20 6 — — — — 20 6
2015–16 CFA 24 2 — — — — 24 2
Total 45 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 8
Paris Saint-Germain 2015–16 Ligue 1 100000000010
Reading 2016–17 Championship 1410010— 00151
2018–19 Championship 37121021—— 4013
2019–20 Championship 40133222— — 4517
2020–21 Championship 25120000— — 2512
2021–22 Championship 1300000— — 130
2022–23 Championship 2740000— — 274
Total 156424253000016547
Reading U21 2016–17 — — — — 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 1 0
Sochaux (loan) 2017–18 Ligue 2 3133210— — 355
Career total 232537463001024760
  1. Appearance in EFL Trophy

International
As of match played 13 October 2019
Ivory Coast
YearAppsGoals
201810
201910
Total20

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain U19

Paris Saint-Germain

References
  1. "EFL Released and Retained List 2016–17" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  2. "Guingamp vs. PSG - 9 April 2016 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. "Royals swoop to sign Yakou Meite". reading.co.uk. Reading F.C. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  4. "Reading 2-0 Plymouth". BBC. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  5. "Derby 3-2 Reading". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  6. "Meite returns to France for loan season at Sochaux". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  7. "Méïté pens new long-term deal as a Royal". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  8. ""Fighting spirit and attitude… Yakou has that in abundance!"". www.readingfc.co.uk.
  9. "Yakou Meite: Reading striker calls out racist abuse". BBC Sport. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  10. "Yakou Meite: Reading striker chose to share racist abuse to demonstrate impact on players". BBC Sport. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. "Luton 0-5 Reading". BBC. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  12. "NEW DEALS OFFERED AS CONTRACTS COME TO THEIR CONCLUSION". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  13. "MEITE SET TO DEPART AFTER CONTRACT OFFER TURNED DOWN". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  14. "Yakou Méïté signs for Cardiff City". cardiffcityfc.co.uk/. Cardiff City F.C. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  15. Yakou Méïté at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  16. Ewan. "Yakou Méïté et les U23 de la Côte d'Ivoire s'imposent face au Togo". fcsochaux.fr.
  17. "Togo vs Ivory Coast". ESPN. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  18. "Elim. CAN 2019 (5è j. GUI/CIV): Voici les 23 Eléphants sélectionnés". fifciv.com. 8 November 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  19. "CÔTE D'IVOIRE 1-0 LIBERIA". soccerway.com/. Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  20. "FC Lorient : l'interview selfie de Bamo Meïté". Le Télégramme (in French). 12 March 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
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