Soualiho Meïté (born 17 March 1994) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Benfica.

Soualiho Meïté
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-03-17) 17 March 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Benfica
Number 23
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)
2016–2017Zulte Waregem (loan) 52 (1)
2017–2018 Monaco 2 (0)
2018Bordeaux (loan) 18 (1)
2018–2021 Torino 82 (3)
2021AC Milan (loan) 16 (0)
2021– Benfica 17 (0)
2022–2023Cremonese (loan) 31 (0)
2023–2024PAOK (loan) 30 (1)
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 20 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 May 2014

Club career

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Early career

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 September 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] He scored his first goal for the club on 14 January in a 4–0 win against PAS Giannina at Toumba.PAOK however decided not to trigger his buy out clause set by Benfica at 2 million,due to the player not willing to stay

International career

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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

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Club

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As of match played 17 December 2023[11][12]
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Total
Division 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 0 0 2 1 22 2
Total 22 1 0 0 2 1 24 2
Lille 2013–14 Ligue 1 19 0 3 0 1 0 23 0
2014–15 8 0 1 0 2 0 3[c] 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[d] 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[e] 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[e] 0 21 0
Benfica 2021–22 Primeira Liga 17 0 1 0 4 0 5[d] 0 27 0
Cremonese (loan) 2022–23 Serie A 31 0 4 0 35 0
PAOK (loan) 2023–24 Super League Greece 10 0 1 0 3[f] 0 14 0
Career total 329 10 24 1 10 1 22 0 385 12
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, Belgian Cup, Coppa Italia, Taça de Portugal, Greek Football Cup
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, Taça da Liga
  3. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

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Zulte Waregem

Benfica

PAOK

References

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  1. ^ "Meïté". S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Official | Bordeaux sign Soualiho Meïté on loan from Monaco | Get French Football News". www.getfootballnewsfrance.com. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Meité al Toro | TORINO FC 1906 SITO UFFICIALE". Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Comunicato Ufficiale: Soualiho Meïté". AC Milan.
  6. ^ Rebelo, Marco (24 July 2021). "Welcome, Meïte!". S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  7. ^ "MEITÉ NUOVO CALCIATORE DELLA CREMONESE" [Meïté is the new player of Cremonese] (in Italian). Cremonese. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Παίκτης του ΠΑΟΚ ο Μεϊτέ". PAOK. 27 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Fans' Man of the Match ο Μεϊτέ". .paokfc.gr.
  10. ^ 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".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Soualiho Meïté » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Souahilo MEïTé - Football : la fiche de Souahilo MEïTé (Monaco)". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  13. ^ Vaza, Marco (9 August 2023). "Benfica soube mudar para ganhar a Supertaça". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  14. ^ "ΠΑΟΚ 4Χ4 και... 1,2, 4 ως αουτσάιντερ: από 75-68 το έκανε 78-80!". Gazzetta (in Greek). 19 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
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