Mohamed Sanousy Simakan (born 3 May 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr.
Early life
Born in Marseille to Guinean parents, Simakan acquired French nationality on 7 November 2005, through the collective effect of his mother's naturalization.[2][3]
Club career
Strasbourg
On 16 May 2018, Simakan signed his first professional contract with Strasbourg.[4] He made his professional debut in a 3–1 UEFA Europa League win over Maccabi Haifa on 25 July 2019.[5]
RB Leipzig
On 22 March 2021, Simakan agreed to join German club RB Leipzig on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, to be effective in the summer of 2021.[6] He made his debut for the club in the First round of the DFB Pokal against SV Sandhausen, which ended in a 4–0 win. He made his Champions League debut on 21 September 2021, in a 2–1 defeat to Club Brugge.[7] Simakan immediately became an important player for the club, taking part in 28 Bundesliga matches,[8] He missed two matches during the season due to the COVID-19 virus.[9] He was also instrumental in the DFB Pokal, where he took part in all the matches on route to Leipzig winning the title.[10]
In his second season with the club, Simaken continued to be an important part of the team, as he played 24 matches in the league, scoring once.[11] On 6 September 2022, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 4–1 defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk.[12] Simaken participated in 5 matches in the DFB Pokal,[13] where RB Leipzig won the competition for the second straight season, however he was an unused substitute in the final.[14]
On 19 September 2023, he scored the first ever goal of the 2023–24 Champions League season in the 3rd minute of a 3–1 away win over Young Boys.[15]
Al-Nassr
On 2 September 2024, Simakan joined Saudi Pro League runners-up Al-Nassr for €45 million.[16]
International career
Thanks to his great performance with Strasbourg in Ligue 1, Simakan was called up by Bernard Diomède to play for France U20 national team. He played his first game as a starter against Slovenia in which he scored a header contributing to his team's 2–2 draw.[17]
Career statistics
- As of match played 14 March 2025[18]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Strasbourg B | 2017–18 | Championnat National 3 | 18 | 1 | — | — | — | 18 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 24 | 1 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||||
| Strasbourg | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | ||
| RB Leipzig | 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | — | 41 | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | 24 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7[d] | 1 | 1[e] | 0 | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2023–24 | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7[d] | 1 | 1[e] | 0 | 42 | 3 | ||
| 2024–25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 85 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 122 | 7 | ||
| Al-Nassr | 2024–25 | Saudi Pro League | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9[f] | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | |
| Career total | 165 | 7 | 17 | 1 | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 219 | 10 | ||
- ^ Includes Coupe de France, DFB-Pokal, King's Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Four Appearances in UEFA Champions League, and three appearances in the UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ a b Appearance in DFL-Supercup
- ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League Elite
Honours
RB Leipzig
References
- ^ "Mohamed Simakan". RB Leipzig. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ "JORF n° 0260 du 8 novembre 2005 - Légifrance" (PDF). legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). p. 17558. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Strasbourg : un jeune défenseur guinéen signe son premier contrat pro". 26 May 2018.
- ^ "Premier contrat pro pour Mohamed Simakan". www.rcstrasbourgalsace.fr. 15 May 2018.
- ^ "Strasbourg vs. Maccabi Haifa - 25 July 2019 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
- ^ "RB Leipzig sign Mohamed Simakan from Strasbourg". Bundesliga. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ "Club Brugge 2 - Leipzig 1". UEFA. UEFA. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "Mohamed Simakan". Dfb. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ Gjerulff, Rune (26 November 2021). "Report: Three Leipzig players test positive for COVID-19". bulinews.com/. Bulinews. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "DFB-Pokal, 2021/2022, Finale". Dfb. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "Mohammed Simakan". DFB Datacenter. DFB. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "Visitors Shakhtar stun Leipzig 4-1 with Shved double on debut". ESPN. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Mohammed Simakan Dfb Pokal 22-23". Datacenter dfb. DFB. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "2022-23 German DFB Pokal, Final". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "Champions League group stage first scorers: Mohamed Simakan quickest off the mark in 2023/24". UEFA. 19 September 2023.
- ^ "Official Mohamed Simakan signs for Al—Nassr". getfootballnewsfrance.com. 2 September 2024.
- ^ "Mohamed Simakan, buteur avec les U20: "beaucoup d'émotions"". 9 September 2019.
- ^ "M. Simakan". Soccerway.
- ^ Peeters, Thomas (23 May 2022). "A thriller in Berlin: how relentless RB Leipzig won their first major title". Red Bull. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Christopher Nkunku-inspired RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt to win DFB Cup". Bundesliga. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ Lisjak, Mitja (12 August 2023). "Olmo s hat-trickom pokvaril veliki debi Kana pri Bayernu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
External links
- Profile at the RB Leipzig website
- Mohamed Simakan at Soccerway
- Mohamed Simakan – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
- Racing Stub profile
- FFF Profile
- Mohamed Simakan – UEFA competition record (archive)
