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.

Mohamed Simakan
Simakan with RB Leipzig in 2022
Personal information
Full name Mohamed Sanousy Simakan
Date of birth (2000-05-03) 3 May 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Marseille, France
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back, right-back
Team information
Current team
Al-Nassr
Number 3
Youth career
2008–2009 Vivaux Marronniers
2009–2010 FC Bruz
2010–2011 FC Rouguière
2011–2014 Marseille
2014–2015 JO Saint-Gabriel
2015–2017 SC Air Bel
2017–2019 Strasbourg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Strasbourg B 24 (1)
2019–2021 Strasbourg 38 (1)
2021–2024 RB Leipzig 85 (4)
2024– Al-Nassr 10 (0)
International career
2019–2021 France U20 2 (1)
2022–2023 France U21 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Early life

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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

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Strasbourg

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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

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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 Poka[13] l, 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

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On 2 September 2024, Simakan joined Al Nassr.[16]

International career

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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

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Simakan playing for RB Leipzig in 2021
As of match played 6 December 2024[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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 10 0 2 0 5[f] 0 17 0
Career total 156 6 17 1 31 2 2 0 206 9
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, DFB-Pokal, King's Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Four Appearances in UEFA Champions League, and three appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ a b Appearance in DFL-Supercup
  6. ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League Elite

Honours

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RB Leipzig

References

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  1. ^ "Mohamed Simakan". RB Leipzig. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. ^ "JORF n° 0260 du 8 novembre 2005 - Légifrance" (PDF). legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). p. 17558. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Strasbourg : un jeune défenseur guinéen signe son premier contrat pro". 26 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Premier contrat pro pour Mohamed Simakan". www.rcstrasbourgalsace.fr. 15 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Strasbourg vs. Maccabi Haifa - 25 July 2019 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  6. ^ "RB Leipzig sign Mohamed Simakan from Strasbourg". Bundesliga. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Club Brugge 2 - Leipzig 1". UEFA.com. UEFA. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Mohamed Simakan". Dfb. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  9. ^ Gjerulff, Rune (26 November 2021). "Report: Three Leipzig players test positive for COVID-19". bulinews.com/. Bulinews. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  10. ^ "DFB-Pokal, 2021/2022, Finale". Dfb. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Mohammed Simakan". DFB Datacenter. DFB. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Visitors Shakhtar stun Leipzig 4-1 with Shved double on debut". ESPN. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Mohammed Simakan Dfb Pokal 22-23". Datacenter dfb. DFB. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  14. ^ "2022-23 German DFB Pokal, Final". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Champions League group stage first scorers: Mohamed Simakan quickest off the mark in 2023/24". UEFA. 19 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Official Mohamed Simakan signs for Al—Nassr". getfootballnewsfrance.com. 2 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Mohamed Simakan, buteur avec les U20: "beaucoup d'émotions"". 9 September 2019.
  18. ^ "M. Simakan". Soccerway.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "Christopher Nkunku-inspired RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt to win DFB Cup". Bundesliga. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  21. ^ Lisjak, Mitja (12 August 2023). "Olmo s hat-trickom pokvaril veliki debi Kana pri Bayernu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
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