Boubacar Traoré (footballer, born 2001)

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Boubacar Traoré
RC Lens - FC Metz (14-03-2021) 13.jpg
Traoré with Metz in 2021
Personal information
Full name Boubacar Traoré [1]
Date of birth (2001-08-20) 20 August 2001 (age 24) [2]
Place of birth Bamako, Mali
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [3]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Metz
(on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Number 8
Youth career
–2019 AS de Bamako
2019–2020 Metz
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2019–2023 Metz II 6 (0)
2021–2023 Metz 32 (2)
2022–2023Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 10 (0)
2023– Wolverhampton Wanderers 24 (0)
2025–Metz (loan) 2 (0)
International career
2019 Mali U20 9 (2)
2019– Mali Olympic 13 (2)
2022– Mali 4 (0)
Medal record
Representing Flag of Mali.svg  Mali
U-20 Africa Cup of Nations
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg Niger 2019 U-20 Team
U-23 Africa Cup of Nations
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg Morocco 2023 U-23 Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 August 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 July 2024

Boubacar Traoré (born 20 August 2001) is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club Metz, on loan from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the Mali national team. [4]

Contents

Club career

Boubacar Traoré made his professional debut for FC Metz on 10 May 2021, coming as a substitute of Kévin N'Doram in a Ligue 1 home game against Nîmes. [5]

Traoré made a deadline day move to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 1 September 2022, on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy in the summer of 2023. [6]

Traoré made his Wolves debut in a 3–0 home defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League on 17 September 2022. [7]

Traoré scored his first goal for Wolves in a home EFL Cup game against Premier League rivals Leeds United to win the game 1–0 on 9 November 2022. [8]

On 1 February 2023, Wolves announced that Traoré's performances for the club had triggered a clause in his loan agreement that would make his move to Wolves permanent, effective 1 July 2023. [9]

International career

Traoré made his debut for the Mali senior national team in a friendly 1–1 tie with Algeria on 16 November 2022. [10]

In June 2023, he was included in the final squad of the Malian under-23 national team for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted in Morocco, [11] [12] where the Eagles finished in third place and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. [13] [14]

Personal life

Traoré also holds French citizenship. [15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 August 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Metz II 2019–20 Championnat National 3 6060
Metz 2020–21 Ligue 1210021
2021–22 Ligue 127110281
2022–23 Ligue 2 3030
Total32210332
Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 2022–23 Premier League 1000011111
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2023–24 Premier League2401020270
2024–25 Premier League00000000
Total2401020270
Metz (loan) 2025–26 Ligue 1 200020
Career total742203100793

International

As of match played 3 February 2022 [16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Mali 202210
202430
Total40

Honours

Mali U20

Mali U23

References

  1. "Premier League clubs publish 2022/23 Squads Confirm". Premier League. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  2. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: Mali" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  3. "Boubacar Traoré: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  4. Boubacar Traoré at Soccerway
  5. Maltret, Laurent (9 May 2021). "Metz – Nîmes en direct, Ligue 1 Uber Eats, 36e journée, Dimanche 09 Mai 2021". L'Équipe (in French). Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  6. Stone, Simon (1 September 2022). "Boubacar Traore: Wolves sign midfielder on season-long loan from Metz". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  7. Stone, Simon (17 September 2022). "Wolves 0–3 Manchester City: Erling Haaland scores again in dominant win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  8. Smith, Emma (9 November 2022). "Carabao Cup: Wolves 1–0 Leeds – Boubacar Traore fires hosts into last 16". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  9. "Boubacar to become permanent signing". wolves.co.uk. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  10. Mehenni (Alger), Sofiane; Mehenni (Alger), Sofiane (16 November 2022). "Algérie 1 – Mali 1 : Un bon test pour les Verts". Africa Foot United.
  11. "Mali stages comeback to defeat Gabon in TotalEnergies CAF U-23 AFCON | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  12. "Mali U23 vs. Gabon U23 – 25 June 2023". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Mali's U23 team ends 20-year wait, qualifies for Paris Olympics | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  14. 1 2 "CAN 2023 : le Mali se qualifie aux JO 2024". Sport News Africa (in French). 7 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  15. Mehenni (Alger), Sofiane; Mehenni (Alger), Sofiane (16 November 2022). "Algérie 1 – Mali 1 : Un bon test pour les Verts". Africa Foot United.
  16. Boubacar Traoré at National-Football-Teams.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  17. "CAN U20 : battu par le Mali en finale, le Sénégal est vraiment maudit…". afrik-foot.com (in French). 17 February 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2024.