Malang Sarr

Malang Sarr

Sarr with Chelsea after the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup final
Personal information
Full name	Malang Mamadou William Georges Sarr [1]
Date of birth	(1999-01-23) 23 January 1999 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Nice, France
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Lens
Number	20
Youth career
2005–2016	Nice
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2017	Nice II	13	(0)
2016–2020	Nice	102	(3)
2020–2024	Chelsea	8	(0)
2020–2021	→ Porto (loan)	8	(0)
2020–2021	→ Porto B (loan)	8	(1)
2022–2023	→ Monaco (loan)	13	(0)
2024–	Lens	3	(0)
International career
2014–2015	France U16	9	(1)
2015–2016	France U17	11	(0)
2016–2017	France U18	4	(0)
2017–2018	France U19	10	(0)
2018	France U20	2	(0)
2017–2019	France U21	8	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:28, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

Malang Mamadou William Georges Sarr (born 23 January 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Lens.

An academy graduate of Nice, Sarr scored on his senior debut in 2016 and made over 100 appearances for the club. He joined Premier League club Chelsea in 2020, where he had two season-long loan moves to Porto in Primeira Liga and back in France to Monaco, before his contract with the English club was terminated in 2024.

Internationally, Sarr has represented France at every youth level from under-16 to under-21.

Club career

Nice

Born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, ^[3] Sarr joined local side OGC Nice at the age of six. ^[4] He spent the next 12 years in the club's academy before making his Ligue 1 debut for the club on 14 August 2016 against Rennes, aged 17. He scored the winning goal for his team in the 60th minute, heading home from a Jean Michaël Seri free-kick. ^[5] In doing so, he became the second youngest player to ever score on debut in Ligue 1, behind Nigerian international Bartholomew Ogbeche. ^[6] After the match, Sarr dedicated his goal to the victims of the 2016 Nice terror attack. ^[5] Prior to kick-off a minute's silence was observed in memory of the victims with both Nice and Rennes wearing unique commemorative shirts bearing the names of those who had died. ^[7] On 7 November 2016, Sarr signed his first professional contract with Nice and by the end of the season had made over 30 appearances as the club ended the league campaign in third place. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

In February 2018, Sarr was named by the CIES Football Observatory as the world's fifth-most promising footballer under the age of 20. ^[11] Competing with Maxime Le Marchand and new loan signing Marlon, Sarr saw his game time slightly reduced but still managed to record 29 appearances across all competitions for the campaign. ^[12]

On 10 August 2019, the opening day of the 2019–20 Ligue 1 campaign, Sarr made his 100th appearance for Nice across all competitions when he started in a 2–1 win over Amiens. ^[13] His contract expired on 30 June 2020 and subsequently became a free agent.

Chelsea

On 27 August 2020, Chelsea announced the signing of Sarr on a five-year deal. ^[14]

2020–21 season: Loan to Porto

On 6 October 2020, Sarr joined the Portuguese side Porto on loan for the rest of the 2020–21 season. ^[15] On 21 October 2020, Sarr made his Porto debut during their UEFA Champions League group stage tie with Manchester City, featuring for 80 minutes before being replaced by Evanilson in the 3–1 away defeat. ^{[16] [17]} Sarr went onto score his only goal for the club in a Taça da Liga tie against Paços de Ferreira in December 2020, netting the opener in their 2–1 victory. ^[18] Sarr went onto feature 19 times in all competitions for the Dragões before returning to Chelsea ahead of the 2021–22 campaign.

2021–22 season: Return from loan

Sarr playing for Chelsea in 2021

Following proposed loan moves to Germany, Italy and France reportedly collapsing, ^[19] Sarr opted to stay at Chelsea and was subsequently given the number 31 jersey for the forthcoming 2021–22 campaign. On 22 September 2021, Sarr made his Chelsea debut during a 1–1 draw in the EFL Cup against Aston Villa, featuring for the full 90 minutes as the Blues progressed to the fourth round following a 4–3 penalty shootout victory. ^[20] A month later, he made his Premier League debut against newly-promoted Brentford due to the unavailability of Antonio Rüdiger and Thiago Silva, playing the full 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet during the 1–0 victory. ^[21]

In January 2022, he started at left-back against Tottenham in the EFL Cup semi-final. It was the start of an extended run in the first-team for Sarr.^{[ citation needed ]}

On 12 February 2022, Sarr was an extra-time substitute as Chelsea won the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup title, beating Palmeiras. ^[22] He was also a substitute in the semi-final game against Al-Hilal. ^[23]

2022–2024: Loan to Monaco and exclusion from the first team

On 10 August 2022, Sarr joined Monaco on a season-long loan deal, with an option to buy. ^[24]

At the beginning of the 2023–24 season, new coach Mauricio Pochettino was unable to recognize Sarr as one of his players during a press conference. ^[25] In February 2024, Le Havre sporting director Mathieu Bodmer criticized Chelsea for the collapse of a proposed loan deal that would have covered the remaining 18 months of his contract. ^[26] Consequently, Sarr did not feature in any matches throughout the season and had to train with the under-21 team. ^{[27] [28]}

On 24 July 2024, Sarr's contract with Chelsea was terminated one year before its expiry after a mutual agreement with the club. ^[29]

Lens

On 26 July 2024, Lens announced the signing of Sarr on a two-season contract, with the option to extend for a further season. ^[30]

International career

Sarr has represented France at various youth levels and in September 2016, he was named captain of the 20-man France under-18 squad by manager Bernard Diomède for the 2016 Limoges Tournament. ^{[31] [32]} In 2018, he confirmed that he had been approached by the Senegalese Football Federation to represent the nation but stated that he still had hopes to play for France. ^[33]

Personal life

Sarr was born in the neighbourhood of les Moulins in Nice. He is of Senegalese descent through his parents who immigrated to France prior to his birth. ^[34]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 November 2024 ^[35]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nice B	2016–17	Championnat National 2	3	0	—		—		—		—		3	0
	2017–18		1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
	Total		4	0	—		—		—		—		4	0
Nice	2016–17	Ligue 1	27	1	1	0	0	0	4 [c]	0	—		32	1
	2017–18		21	0	1	0	1	0	6 [d]	0	—		29	0
	2018–19		35	1	1	0	2	0	—		—		38	1
	2019–20		19	1	0	0	1	0	—		—		20	1
	Total		102	3	3	0	4	0	10	0	—		119	3
Porto (loan)	2020–21	Primeira Liga	8	0	4	0	1	1	6 [e]	0	0	0	19	1
Porto B (loan)	2020–21	Liga Portugal 2	8	1	—		—		—		—		8	1
Chelsea	2021–22	Premier League	8	0	4	0	5	0	2 [e]	0	2 [f]	0	21	0
	2023–24	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
	Total		8	0	4	0	5	0	2	0	2	0	21	0
Monaco (loan)	2022–23	Ligue 1	13	0	1	0	—		3 [c]	0	—		17	0
Lens	2024–25	Ligue 1	3	0	0	0	—		1 [c]	0	—		4	0
Career total			146	4	12	0	10	1	22	0	2	0	192	5

1. Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup, Taça de Portugal
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup, Taça da Liga
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
6. Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup

Honours

Chelsea

• FIFA Club World Cup: 2021 ^[36]
• FA Cup runner-up: 2021–22 ^[37]
• EFL Cup runner-up: 2021–22 ^[38]

References

1. "Squad List: FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021: Chelsea FC" (PDF). FIFA. 9 February 2022. p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
2. "Malang Sarr: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
3. "Malang Sarr". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
4. "Malang Sarr: "Ce but, je le dédie aux victimes"". Nice-Matin (in French). 14 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
5. Rodden, Mark (14 August 2016). "Nice's Malang Sarr dedicates debut goal to victims of terrorist attack". ESPN. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
6. "Nizza, alla scoperta di Malang Sarr: il baby talento "senza nome"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 14 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
7. "17-year old Sarr sees off Rennes". Ligue 1. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
8. "Official: Malang Sarr signs OGC Nice pro deal". Get Football News France. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
9. "Chelsea vying with Real Madrid and Barcelona to sign Malang Sarr". Sky Sports. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
10. "Chelsea transfer news: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Malang Sarr, Diego Costa". Fox Sports. 22 July 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
11. Margueritte, Henri (19 February 2018). "Alban Lafont, ce Français qui devance Mbappé au classement des footballeurs les plus prometteurs". Huffington Post (in French). Retrieved 21 February 2018.
12. "Les joueurs de l'OGC Nice sur le gril: aujourd'hui, Malang Sarr" (in French). Nice-Matin. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
13. "Malang, 100 Appearances Already". 12 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
14. "Sarr signs on". Chelsea F.C. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
15. "Portugal loan for Malang Sarr". Chelsea F.C. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
16. "Notícias - Duas novidades para o arranque da Liga dos Campeões". FC Porto (in Portuguese). 21 October 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
17. "Manchester City vs. Porto". Soccerway. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
18. "Notícias - Lugar reservado na final four da Taça da Liga". FC Porto. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
19. Pasztor, David (1 September 2021). "Malang Sarr loan move to Greuther Fürth collapses on deadline day — report". We Ain't Got No History. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
20. "Match report: Chelsea 1 Aston Villa 1 (4-3 on pens)". Chelsea F.C. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
21. "Match report: Brentford 0 Chelsea 1". Chelsea F.C. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
22. "Chelsea beat Palmeiras in Club World Cup". BBC Sport. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
23. "Match report: Chelsea 1 Al Hilal 0". www.chelseafc.com. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
24. "AS Monaco are pleased to announce the arrival of Malang Sarr!". AS Monaco. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
25. "(Video): Mauricio Pochettino has no idea who Malang Sarr is". OneFootball. 26 August 2023.
26. "'It is shameful': Club director slams Chelsea for their treatment of 25-year-old ace". OneFootball. 3 February 2024.
27. Johnson, Simon (20 February 2024). "Malang Sarr, Chelsea's forgotten man". The New York Times.
28. Clark, Gill (20 February 2024). "Malang Sarr: Friends 'worried' about Chelsea's forgotten man as reasons for January exit falling through revealed". Goal.com.
29. "Malang Sarr agrees Lens move after mutual termination of Chelsea contract". The New York Times. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
30. "Malang Sarr, le combattant". RC Lens (in French). 26 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
31. "Leicester City Scouting Nice Defender Malang Sarr in Champions League Qualifiers Ahead of £20m Bid". Sports Illustrated. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
32. "Équipe de France, Alban Lafont et Malang Sarr avec les U18 pour le Tournoi de Limoges". Goal (in French). 28 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
33. Juillard, Patrick (23 October 2018). "Senegal: Alio Cisse a deja contacte Malang Sarr" (in French). Foot 365. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
34. Aguilar, Francesc (24 October 2016). "Malang Sarr, el espectacular 'baby' central del Niza". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 November 2016.
35. "M. Sarr". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
36. "Chelsea 2–1 Palmeiras". BBC Sport. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
37. McNulty, Phil (14 May 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
38. McNulty, Phil (27 February 2022). "Chelsea 0–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2022.

External links

• Profile at the RC Lens website
• Malang Sarr at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Malang Sarr – UEFA competition record ( archive )