Mohamed-Ali Cho

Mohamed-Ali Cho

Cho with Real Sociedad in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Mohamed-Ali Cho [1]
Date of birth	(2004-01-19) 19 January 2004 (age 20) [1]
Place of birth	Stains, France
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) [1]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Nice
Number	25
Youth career
2010–2011	Chantilly
2011–2015	Paris Saint-Germain
2015–2020	Everton
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020	Angers B	1	(0)
2020–2022	Angers	53	(4)
2022–2024	Real Sociedad	30	(1)
2024–	Nice	28	(3)
International career‡
2019	England U16	2	(0)
2022	France U19	3	(2)
2023–	France U20	6	(1)
2021–	France U21	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:05, 1 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 25 March 2024 (UTC)

Mohamed-Ali Cho (born 19 January 2004) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Nice. Born in France and raised in England, Cho previously represented England as a youth international before switching his allegiance to France.

Early life

Cho was born in France to an Ivorian father and a French mother of Moroccan origin and moved to England at one week old, where his family worked in London. ^[2] He spent his childhood moving between England and France several times. Cho briefly returned to France at age 6 to play in Chantilly's and then Paris Saint-Germain's academy, before returning to England at age 11. ^[3]

Club career

Angers

A youth product of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Everton, Cho signed his first professional contract with Angers on 2 May 2020. ^[4] In doing so, he became the second youngest player to sign a professional contract in France (behind Eduardo Camavinga). ^[5] Angers planned to initially use him in the reserve teams, but he quickly became part of the first team. ^[6] He made his professional debut with Angers in a 2–0 Ligue 1 loss to Bordeaux on 30 August 2020. ^[7] He was one of the 10 youngest players to play in the top European leagues during the season. ^[8] He started his first match for Angers in the cup on 11 February 2021, in a 2–1 win against Rennes. ^[9] He made his first league start on 17 April 2021 against Rennes. ^[10]

Real Sociedad

On 15 June 2022, it was announced that Cho had signed a five-year deal with La Liga side Real Sociedad. ^[11] The transfer fee paid to Angers was reportedly in the region of €12 to €15 million. ^[12] On 21 December, he scored his first goal at the club in a 5–0 away win over CD Coria in the Copa del Rey second round. ^[13] On 4 June 2023, he scored his first La Liga goal in a 2–1 victory over Sevilla. ^[14]

Nice

On 8 January 2024, Cho returned to France, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with Ligue 1 club OGC Nice, for a reported transfer fee of €12 million. ^{[15] [16]}

International career

Born in France, raised in England, and of Ivorian and Moroccan descent, Cho is eligible for all four national teams. He was a youth international for England with two caps for the England U16s. ^{[4] [17]} He has also played for the England U15s. ^[18] In early 2021, Cho said that he hadn't decided on who to represent internationally, stating: "I am well aware of the options I have and we will see later". ^[19] He switched to represent the France U21s in April 2021. ^[20]

Career statistics

As of 1 December 2024 ^[21]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Angers B	2020–21	National 2	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
Angers	2020–21	Ligue 1	21	0	2	0	—		—		23	0
	2021–22	Ligue 1	32	4	1	0	—		—		33	4
	Total		53	4	3	0	—		—		56	4
Real Sociedad	2022–23	La Liga	19	1	1	1	4 [a]	0	—		24	2
	2023–24	La Liga	11	0	1	0	4 [b]	0	—		16	0
	Total		30	1	2	1	8	0	—		40	2
Nice	2023–24	Ligue 1	17	1	3	1	—		—		20	2
	2024–25	Ligue 1	11	2	0	0	4 [a]	1	—		15	3
	Total		28	3	3	1	4	1	—		35	5
Career total			112	8	8	2	12	1	0	0	132	11

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

References

1. "Mohamed-Ali Cho". Real Sociedad. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
2. "PSG's Mbappe may feel old when facing new Angers prodigy Cho". USA TODAY.
3. "Mohamed-Ali Cho: Everton must have regrets over record-breaking Ligue 1 golden boy". Everton News. 11 December 2020.
4. "Mohamed-Ali Cho signe pro !". Angers SCO. 2 May 2020.
5. "Mohamed-Ali Cho, round 1". sofoot.com (in French). 10 September 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
6. "Mohamed-Ali Cho, a generation 2004 player in Ligue 1 next season?".
7. "Angers SCO vs. Bordeaux - 30 August 2020 - Soccerway". Soccerway.
8. Watson, Ian (15 January 2021). "Ex-Everton and Chelsea kids among 10 youngest players in Euro leagues".
9. "ANGERS SCO VS. RENNES 2 - 1". Soccerway.
10. "Compositions d'Angers-Rennes: Jérémy Doku et Mohamed-Ali Cho titulaires". L'ÉQUIPE.
11. "Explosividad para el ataque" [Explosiveness for the attack] (in Spanish). Real Sociedad. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
12. "Official | Mohamed-Ali Cho signs for Real Sociedad". Get French Football News. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
13. "CD Coria 0–5 R. Sociedad". as.com. 21 December 2022.
14. "Real Sociedad 2 - 1 Sevilla | Football". The Guardian. 4 June 2023.
15. "Welcome, Mohamed-Ali Cho!". OGC Nice. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
16. "Nice: Mohamed-Ali Cho s'est engagé jusqu'en 2028 (off)" [Nice: Mohamed-Ali Cho is committed until 2028 (off)]. OneFootball (in French). 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
17. "England 3 - 3 Republic of Ireland | 2019 - U16 Mens Friendlies | 999945880 | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie.
18. Lantheaume, Romain (31 August 2020). "Angers : Mohamed-Ali Cho, un record en L1, et un avenir avec le Maroc ?". Afrik-Foot.
19. "Angers : Mohamed-Ali Cho met le Maroc et la Côte d'Ivoire en salle d'attente". Afrik-Foot. 15 February 2021.
20. "Angers Sco. Mohamed-Ali Cho sélectionné en équipe de France espoirs". 4 November 2021.
21. "M. Cho" . Retrieved 30 August 2021.

External links

• Profile at the Real Sociedad website
• Mohamed-Ali Cho at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Mohamed-Ali Cho – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French