Mohamed-Ali Cho

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Mohamed-Ali Cho
Momo Cho (Championsleague Gruppe D 2023-10-03) 56 (cropped).jpg
Cho with Real Sociedad in 2023
Personal information
Full name Mohamed-Ali Cho [1]
Date of birth (2004-01-19) 19 January 2004 (age 21) [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*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2020 Angers B 1 (0)
2020–2022 Angers 53 (4)
2022–2024 Real Sociedad 30 (1)
2024– Nice 36 (4)
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 19:18, 23 February 2025 (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.

Contents

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 23 February 2025 [21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupEuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Angers B 2020–21 National 2 1010
Angers 2020–21 Ligue 1 21020230
2021–22 Ligue 132410334
Total53430564
Real Sociedad 2022–23 La Liga 191114 [a] 0242
2023–24 La Liga110104 [b] 0160
Total3012180402
Nice 2023–24 Ligue 117131202
2024–25 Ligue 1193216 [a] 1275
Total3645261477
Career total12091031410014413
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

References

  1. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 "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.