Assan Ouédraogo

Schalke 04

Born in Mülheim to Burkinabè parents, Ouédraogo began his career with TuS Union 09 Mülheim, spending three years before a move to Schalke 04 in 2014. He signed a contract extension in November 2022. Ahead of the 2023–24 season, he was promoted to the first team, scoring his first goal in a 2–2 away friendly draw with 1. FC Bocholt on 6 July, also getting the assist for Simon Terodde's goal. He scored in another friendly game as Schalke 04 beat Polish opposition Górnik Zabrze 5–0 on 15 July, and these pre-season performances saw him touted as a player with a lot of potential. Ouédraogo marked his professional debut in the 2. Bundesliga with a goal; being named as a surprise starter in the away game against Hamburger SV, he received the ball in the penalty area from teammate Simon Terodde, he cut onto his right foot, beating a Hamburger SV defender in the process, before placing the ball beyond goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes. Despite his team losing 5–3, his first half goal earned him a spot in Schalke 04 history, as he beat Julian Draxler's record as Schalke's youngest goal-scorer in official matches. He also is the youngest player ever of Schalke 04 in competitive and professional matches with an age of 17 years and 80 days, beating Volker Abramczik's record. Following the game, manager Thomas Reis said of Ouédraogo: "it was important that we carefully integrated him into training", also stating that he would give him a "necessary break" and "ground him…

Ouédraogo has represented Germany at under-16 and under-17 level. At the 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, he scored the winning penalty as Germany beat France 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out victory in the final. His parents are from Burkina Faso. On 1 November 2023, Ouédraogo was called up to the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Indonesia. In November 2025, he received his first senior call-up from head coach Julian Nagelsmann after Nadiem Amiri was sidelined with an injury, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. On 17 November, he made his debut in a 6–0 victory over Slovakia, scoring just 102 seconds after coming on. On 5 June 2026, Ouédraogo was called up to Germany's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a replacement for the injured Lennart Karl.

A box-to-box midfielder, Ouédraogo is capable of using both feet, and is lauded for his speed, dribbling, creativity and goal-scoring ability. Ouédraogo can play any position in midfield, possessing dynamism which can often lead to the creation of dangerous goalscoring situations. Due to his height, physicality, technique in tight spaces, and ability to carry the ball forward, Ouédraogo has been likened to players such as Paul Pogba, Ryan Gravenberch and Khépren Thuram.

Ouédraogo's father is former Burkina Faso international footballer Alassane Ouédraogo. Ouédraogo is Muslim.