Cheikhou Kouyaté

Early career

Kouyaté began his footballing career in 1996 in his hometown with ASC Yego Dakar and was scouted by RWDM Brussels in September 2006. RWDM Brussels then signed the player in January the following year. He went on to play ten league appearances for the first team between 2007 and 2008.

Anderlecht

As Kouyaté turned 19, he left Brussels because his former employers did not pay his wages for three months. He subsequently moved to Anderlecht on a free transfer and signed a four-year deal. He also had a loan at KV Kortrijk. Kouyaté made 153 league appearances for Anderlecht, scoring four goals in five seasons at the club. He won the 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14 league titles as well as the 2010–11, 2012–13 and 2013–14 Belgian Super Cups.

West Ham United

2014–15 season

On 18 June 2014, Kouyaté signed for West Ham United on a four-year contract for a fee of £7 million. He made his West Ham debut on 16 August in a 1–0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, for which his performance was described as "impressive" by the BBC. The following week, manager Sam Allardyce compared him to ex-Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira. On 28 December, Kouyaté scored his first West Ham goal in a 2–1 defeat to Arsenal. His second goal of the season came on 8 February 2015 in a 1–1 draw with Manchester United. His performance in the game won praise from manager Allardyce for Kouyaté's Man of the Match performance which was also singled out as the…

Kouyaté was called up aged 18 to the Senegal under-20s in the same year as his RWDM Brussels debut. He scored two goals in just three games for the side in 2007. On 29 February 2012, Kouyaté made his debut for the Senegal senior team as a 56th-minute substitute for Mohamed Diamé in a goalless friendly draw away to South Africa. At the time, he had been in the process of naturalisation as a Belgian citizen, and had been linked to the European country's national team. In the same year, he was announced to be in the squad for Senegal Olympic football team. He played in every game as Senegal's debut appearance in the tournament, which ended in a knockout in the quarter-final. In January 2015, he was a member of the squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, held in Equatorial Guinea. He scored his first international goal on 5 September in 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, in a 2–0 win away to Namibia. He was part of the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and played all seven games as Senegal finished runners-up in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. At the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, he played six matches for the winners, having been suspended for the last 16 against Cape Verde. Returning for the quarter-finals against Equatorial Guinea, he restored their lead in a 3–1 win having been on for two minutes as a substitute. Kouyaté was a member of Senegal's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He started the opening match against the…

Club

As of match played 19 May 2024

International

As of match played 26 March 2024

Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first.

Kouyaté is married to Zahra Mbow. They have a son born in 2021. According to various Senegalese media outlets, Kouyaté has a second wife. Kouyaté is a practising Muslim and made the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. He was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion by President of Senegal Macky Sall following the nation's victory at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.