Mohamed Sissoko

Valencia

In 2003, Sissoko left boyhood club Auxerre on a free transfer to Rafael Benítez's Valencia. He was part of the 2003–04 La Liga-winning squad and became a UEFA Cup champion that same year. The following year, Benítez went to Liverpool and was replaced by Claudio Ranieri.

Liverpool

Sissoko rejoined Benítez at Liverpool for £5.6 million in the summer of 2005 and made his first appearance in a UEFA Champions League qualifying tie against FBK Kaunas on 26 July. In February 2006, he injured his eye after colliding with Benfica midfielder Beto. Sissoko was part of the FA Cup winning side in 2006 and played an integral role for the team. In the summer of 2007, Sissoko rejected offers from Barcelona, CSKA Moscow and Juventus to stay on Merseyside. His only goal for Liverpool came on 25 August 2007, a low shot from twenty yards out against Sunderland in a 2–0 away win.

Juventus

In January 2008, Sissoko transferred to Italian club Juventus, where he would team up with former coach Claudio Ranieri, for a fee of €11 million. He made his first appearance for the club in February 2008, coming in as a 67th minute substitution for Tiago in a Serie A fixture versus Cagliari. Sissoko scored his first goal for Juventus on 2 March 2008, the equaliser against Fiorentina. During the first half of the 2008–09 season, he regularly featured in the starting line-up, forming a partnership with youngster Claudio Marchisio as the centre midfield pair in Claudio…

Originally a forward in the youth system of Auxerre, Sissoko gained prominence as a combative and physically strong defensive midfielder. Nicknamed "La Piovra" (The Octopus) at Juventus for his physique, Sissoko excelled as a ball winner, a role which allowed him to support his more offensive midfield teammates defensively by laying off the ball to them after winning back possession. His style of play bore many similarities with French icon Patrick Vieira.

Born in Mont-Saint-Aignan, France, Sissoko represented France at youth level. He was eligible to play for the France national team but opted to play international football for his ancestral country, Mali. He obtained his first international call-up to the Mali national team in 2004, and appeared for his country in almost all African Cup of Nations qualifiers and tournaments since then. He also featured in FIFA World Cup qualifiers for both 2006 and 2010. Sissoko made 34 official appearances for Mali, and scored 2 goals. With Mali, he finished fourth in the 2004 African Cup of Nations, and third in the 2013 African Cup of Nations.

Sissoko is the nephew of former African Footballer of the Year Salif Keita, who, like him, played for both Mali and Valencia. He and another defensive midfielder, Seydou Keita, are first cousins, as Salif is Seydou's uncle. Sissoko is also the elder brother of Abdoul Sissoko and a cousin of Malian international goalkeeper Oumar Sissoko.