Moussa Wagué (IPA: [waɡe]; born 4 October 1998) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Prva HNL club Gorica and the Senegal national team.
![]() Wagué playing for Senegal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Moussa Wagué[1] | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1998-10-04) 4 October 1998 (age 23) | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Bignona, Senegal[2] | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[3] | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Right-back | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team | Gorica | |||||||||||||||
Number | 15 | |||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
2014–2016 | Aspire Academy | |||||||||||||||
2016–2017 | Eupen | |||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
2017–2018 | Eupen | 23 | (1) | |||||||||||||
2018–2019 | Barcelona B | 20 | (2) | |||||||||||||
2019–2022 | Barcelona | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2020 | → Nice (loan) | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2020 | → PAOK (loan) | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2022– | Gorica | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
2015–2017 | Senegal U20 | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||
2017– | Senegal | 21 | (1) | |||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 06:04, 30 November 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:41, 14 November 2021 (UTC) |
Wagué joined K.A.S. Eupen from the Aspire Academy in November 2016.[4] He made his professional debut in a 0–1 loss to Genk on 21 January 2017.[5] Wagué spent two seasons with Eupen under coach Claude Makélélé, helping the team remain in the Belgian top division.[6]
In August 2018, Wagué completed a transfer from Eupen to FC Barcelona, for a fee of €5 million. He initially joined the reserves ahead of the 2018–19 season.[7] On 13 January 2019, Wagué scored his first goal for Barcelona B in a 2–0 win at the Miniestadi against CD Alcoyano.[8]
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde named Wagué as one of the five promising young players to whom he hoped to give first team opportunities.[9] Wagué made his senior side debut on 6 March 2019, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of the Catalan Super Cup against Girona.[10] On 13 April 2019, he made his official debut in a La Liga match against Huesca where he played a full 90 minutes; he described it as a "dream come true".[11] Wagué again featured for the first team on 4 May 2019, impressing despite Barcelona's 0–2 defeat to Celta Vigo.[12] He would appear once more in Barcelona's La Liga finale, coming on as a second half substitute in a 2–2 draw with Eibar.
Wagué was officially promoted to the first team ahead of the 2019–20 season, and given the number 16 shirt.[13] He made his first Champions League start for Barcelona on 10 December 2019, as his side defeated Inter Milan 2–1.[14]
In 31 January 2020, French club OGC Nice confirmed a loan transfer for Wagué, keeping him until the end of the 2019–20 season, with an option to buy for €15,000,000.[15] He made his debut for Nice in their 2–1 victory over Lyon on 2 February 2020, coming on as a second half substitute.[16] On 7 March 2020, Wagué provided the winning assist in Nice's 2–1 derby victory against rivals AS Monaco.[17] Upon the cancellation of the Ligue 1 season due to the COVID-19 outbreak in France, he returned to Barcelona after Nice decided not to activate his purchase option.[18]
On 21 September 2020, Barcelona confirmed the loan transfer of Wagué to Greek side PAOK on loan for the rest of the season.[19] On 13 December 2020, he suffered a severe knee injury during PAOK's local derby against Aris Thessaloniki. As a result he was slated to miss nine months of action.[20]
On 18 July 2022, he joined Prva HNL club Gorica[21]
Wagué was part of the Senegal U20s that came in 4rd place at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[22] He made his senior international debut in a friendly 1–1 tie with Nigeria on 23 March 2017.[23][24]
In June 2018, Wagué was named in Senegal's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[25] He became the youngest African goalscorer in World Cup history when he scored in Senegal's match against Japan.[26]
Wagué represented Senegal in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, which took place in Egypt. He participated in the first two group stage games and the semifinal match for a Senegal squad that reached the tournament final. [27]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | Ref. | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Eupen | 2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 15 | 1 | [28] | |
2017–18 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | 28 | 0 | [28] | |||
Total | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 43 | 1 | – | ||
Barcelona B | 2018–19 | Segunda División B | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 20 | 2 | [29] | |||
Total | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | – | ||
Barcelona | 2018–19 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | [29] |
2019–20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | [29] | ||
Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | ||
Nice (loan) | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | – | |||
PAOK (loan) | 2020–21 | Super League Greece | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | – |
Career total | 59 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 86 | 3 | – |
Senegal | ||
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Year | Apps | Goals |
2017 | 7 | 0 |
2018 | 6 | 1 |
2019 | 6 | 0 |
Total | 19 | 1 |
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1. | 24 June 2018 | Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg, Russia | ![]() | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup |
Barcelona
PAOK
Senegal U23
Senegal
Senegal squads | |||||||
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