Issa Kaboré joins Benfica!

WELCOME, ISSA KABORÉ

Issa Kaboré, 23, has joined the professional football team of Sport Lisboa e Benfica. The right-back, a Burkina Faso international, joins the club from Manchester City on loan until the end of the season. 

“When you arrive at a big club like Benfica, the goals are clear. There's a clear vision. We're here to win trophies and that's what we're going to strive for”, he said in an interview with BTV, the full version of which you can read here.

The Burkina Faso international also stressed that he can “add a lot to the team” in defensive and offensive terms.

INTERVIEW

THE JOURNEY

Born on May 12, 2001 in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, Issa Kaboré made a name for himself at Rahimo FC and, at the age of 18, signed his first professional contract with KV Mechelen after impressing the Belgian club's coaching staff during a four-week trial period. On February 11, 2020, the right-back made his first-team debut for KV Mechelen in a 2-1 defeat against Charleroi in the first of five matches in the 2019/2020 season.

Attentive to his performances, Manchester City signed him in the summer of 2020 and kept him on loan at KV Mechelen for the 2020/21 season, in which he made four assists in 29 games. The following season (2021/22), Kaboré was again loaned out by the Citizens, this time to French side Troyes, and made one assist in 32 appearances.

MESSAGE TO THE BENFIQUISTAS

The strong competition at Manchester City led to him being loaned out again in 2022/23. Signed by Marseille, the current Benfica new player made his Champions League debut on September 13, 2022, in the defeat against Frankfurt (0-1). That was one of 28 games he played for Olympique, in which he scored one goal.

Last season (2023/24), Kaboré had the chance to play in the Premier League for Luton Town, on loan until the end of the season. Used in 26 matches, the right-back made two assists in the campaign that culminated in the hatters' relegation to the Championship.

An international for Burkina Faso since September 9, 2019, when coach Paulo Duarte launched him in the friendly against the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kaboré has been a regular in his national team's squad, having participated in the 2021 and 2023 editions of the African Cup of Nations.