Yakou Méïté

Yakou Méïté
Personal information
Full name Yakou Méïté[1]
Date of birth (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker / Winger
Team information
Current team
 Cardiff City
Number 19
Youth career
2009–2014 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Paris Saint-Germain B 45 (8)
2015–2016 Paris Saint-Germain 1 (0)
2016–2023 Reading 156 (42)
2017–2018 → Sochaux (loan) 31 (3)
2023– Cardiff City 63 (3)
International career‡
2013 Ivory Coast U17 5 (1)
2015 Ivory Coast U20 4 (0)
2017– Ivory Coast U23 1 (0)
2018– Ivory Coast 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 January 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2019

Yakou Méïté (born 11 February 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Cardiff City. Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast at international level.

Early life

Méïté was born and raised in France to Ivorian parents.[citation needed]

Club career

Paris Saint Germain

Méïté started his professional career at Paris Saint-Germain. He made his professional debut on 9 April 2016, in a Ligue 1 match against Guingamp, replacing Jean-Kévin Augustin after 91 minutes, in a 2–0 away win.[2]

Reading

On 29 July 2016, Méïté signed a three-year contract with English side Reading.[3] He made his debut for Reading as a substitute in an EFL Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle on 9 August 2016,[4] with his first goal for the club coming on 21 January 2017, during a 3–2 defeat to Derby County in the Championship.[5]

On 8 July 2017, Méïté moved to Sochaux, on a season-long loan deal.[6]

On 3 October 2018, Reading announced that Méïté had signed a new contract with Reading, until the summer of 2022.[7] On his return to Reading, he became a mainstay as the club's striker and scored 6 goals in 5 games, impressing manager Paul Clement.[8]

In August 2019, Méïté spoke out about racist abuse he received on social media.[9] He said he chose to do so due to the impact it had on players.[10] On 4 July 2020, he scored four goals in a 5–0 win away at Luton Town.[11]

On 17 May 2023, Reading announced that they had offered a new contact to Méïté, with his current deal due to expire at the end of June 2023.[12] On 21 June 2023, Méïté confirmed his decision to leave Reading at the end of his contract.[13]

Cardiff City

On 7 July 2023, Méïté signed a two-year contract with Cardiff City.[14]

International career

Méïté has represented the Ivory Coast U17s and U20s.[15] He debuted for the Ivory Coast U23s in a 5–0 friendly win over the Togo U23s on 27 March 2018.[16]

Méïté was called up to the senior Ivory Coast squad for a friendly against Togo in March 2018.[17] He was selected for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Guinea on 18 November 2018.[18] He made his debut for the Ivory Coast on 26 March 2019, in a 1–0 victory over Liberia, playing 73 minutes before being replaced by eventual goalscorer Jonathan Kodjia.[19]

Style of play

Méïté is a physically strong player. He has impressive strength, ability in the air, speed and tireless stamina. Paul Clement praised him for his workrate and willingness to battle for every ball.[8]

Personal life

Yakou Meïté is the cousin of Bamo Meïté, who is also a professional footballer.[20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 November 2024[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Paris Saint-Germain B 2013–14 CFA 1 0 — — — — 1 0
2014–15 CFA 20 6 — — — — 20 6
2015–16 CFA 24 2 — — — — 24 2
Total 45 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 8
Paris Saint-Germain 2015–16 Ligue 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Reading 2016–17 Championship 14 1 0 0 1 0 — 0 0 15 1
2018–19 Championship 37 12 1 0 2 1 — — 40 13
2019–20 Championship 40 13 3 2 2 2 — — 45 17
2020–21 Championship 25 12 0 0 0 0 — — 25 12
2021–22 Championship 13 0 0 0 0 0 — — 13 0
2022–23 Championship 27 4 0 0 0 0 — — 27 4
Total 156 42 4 2 5 3 0 0 0 0 165 47
Reading U21 2016–17 — — — — 1[c] 0 1 0
Sochaux (loan) 2017–18 Ligue 2 31 3 3 2 1 0 — — 35 5
Cardiff City 2023–24 Championship 38 2 0 0 0 0 — — 38 2
2024–25 Championship 14 1 0 0 0 0 — — 14 1
Total 52 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 3
Career total 284 56 7 4 6 3 0 0 1 0 299 63
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 13 October 2019
Ivory Coast
Year Apps Goals
2018 1 0
2019 1 0
Total 2 0

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain U19

Paris Saint-Germain

References

  1. ^ "EFL Released and Retained List 2016–17" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Guingamp vs. PSG - 9 April 2016 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Royals swoop to sign Yakou Meite". reading.co.uk. Reading F.C. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Reading 2-0 Plymouth". BBC. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Derby 3-2 Reading". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Meite returns to France for loan season at Sochaux". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Méïté pens new long-term deal as a Royal". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  8. ^ a b ""Fighting spirit and attitude… Yakou has that in abundance!"". www.readingfc.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Yakou Meite: Reading striker calls out racist abuse". BBC Sport. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Yakou Meite: Reading striker chose to share racist abuse to demonstrate impact on players". BBC Sport. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Luton 0-5 Reading". BBC. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  12. ^ "NEW DEALS OFFERED AS CONTRACTS COME TO THEIR CONCLUSION". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  13. ^ "MEITE SET TO DEPART AFTER CONTRACT OFFER TURNED DOWN". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Yakou Méïté signs for Cardiff City". cardiffcityfc.co.uk/. Cardiff City F.C. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  15. ^ a b Yakou Méïté at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  16. ^ Ewan. "Yakou Méïté et les U23 de la Côte d'Ivoire s'imposent face au Togo". fcsochaux.fr.
  17. ^ "Togo vs Ivory Coast". ESPN. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  18. ^ "Elim. CAN 2019 (5è j. GUI/CIV): Voici les 23 Eléphants sélectionnés". fifciv.com. 8 November 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  19. ^ "CÔTE D'IVOIRE 1-0 LIBERIA". soccerway.com/. Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  20. ^ "FC Lorient : l'interview selfie de Bamo Meïté". Le Télégramme (in French). 12 March 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.