Senegal: Moussa Niakhaté, the man behind Ibrahim Mbaye's decision

On paper, Senegal has a quality squad. This squad was strengthened in attack by the arrival of Ibrahim Mbaye at the end of 2025. The central defender from Olympique Lyonnais, a key figure in the Senegalese team, is behind this decision.

The revelations of Ibrahim Mbaye

At 18 years old, Ibrahim Mbaye has taken a crucial step in his career. With less playing time at PSG, the Senegalese prodigy decided to seek a new challenge. He joined Aston Villa in the Premier League.

On November 15, 2025, Ibrahim Mbaye earned his first cap against Brazil, in a friendly match, at London's Emirates Stadium. The Trappes native chose Senegal after playing for France’s U16, U17, U18, and U20 teams. In a recent interview with Cheiick footstyle, the new Villan revealed the role played by Moussa Niakhaté behind the scenes.

“I was with the French youth team in October 2025. Moussa Niakhaté called me, because I was already talking about the national team but still didn’t know if I wanted to play there. He spoke to me about the team and I loved it. I told him: if the coach wants me to come, I’ll come! The objectives were not the same. They told me the first team (with Senegal) or stay with the U18 (with France), it was different. When Moussa told me, the coach wants you, I told him: “okay, bring me over, I’m coming. Thanks Moussa, it’s partly thanks to him.”” he declared.

Ibrahim Mbaye, a meteoric rise

In recent years, everything has moved very fast for Ibrahim Mbaye. As soon as he was promoted to the PSG first team, he demonstrated impressive skills. He won over Luis Enrique with his substitute appearances and was regularly part of the rotation.

In two years, Ibrahim Mbaye’s life has completely changed. He made his first appearance for PSG’s first team on August 16, 2024, against Le Havre, on the opening day of Ligue 1. And that’s where it all started. Becoming the youngest player ever to play a professional match for PSG, he was named Titi d'Or (best youth player at the club in 2024). And all that in just a few appearances.

At the start of 2025, he signed his first professional contract and scored his first pro goal against Saint-Etienne in a brilliant 6-1 win. Thanks to this goal, he became the third-youngest scorer in the club’s history. For PSG, he scored 4 goals and delivered 2 assists in 38 matches across all competitions.

Just like with PSG, Mbaye had a spectacular debut with Senegal. He came on in the 75th minute in place of the legend Sadio Mané to earn his first cap against Brazil, on November 15, 2025, in London. Three days after this debut, he delivered an outstanding performance with the Lions. Against Kenya, he scored his first goal and provided two assists. His adventure with the Senegalese national team was underway. He shone at AFCON 2023 (1 goal in 6 matches) and the 2026 World Cup (one goal in 4 matches). In 15 games with the Lions, he scored 4 goals and delivered 5 assists.

Moussa Niakhaté convinced a true gem to represent Senegal. Ibrahim Mbaye embodies the future of the Lions from an attacking perspective.