Sambou Yatabaré


Sambou Yatabaré is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Antwerp and the Mali national football team.

Club career

Yatabaré has played for Caen, Monaco and Bastia.

Olympiacos and loans

On 30 August 2013, he signed a four-year contract with Greek side Olympiacos F.C., for a reported fee of €2.2 million.
Six months later, lacking game-time in Greece, Yatabaré was sent back to Bastia on loan for six months where he made his return in the first team against Bordeaux on 18 January 2014. He spent the 2014–15 season in Ligue 1 with Guingamp. On 1 September 2015, he signed a year-long loan deal with Standard Liège.

Werder Bremen

On 28 January 2016, Yatabaré signed for Werder Bremen on 3 and a half-year contract running until 2019. While the transfer fee was reported as €2.5 million, Standard Liège also stated they had received €500,000 in compensation from Bremen to end the player's loan with the club.

Royal Antwerp (loan)

On 31 August 2017, the last day of the German summer transfer window, Yatabaré joined Antwerp on loan for the 2017–18 season. His new club was given the option to sign him permanently.
In March 2018, Werder Bremen's sporting director Frank Baumann confirmed Yatabaré would join Royal Antwerp permanently in the summer.

International career

Yatabaré was eligible to play for the national teams of either France or Mali, making his international debut for Mali in 2008.
Yatabaré represented Mali at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring the team's first goal of the tournament in a 1–1 draw with Cameroon on 20 January 2015.

Personal life

Yatabaré's brother, Mustapha, is also a professional footballer, who has played for the Mali national side.

Career statistics

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.11 October 2014Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia2–02–02015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.20 January 2015Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea1–01–12015 Africa Cup of Nations
3.4 September 2016Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali1–05–22017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4.8 October 2016Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast1–01–32018 FIFA World Cup qualification