Papy Djilobodji
Djilobodji playing for Nantes in 2014
Personal information
Full name El Hadji Papy Mison Djilobodji[1]
Date of birth (1988-12-01) 1 December 1988 (age 35)
Place of birth Kaolack, Senegal
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Gaziantep
Number 3
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 ASC Saloum
2009–2010 Sénart-Moissy 10 (1)
2010–2015 Nantes 171 (9)
2015–2016 Chelsea 0 (0)
2016 → Werder Bremen (loan) 14 (2)
2016–2018 Sunderland 18 (0)
2017–2018 → Dijon (loan) 30 (0)
2019 Guingamp 4 (0)
2019– Gaziantep 144 (15)
2023 → Kasımpaşa (loan) 10 (1)
International career‡
2013–2018 Senegal 17 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 March 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 March 2018

El Hadji Papy Mison Djilobodji (born 1 December 1988) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays for Turkish club Gaziantep F.K. and the Senegal national team. He is capable of playing at centre back and defensive midfield.

After beginning his career in his homeland with ASC Saloum, he moved to France in 2009 to play for amateur team US Sénart-Moissy, where his performances quickly earned him a transfer to Nantes. He played regularly over five-and-a-half seasons for them, the final two in Ligue 1.

In 2015, he signed for Chelsea, making a sole substitute appearance in the League Cup and being loaned to Bundesliga team Werder Bremen before signing for Sunderland for £8 million at the end of the season. After Sunderland were relegated in his first season there, he was loaned to Dijon in 2017, and sacked in September 2018 for breach of contract for returning to the club over a month late and in an unfit condition. He then signed for Guingamp in 2019.

Djilobodji made his international debut for Senegal in 2013. He was part of their squad at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

Early years

Born in Kaolack, Djilobodji began his career with hometown team ASC Saloum, making his senior debut in the 2007–08 season.[3] After two successful seasons in the Senegal Premier League, he transferred to French club US Sénart-Moissy in October 2009.[4] He played a good first half of the 2009–10 season in the Championnat de France amateur 2, which led to him being bought by Nantes on 27 December 2009.[5]

Nantes

On 14 May 2010, Djilobodji made his debut for FC Nantes in a 3–1 Ligue 2 defeat against eventual champions Caen.[6] He was regular in his second year, playing 27 games and scoring twice,[7] ending with a record of 186 appearances and 9 goals. In the Summer transfer window of 2015, it was reported that he had caught the attention of many English Premier League clubs such as Sunderland and Aston Villa, neither of whom made bids for him.[8]

Chelsea

On 1 September 2015, Djilobodji signed for Premier League champions Chelsea on a four-year contract,[9][10] for a fee reported to be in the region of £2.7 million[11] to £4 million.[12] The following day, he was not included in their 25-man squad for the UEFA Champions League.[13] He made his only Blues appearance in the third round of the League Cup away to Walsall, replacing Radamel Falcao in added time at the end of a 4–1 victory.[14]

On 21 January 2016, Djilobodji signed for Werder Bremen until the end of the 2015–16 season.[12] Three days later, he made his debut in the Bundesliga in a 3–1 win away to Schalke and was praised for his performance.[15][16] On 13 February, Djilobodji scored his first Werder Bremen goal in a 1–1 draw against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, netting a 13th-minute equalizer.[17]

In March, he received a retrospective two-match ban for making a throat-slitting gesture at Mainz 05's Pablo de Blasis.[18] In the final game of the season, Djilobodji scored a late winner against Eintracht Frankfurt, saving his team from relegation and confining the opponents to the relegation play-off.[19]

Sunderland

On 5 August 2016, Djilobodji signed for Sunderland on a four-year deal for a fee reported to be in the region of £8 million.[20][21] He made his Premier League debut 16 days later in a 2–1 home loss to Middlesbrough, and the Sunderland Echo mentioned his performance as a "rare positive" in the defeat.[22] On 19 November, he was sent off in the last minute of a 3–0 win over Hull City at the Stadium of Light.[23] He was charged with violent conduct by The FA in January 2017 after catching West Bromwich Albion's Darren Fletcher in the face in a 2–0 loss,[24] and subsequently received a four-match ban.[25] He totalled 23 games over the season as Sunderland were relegated.[26]

Djilobodji returned to France's top flight on 31 August 2017, signing on loan for Dijon for the whole season.[26] He made his debut for them nine days later, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–1 loss at Caen in which he received a yellow card.[27]

After Sunderland's relegation to EFL League One in 2018, Djilobodji was one of several players who expressed their desire to leave the club rather than play in England's third tier.[28] He reached a deal with the new administration of owner Stewart Donald that he could remain on unpaid leave during July in order to secure a move away from the club. The deal included a proviso that he maintain his fitness should he need to return to Sunderland.[29] He failed to return to training in August, and Donald suggested that Djilobodji and fellow absentee Didier Ndong were "willfully devaluing themselves" in order to secure cheap moves away from the club.[30] On 2 September 2018, Djilobodji informed Sunderland of his intention to return to training, insisting he had done nothing wrong.[31] He failed a fitness test and more training sessions, and Donald suggested Djilobodji was guilty of "gross misconduct".[32] On 12 September 2018, he was sacked for breaching his contract and failing a fitness test.[29]

Guingamp

On 31 December 2018, En Avant de Guingamp announced that they signed Djilobodji in a six-month deal.[33] He made his debut on 19 January in a 9–0 loss at holders Paris Saint-Germain as a 73rd-minute substitute for Yeni Ngbakoto. Three days later he started in a Coupe de France last 32 match at Nancy, and scored the winner in extra time.[34] On 26 January, he was sent off in a 1–0 home loss to Stade de Reims for breaking Pablo Chavarría's nose with a kick, and was handed a six-match ban.[35]

Gazişehir Gaziantep

On 22 July 2019, Djilobodji joined Turkish club Gazişehir Gaziantep.[36]

International career

Djilobodji was part of the Senegal squad at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. He played two games in their elimination from Group C, being substituted at half time for Lamine Gassama in the first, a 2–1 win over eventual finalists Ghana at the Estadio de Mongomo.[37]

Career statistics

As of match played 3 June 2023[38]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sénart-Moissy 2009–10 CFA Group D 7 1 0 0 0 0 — 7 1
Nantes 2009–10 Ligue 2 13 0 0 0 0 0 — 13 0
2010–11 27 2 3 0 1 0 — 31 2
2011–12 36 4 1 0 3 0 — 40 4
2012–13 36 0 2 0 1 0 — 39 0
2013–14 Ligue 1 28 3 1 0 1 0 — 30 3
2014–15 31 0 1 0 1 0 — 33 0
Total 171 9 8 0 7 0 0 0 186 9
Chelsea 2015–16 Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
Werder Bremen (loan) 2015–16 Bundesliga 14 2 2 0 — — 16 2
Sunderland 2016–17 Premier League 18 0 2 0 3 0 — 21 0
2017–18 Championship 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
Total 18 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 22 0
Dijon (loan) 2017–18 Ligue 1 29 0 1 1 0 0 — 30 1
Guingamp 2018–19 Ligue 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 — 5 0
Gaziantep 2019–20 Süper Lig 33 6 3 0 — — 36 6
2020–21 36 2 2 0 — — 38 2
2021–22 31 5 2 1 — — 33 6
2022–23 19 1 2 0 — — 21 1
Total 119 14 9 1 0 0 0 0 128 15
Kasımpaşa(loan) 2022–23 Süper Lig 10 1 0 0 — — 10 1
Career total 372 27 23 2 12 0 0 0 405 29

References

  1. ^ "El Hadji Papy Mison Djilobodji". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Papy Djilobodji". Gaziantep F.K. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Le FC Nantes recrute Papy Mison Djilobodji, ancien de l'ASC Saloum – Agence de Presse Sénégalaise". Archived from the original on 30 September 2011.
  4. ^ [1] Archived 27 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Football.fr. "Football.fr". Football.fr. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012.
  6. ^ "Nantes Vs. Caen - 14 May 2010 - Soccerway". Soccerway. 14 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Senegal - P. Djilobodji - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Soccerway.
  8. ^ "Sunderland AFC transfers: Nantes defender Djilobodji and Townsend linked but Defoe could exit". The Chronicle. 16 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Papy Djilobilijobilobi file à Chelsea". FC Nantes. 1 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Djilobodji signs". Chelsea FC. 1 September 2015.
  11. ^ "Papy Djilobodji joins Chelsea from Nantes". ESPN. 1 September 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Papy Djilobodji: Chelsea loan defender to Werder Bremen". BBC Sport. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Papy Djilobodji: Chelsea man left out of Champions League squad". BBC Sport. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  14. ^ "Walsall 1-4 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  15. ^ Göbel, Jan (24 January 2016). "Bremens Sieg bei Schalke: Alter!". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  16. ^ "DW's Bundesliga Team of the week - Matchday 18". DW. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Werder Bremen vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (1 : 1)". OneFootball. 13 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016.
  18. ^ "Werder Bremen's Papy Djilobodji banned for throat-slit gesture". BBC Sport. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  19. ^ Dutton, Tom (15 May 2016). "Chelsea loanee Papy Djilobodji scores dramatic late winner to secure Werder Bremen's Bundesliga safety". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  20. ^ "Djilobodji joins Sunderland". Sunderland AFC. 5 August 2016.
  21. ^ Gilbert, Peter (8 August 2016). "Papy Djilobodji aims to impress at Sunderland". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  22. ^ Prince, Daniel (22 August 2016). "Cats Eye View: Djilobodji's debut performance a rare positive in Boro defeat". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  23. ^ Strickland, Jamie (29 November 2016). "Sunderland 3-0 Hull". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  24. ^ "Papy Djilobodji: Sunderland defender charged with violent conduct by FA". BBC Sport. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  25. ^ "Papy Djilobodji: Sunderland defender gets four-game violent conduct ban".
  26. ^ a b "Sunderland: Papy Djilobodji & Wahbi Khazri leave on loan". BBC Sport. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  27. ^ "Caen s'installe en haut, Dijon plonge dans le rouge" (in French). Football 365. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  28. ^ "Stewart Donald reveals the players he doesn't expect to see in a Sunderland shirt again". Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Sunderland AFC: Club statement - Papy Djilobodji". Sunderland A.F.C. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  30. ^ "'They've continually breached their contracts and Sunderland should not be paying'". talkSPORT. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  31. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Papy Djilobodji will return to training tomorrow as Sunderland take legal advice". Roker Report. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  32. ^ Hunter, James (9 September 2018). "Stewart Donald reveals Papy Djilobodji skipped training again and brands it gross misconduct". nechronicle. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  33. ^ "OFFICIEL – Papy Djilobodji s'engage avec l'EAG pour une opération commando de 6 mois" [OFFICIAL – Papy Djilobodji joins EAG for a 6-month commando deal] (in French). En Avant de Guingamp. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  34. ^ "Coupe de France. Face à Nancy, Guingamp s'est fait peur mais se qualifie pour les huitièmes de finale" [Coupe de France. Against Nancy, Guingamp feared but qualified for the last 16]. Ouest-France (in French). 23 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  35. ^ "Papy Djilobodji: Six-match ban for ex-Sunderland defender after breaking opponent's nose". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  36. ^ "TRANSFER - PAPY DJILOBODJI GAZİŞEHİR'DE!". GFK. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  37. ^ Hughes, Ian (19 January 2015). "Ghana 1-2 Senegal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  38. ^ Papy Djilobodji at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 October 2017.

External links

Gaziantep F.K. – current squad
Senegal squad – 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
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