Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four), winning 14 titles with the latter club after signing in 2008. He started his youth career in Mali and his professional career with Marseille. His career would take him to clubs in France, Spain, China, Italy and Qatar.
Born in Bamako, Mali, Keita finished his football formation in France with Olympique de Marseille, joining the club at the age of 17. He played mainly for the reserve squad during his three-year spell.
In 2002, Keita joined fellow league side RC Lens, eventually becoming captain[4] and scoring a career-best 13 goals in the 2006–07 season – his fifth and last – helping Les Sang et Or to fifth position in the league and the last-16 in the UEFA Cup.
Sevilla
On 11 July 2007, Keita signed a four-year contract with Sevilla FC for a €4 million transfer fee, plus a 10–15% capital gain for the club if it sold the player above €4 million.[5][6] He appeared in both legs of that year's Supercopa de España, a 6–3 aggregate win against Real Madrid.[7]
Keita was an automatic first-choice for the Andalusians during 2007–08, helping the team to the fifth position in the league. On 3 November 2007 he scored from long-distance in a 2–0 home win also over Real Madrid,[8] and added three in nine matches in the Champions League, including one against Arsenal in a 3–1 group stage home victory which was the opposition's first loss of the campaign.[9]
On 26 May 2008, Keita agreed to a four-year deal with FC Barcelona who paid his €14 million buy-out clause (making Lens eligible to receive €1.3 million from Sevilla).[6] He became the first Malian player to ever represent the Catalans, and his new release clause was set at €90 million.[10]
On 25 October 2009, Keita scored his first career hat-trick, in a 6–1 home win against Real Zaragoza,[17] and contributed with 29 games – 23 starts – as Barcelona renewed its domestic supremacy. In the 2010–11 campaign he made more appearances than any other outfield player and, on 31 August, aged 31, signed a contract extension that would link him to the club until 2014.[18]
Dalian Aerbin
On 7 July 2012, Keita announced he would be leaving Barcelona after four seasons,[19] invoking a clause in his contract allowing him to leave the club even though he still had two years left. The following day, he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Chinese Super League side Dalian Aerbin FC, being reportedly paid €14 million per year.[20]
On 30 January 2014, Keita returned to Spain after signing with Valencia CF, with the 34-year-old agreeing to a six-month contract with the option for an additional year.[21] He made his debut for the Che on 16 February, replacing Paco Alcácer for the last 20 minutes of a 0–0 away draw against former club Sevilla.[22] On 13 March, midway through the first half of an away fixture against PFC Ludogorets Razgrad for the UEFA Europa League, he was sent off for a challenge on Roman Bezjak that resulted in a penalty kick, but his team eventually won it 3–0[23] and 4–0 on aggregate.
Keita scored Valencia's fastest-ever goal on 27 March 2014, netting after nine seconds at UD Almería.[24] He also had to leave before the end of the first half with an injury, as the hosts came from behind for a 2–2 draw.[25]
Keita helped Mali's under-20s finish third at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria, scoring the only goal[31] in the last match against Uruguay, and being named the tournament's best player. He made his senior debut for Mali on 9 April 2000, in a 2002 FIFA World Cupqualifier against Libya.[32] He wore the no.12 shirt as he represented the country in six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments: in the 2010 edition in Angola he scored twice, both goals coming in the 4–4 group stage draw against the hosts, who were leading 4–0 with 11 minutes to go;[33]Les Aigles, however, could not make it past the group stage. From 2007 to 2008, he scored an impressive 8 goals in 20 international matches from his midfield position.
Keita married Zubaida Johnson, of Cape Verdean descent. On 12 May 2008, he became the father of a son, Mohammed, who was born in Seville, also father of Hanane, Ishana and Zulaykah all born in Barcelona, Catalonia.[36]
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