Mohamed Sissoko

Mohamed Lamine "Momo" Sissoko Gillan (born 22 January 1985) is a Malian footballer who currently plays for Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua and the Malian national team as a defensive midfielder.

Born in France, although he could have elected to play for France internationally, he chose to play for the country of his descent, Mali.

Club career

AJ Auxerre

Sissoko played as a second striker in the youth system of French club AJ Auxerre.

Valencia

In 2003 Sissoko made a free transfer to Spanish club Valencia CF, managed by Rafael Benítez, where he was deployed in midfield. Valencia won the 2003–04 La Liga title and in the same year became UEFA Cup champions, during which Sissoko played nine matches. The following year, Benítez left to manage Liverpool and was replaced by Claudio Ranieri.

Liverpool

Sissoko moved from Valencia to Liverpool for £5.6 million in the summer of 2005. His first appearance was against Kaunas on 26 July 2005 in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. In February 2006, he suffered serious eye injury after collision with Benfica's midfielder Beto.