Naby Laye Keïta (born 10 February 1995) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for NB I club Ferencváros, and captains the Guinea national team.
Keïta began his professional career with Ligue 2 club FC Istres in 2013, and a year later he moved to Red Bull Salzburg, where he won the Austrian Football Bundesliga and Austrian Cup double in both of his seasons. He then moved to RB Leipzig in 2016, making the Bundesliga team of the season in his first year and the UEFA Europa League squad of the season in his second. He agreed to join Liverpool in 2017, and completed the move a year later, winning the UEFA Champions League in his first season at the club, and the FIFA Club World Cup and Premier League the following season.
Keïta made his senior international debut for Guinea in 2012. He has earned over 50 caps and was part of their squad at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023. He represented Guinea at the 2024 Summer Olympics and was chosen as his country's flag bearer.
Early life Naby Laye Keïta was born on 10 February 1995 in Conakry.
Club career Istres Keïta joined hometown club Horoya AC aged nine. He moved to France in 2012, joining the youth team of FC Istres after unsuccessful trials at FC Lorient and Le Mans FC.
In 2013, he was promoted to the first team of Istres. He made his Ligue 2 debut on 22 November 2013 against Nîmes Olympique. He scored 11 goals in 23 games in his first season as a professional, before his team was relegated to the Championnat National.
Red Bull Salzburg
In July 2014, he joined Austrian top division side Red Bull Salzburg. He made his league debut on 26 July 2014 against Wiener Neustadt. Keïta ended the season with five goals and two assists in 30 games, winning the league and cup double. The following season, he was selected as the Austrian Bundesliga Player of the Year.
He would make his debut in the 2015–16 season on 25 July 2015 against where he scored the teams only goal as they lost 2–1. Keïta would finish the season with twelve goals and 7 assists in 29 games.
RB Leipzig In June 2016, Keïta moved to Red Bull Salzburg sister-club RB Leipzig, who had just been promoted to the German Bundesliga.Fußball: Naby Keita wechselt von Salzburg zu Leipzig , salzburg.com, 20 June 2016 He scored the winner on his league debut against Borussia Dortmund and scored seven more goals in his debut Bundesliga season. He was named in the league's team of the season.
Keïta was named in the squad of the season for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, in which his team were quarter-finalists. He would finish the 2017–18 season with six goals and five assists in 31 games.
Liverpool 2017–18 season On 28 August 2017, a deal was struck for Keïta to join Liverpool on 1 July 2018 after the English club triggered his £48 million release clause in addition to paying an undisclosed premium. It was then reported that there would be no premium (£48 million total) if Leipzig did not qualify for European football, £4.75 million (£52.75 million total) if they qualified for the Europa League and £11 million (£59 million total) if they finished in the Champions League spots. Leipzig ultimately finished 6th in the Bundesliga, therefore qualifying for the Europa League.
2018–19 season Upon joining Liverpool, he was handed the number 8 shirt by Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard, which had been vacated upon the departure of Gerrard to LA Galaxy in 2015. Keïta made his debut for Liverpool against West Ham United on 12 August 2018 and played a part in the opening goal for Mohamed Salah in a 4–0 win.
On 5 April 2019, Keïta scored his first goal for Liverpool in a 3–1 win against Southampton, and added a first European goal four days later against Porto in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg. He was injured in May 2019, ruling him out for the rest of the season. Although Keïta was injured, he won his first Liverpool title while out of the matchday squad as his team mates secured the win in the Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur in early June.
2019–20 season
Hampered by injury, Keïta was a fringe player during the early part of the subsequent season. On 7 December, he provided a goal and assist in a 3–0 win away against AFC Bournemouth, a game which marked his first league start of the season. On 10 December, he provided Liverpool's first goal in a 2–0 Champions League win against his former club, Salzburg, which saw the reigning European champions progress to the knockout stages as the victors of Group E.
On 18 December, he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win over Mexican club Monterrey as Liverpool progressed to the Club World Cup final; three days later, on 21 December, he started in the final against Flamengo, playing 100 minutes until being substituted as Liverpool won 1–0 to be crowned world club champions. On 2 January 2020, he was named in the starting line-up against Sheffield United, but was withdrawn after sustaining a groin injury during the warm-up, being replaced by James Milner. At the end of the season, Keïta won the Premier League title with Liverpool.
2022–23 season On 17 May 2023, Liverpool announced that Keita would be leaving the club once his contract expired in the summer. Injuries meant he started only 49 Premier League games during his time with the club.
Werder Bremen On 9 June 2023, Bundesliga club Werder Bremen announced that Keita would join the club as a free agent. While sporting director Frank Baumann labelled Keita's signing as a "no-brainer" ahead of the season, Keita eventually failed to impress, starting just one competitive game. Ahead of Bremen's Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen on 14 April 2024, Keita refused to board the team bus to the stadium and headed home, after being told he would not be part of the starting line-up. The club subsequently suspended him and fined him "a significant amount".
Ferencváros On 10 December 2024, it was announced that Keita would join Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Ferencvárosi TC on loan in January. The deal reportedly included an option to purchase and would last until the end of the year.On 23 February he would make his debut for Ferencváros getting subbed on for Adama Traoré; they won the match 3–1 against Fehérvár. He would get his first assist for the club on 2 March with a goal scored by Aleksandar Pešić. The match ended in a 2–2 tie. He would start his first game on 9 March against Debreceni which they won 1–0.
The transfer was made permanent on 14 January 2026. On 9 May 2026, he won the 2025–26 Magyar Kupa season with Ferencváros by beating Zalaegerszegi TE 1–0 in the 2026 Magyar Kupa final at Puskás Aréna.
International career On 14 December 2012, Keïta made his international debut for the Guinea national team against Sierra Leone in a 2014 African Nations Championship qualification match. He scored the opener for his side in a 1–1 away draw.
Keïta was included in Michel Dussuyer's 23-man squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. In the opening match against the Ivory Coast, he was struck in the face by Gervinho, who was red carded for it.
On 12 November 2015, Keïta scored his first international goal in three years, in a 1–0 away win against Namibia in the first leg of the second round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. Three days later in the return leg – in Morocco due to the Ebola virus epidemic in Guinea – he scored again in a 2–0 win.
Manager Paul Put chose Keïta for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, where he was affected by injuries. In January 2022, Keïta helped Guinea qualify for the round of 16 of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. His performances saw him earn a place in the tournament's best eleven of the group stage. However, Guinea were eliminated after a loss to Gambia, a match Keïta could not play due to yellow cards accumulation.
Style of play While writing for The Guardian, Nick Ames and Nick Miller described Keïta as "a dynamic, box-to-box central midfielder," likening him to N'Golo Kanté. They also noted, however, that he is able to distribute the ball with range and accuracy, and score goals, which has instead frequently led him to be compared to Brazilian-Portuguese former playmaker Deco. David Usher of ESPN has described Keïta as an energetic midfielder, with good defensive qualities, which also allows him to play in a holding role if necessary. Usher went on to note that Keïta is "quick, skillful, creative and direct. He can dribble, pass and shoot, and he frequently makes the spectacular look routine". Ralf Rangnick attributes him having a natural 360° radar.Interview Ralf Rangnick , Ralf Rangnick on training eye tracking, 2019.
Personal life Keïta has a younger brother, Petit Keïta, who was previously on the books with German side Inter Leipzig. In October 2018, it was reported that he had been training at Liverpool's Academy, although he was not offered a contract.
In 2017, Keïta was charged with presenting false documents. The German newspaper Bild reported that, in early December 2016 and again six weeks later, he had presented two fake Guinean driving licences in order to obtain a driving licence in Germany. The district court in Leipzig (Amtsgericht Leipzig) fined him €415,000, basing the sentence on Keïta's estimated annual income of around €3 million. Keïta's lawyer filed an appeal. The appeals court reduced the fine to €250,000.
In September 2021, Keïta, his Guinean teammates and their opponents from Morocco were stranded during the 2021 Guinean coup d'état. All returned home safely.
In July 2024, Keïta was named in Guinea's squad for the 2024 Olympics in France, as one of the three overage players. He was then chosen to be his country's flag bearer during the opening ceremony of the event.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsIstres2013–14Ligue 223410———244Red Bull Salzburg2014–15Austrian Bundesliga30540—101—4462015–16Austrian Bundesliga291252—30—3714Total591792—131008120RB Leipzig2016–17Bundesliga31810———3282017–18Bundesliga27621—102—399Total581431—102007117Liverpool2018–19Premier League252101061003332019–20Premier League182002041312742020–21Premier League100001040101602021–22Premier League2334030101—4042022–23Premier League8030100010130Total84780802435112911Werder Bremen2023–24Bundesliga5000———502024–25Bundesliga0000———00Total5000———50Ferencváros (loan)2024–25Nemzeti Bajnokság I10010———1102025–26Nemzeti Bajnokság I7000—50—120Total17010—50—230Career total24642223805265133352
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsGuinea2014702015112201640201753201840201941202021202150202263202341202440Total5611
Guinea score listed first, score column indicates score after each Keïta goal.