Aïssa Mandi

Aïssa Mandi (; born 22 October 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Levante. Born in France, he played for the Algeria national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a right-back.

Mandi made his international debut for Algeria in March 2014 and has since made over 120 appearances, making him the most-capped Algerian footballer of all time. He was a member of the Algerian team for the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2026, as well as the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025, winning the 2019 tournament.

Club career Reims Mandi started to play football at the age of 8 at Reims. On 20 August 2010, he made his professional debut as a starter for the club in a Ligue 2 match against Le Havre. During the 2011–12 season, Mandi made 26 appearances as Reims gained promotion from Ligue 2.

On 5 April 2014, Mandi scored two own goals in a match against Paris Saint-Germain.

Real Betis On 30 June 2016, Mandi signed a five-year deal with La Liga side Real Betis.

Villarreal On 16 June 2021, Mandi signed a four-year contract with fellow La Liga side Villarreal, as his contract with Betis expired.

On 11 August 2021, Mandi made his professional Villarreal debut against Chelsea in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup, where he went on to miss a penalty in the shoot-out.

Lille On 1 August 2024, Mandi returned to France, signing for Lille on a two-year deal.

Levante On 16 July 2026, Mandi returned to Spain after agreeing to a two-year contract with Levante in the top tier.

International career

While he was also eligible to play for France, Mandi decided to play for Algeria and made his debut for them on 5 March 2014 in a 2–0 victory over Slovenia. He was one of the revelations of the Algerian national team during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Mandi scored his first goal for Algeria in a 3–3 away draw to Ethiopia during the qualifiers for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

In December 2023, he was named in Algeria's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. On 10 October 2024, he featured in his 100th international match for his nation in a 5–1 victory against Togo during the 2025 AFCON qualification.

On 6 January 2026, during AFCON finals, Mandi and Riyad Mahrez made their 23rd appearances at AFCON for Algeria, breaking Rabah Madjer's 34-year record.

On 31 May 2026, Mandi was named in Vladimir Petković's 26-man Algeria squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life Mandi was born in the town of Châlons-en-Champagne in Northern France to Algerian parents from Chlef.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mandi goal.

Honours Collective Stade de Reims Ligue 2: Runner-up 2011–12

Villarreal UEFA Super Cup: Runner-up 2021

Algeria Africa Cup of Nations: 2019

Individual Lille OSC Player of the Season: 2025–26 CIES Ligue 1 Team of the Season: 2025–26 La Liga Top Passing Defender: 2018–19 Algeria Player of the Month: March 2021 Records Algeria all-time caps record holder: 123 appearances Africa Cup of Nations Algerian appearance record: 23 matches