Amadou Haidara

Amadou Haidara (born 31 January 1998) is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Lens and the Mali national team.

Club career Red Bull Salzburg Haidara started his career with the Malian side JMG Academy Bamako. In July 2016, he was signed by FC Red Bull Salzburg. He was sent out on loan to the second league side FC Liefering, which is the farm team of Red Bull Salzburg. Haidara also played for the FC Red Bull Salzburg U-19 team in the UEFA Youth League. There he scored two goals versus FK Vardar.

He made his first appearance in the third round of the 2016–17 league versus LASK Linz. He substituted Gideon Mensah after the halftime break and scored his first goal in the 48th minute for Liefering.

During the 2017–18 season, Salzburg had their best ever European campaign. They finished top of their Europa League group, for a record fourth time, before beating Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund thus making their first ever appearance in the UEFA Europa League semi-final. On 3 May 2018, he played in the Europa League semi-finals as Olympique de Marseille played out a 1–2 away loss but a 3–2 aggregate win to secure a place in the 2018 UEFA Europa League Final.

RB Leipzig On 22 December 2018, Haidara was signed by German club RB Leipzig. On 30 March 2019, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 5–0 win over Hertha BSC. In the 2019–20 season, RB Leipzig managed to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

On 8 December 2020, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 3–2 win over Manchester United in the 2020–21 season.

Lens On 23 December 2025, after seven years with RB Leipzig, Haidara moved to France, joining Ligue 1 club Lens on a contract until June 2029, for a reported fee of €2 million, which could rise to €3 million with performance-related add-ons.

International career Haidara played five matches for the Malian U17 team, scoring one goal. Haidara made his senior debut for the Mali national football team in a 2018 World Cup qualification tie against Ivory Coast on 6 October 2017.

He took part in his first international tournament at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. In December 2021, Haidara was named by head coach Mohamed Magassouba in Mali’s squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

On 2 January 2024, he was included in the list of twenty-seven Malian players selected by Éric Chelle to compete in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

On 11 December 2025, Haidara was called up to the Mali squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Career statistics

Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals FC Liefering (loan) 2016–17 Austrian First League

2016–17 Austrian Bundesliga

2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga

2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga

2018–19 Bundesliga

2019–20 Bundesliga

2020–21 Bundesliga

2022–23 Bundesliga

2023–24 Bundesliga

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

RB Leipzig DFB-Pokal: 2021–22, 2022–23; runner-up: 2020–21

Lens Coupe de France: 2025–26 Trophée des Champions: 2026

Mali U17 FIFA U-17 World Cup runner-up: 2015

Individual Austrian Bundesliga Team of the Year: 2017–18