Malang Sarr

Chelsea On 27 August 2020, Chelsea announced the signing of Sarr on a five-year deal.

2020–21 season: Loan to Porto On 6 October 2020, Sarr joined the Portuguese side Porto on loan for the rest of the 2020–21 season. On 21 October 2020, Sarr made his Porto debut during their UEFA Champions League group stage tie with Manchester City, featuring for 80 minutes before being replaced by Evanilson in the 3–1 away defeat. Sarr went onto score his only goal for the club in a Taça da Liga tie against Paços de Ferreira in December 2020, netting the opener in their 2–1 victory. Sarr went onto feature 19 times in all competitions for the Dragões before returning to Chelsea ahead of the 2021–22 campaign.

2021–22 season: Return from loan

Following proposed loan moves to Germany, Italy and France reportedly collapsing, Sarr opted to stay at Chelsea and was subsequently given the number 31 jersey for the forthcoming 2021–22 campaign. On 22 September 2021, Sarr made his Chelsea debut during a 1–1 draw in the EFL Cup against Aston Villa, featuring for the full 90 minutes as the Blues progressed to the fourth round following a 4–3 penalty shootout victory. A month later, he made his Premier League debut against newly promoted Brentford due to the unavailability of Antonio Rüdiger and Thiago Silva, playing the full 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet during the 1–0 victory.

In January 2022, he started at left-back against Tottenham in the EFL Cup semi-final. It was the start of an extended run in the first-team for Sarr.

On 12 February 2022, Sarr was an extra-time substitute as Chelsea won the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup title, beating Palmeiras. He was also a substitute in the semi-final game against Al-Hilal.

2022–2024: Loan to Monaco and exclusion from the first team On 10 August 2022, Sarr joined Monaco on a season-long loan deal, with an option to buy.

At the beginning of the 2023–24 season, new coach Mauricio Pochettino appeared unable to recognize Sarr as one of his players during a press conference, following his return from loan. However, Sarr later revealed that Pochettino had actually been aware of him and had even attempted to sign him during his tenure as Tottenham manager.

In February 2024, Le Havre sporting director Mathieu Bodmer criticized Chelsea for the collapse of a proposed loan deal that would have covered the remaining 18 months of his contract. Consequently, Sarr did not feature in any matches throughout the season and had to train with the under-21 team.

On 24 July 2024, Sarr's contract with Chelsea was terminated one year before its expiry after a mutual agreement with the club.

Lens On 26 July 2024, Lens announced the signing of Sarr on a two-season contract, with the option to extend for a further season.

International career Sarr has represented France at various youth levels and in September 2016, he was named captain of the 20-man France under-18 squad by manager Bernard Diomède for the 2016 Limoges Tournament. In 2018, he confirmed that he had been approached by the Senegalese Football Federation to represent the nation but stated that he still had hopes to play for France. Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Sarr announced his availability for Senegal; however, he was not selected for the team's squad for the tournament.

Personal life Sarr was born in the neighbourhood of les Moulins in Nice. He is of Senegalese descent through his parents who immigrated to France prior to his birth.

Career statistics

Honours Chelsea FIFA Club World Cup: 2021 FA Cup runner-up: 2021–22 EFL Cup runner-up: 2021–22 Lens

Coupe de France: 2025–26

Individual UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2025–26