Maxwel Cornet

Gnaly Albert Maxwel Cornet (born 27 September 1996) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a left winger and full-back for EFL Championship club West Ham United and the Ivory Coast national team. He has previously played in France for Metz and Lyon and in England with Burnley.

Club career Metz Cornet is a youth exponent from Metz. Aged 15 years and 11 months, he made his debut for Metz in the third-tier of French football, the Championnat National in a game on 31 August 2012. Cornet was an 85th-minute substitute for Alhassane Keita in Metz' 6–3 win against Quevilly. He made his Ligue 2 debut on 2 August 2013 against Laval. He replaced Yeni Ngbakoto after 79 minutes in a 1–0 home victory.

Lyon On 16 January 2015, Cornet signed for Ligue 1 club Lyon. He made his league debut for the club against his former club Metz on 25 January 2015, replacing Alexandre Lacazette after 34 minutes due to an injury, in an eventual 2–0 home win. Cornet scored his first goal for Lyon on 23 October 2015 as an 89th-minute substitute in a 3–0 home win over Toulouse.

In January 2020, Cornet was tested at the left-back position by Lyon's coach Rudi Garcia following the injuries of Youssouf Koné and Fernando Marçal. After his good performances, he became the club's starting left-back for the rest of the season. On 15 August 2020, Cornet scored a goal against Manchester City in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals which Lyon won 3–1 and progressed to the semi-finals.

Burnley On 29 August 2021, Cornet signed for Premier League club Burnley for a €15 million fee on a five-year deal. On 18 September, he made his Burnley debut as a substitute, replacing Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson in a 1–0 defeat against Arsenal. Cornet scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against Leicester City on 25 September. Although the season culminated in relegation for Burnley, Cornet finished the season as the team's top scorer with nine goals in 26 appearances. He made his debut on 14 August 2022, in a 0–1 away loss to Nottingham Forest. Cornet also made seven appearances during West Ham's successful 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League campaign, though he was an unused substitute in the final victory over Fiorentina.

Loans to Southampton and Genoa On 30 August 2024, Cornet joined newly-promoted Premier League club Southampton on a season-long loan. He made his debut for the club on 14 September in a 3–0 home defeat against Manchester United after he replaced Lesley Ugochukwu in the 64th minute. On 20 January 2025, he was recalled from loan.

The same day, Cornet joined Genoa on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season.

He played seven games for Genoa before returning to West Ham and on 1 September 2025, he returned for a second loan spell with the club.

International career Cornet was born in Ivory Coast, and emigrated with his family to northern France at the age of three. He was a youth international for France at every level but declared for the Ivory Coast national team on 5 April 2017. He made his senior debut for Ivory Coast in a 5–0 friendly loss to the Netherlands on 4 June 2017.

Personal life Cornet has three children. Growing up, he idolised Didier Drogba due to his Ivorian birth and subsequent move to France. Outside of football, he enjoys playing tennis.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first

Lyon Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 2019–20

West Ham United UEFA Europa Conference League: 2022–23