Stephane Sessegnon

At 39 years old, Stephane Sessegnon has this physical status:

Stéphane Sessègnon (born 1 June 1984) is a Beninese professional footballer who plays for Turkish club Gençlerbirligi.

He has served for the country in both the 2008 and 2010 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Sessègnon can be regarded as a forward, a winger, or a midfield offensive playmaker.

With 24 international goals in 82 matches, he is Benin's all-time top scorer and appearance maker.

Personal life

He is a distant cousin of twin brothers Ryan, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur and Steven Steven, who plays for Fulham.

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Club career

Sessègnon began his career in Cotonou with Benin's Premier League team Requins de l'Atlantique, which means the Sharks of the Atlantic are French. After only working in the club's senior staff for a year, he joined Crépe, a French suburbs company headquartered in the Parisian suburbs, where he met fellow international No. 1 Michel Séka. Sessègnon was on his debut in a 2–1 loss against Stade Reims as a replacement on the first match day of the 2004–05 Ligue 2 season. In a 3–0 win over Gueugnon, he scored his first goals on January 14, 2005, a brace in a span of four minutes. Despite the fact that Créteil finished 15th, Sessègnon was dubbed a marvel because he was the team's main bright spot in helping the club avoid relegation.

Sessègnon joined Le Mans in a three-year contract on May 19, 2006. In a league match against Troyes, he made his debut for the club, playing as a replacement in a 2–2 draw. He made his first appearance in his first five appearances as a replacement and receiving a straight red card in a match against Sedan, his first appearance against Auxerre was on November 4, 2006. In a 1–1 draw with Rennes, he scored his first career goal for Le Mans.

Sessègnon was originally employed as a holding midfielder for Le Mans, and the 2007–08 season was arguably more advanced, with him often starting on the wrong side of the midfield or as an attacker. In his first stint as coach of Lyon, he scored both goals in the club's 3–2 loss to the giants on September 1, 2007. In a 1–0 win over Valenciennes the following week, he scored again. Sessègnon also helped the team reach the Coupe de la Ligue semi-finals, although they lost in extra time to Lens, who lost in a thrilling 5–4 loss in extra time. Sessègnon was also playing the entire 120 minutes.

Sessègnon was scouted by bigger clubs, including Arsenal and Newcastle United, due to his success at Le Mans. However, he remained in France after signing a four-year contract with Paris Saint Germain. The fee was expected to be between €8 and ten million, according to reports.

Sessègnon made his league debut with the club on August 16, 2008, winning by 1–0 over Bordeaux. In a 1–1 draw with Sochaux on the following match day, he scored his first goal for PSG. Sessègnon won by 2–1 over Auxerre on December 13, 2008, his third brace in his career against Auxerre. He was named UNFP Player of the Month for December for his positive results. Sessègnon has also appeared in nine games in the UEFA Cup, scoring one goal against Dutch club Twente.

Several clubs contacted PSG in the offseason to inquire Sessègnon's availability, with Premier League clubs Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, and Manchester City as the key suitors. Sessègnon, who took pride in him, announced a public demand on June 23rd that his parent club give him a salary raise, claiming, "I think I am one of the best players in the team." The firing of PSG boss Paul Le Guen also played a role in his pleadings, and Sessègnon and the club signed an agreement on a contract extension, despite the player's pay increase.

Sessègnon struggled to make an impact with the first team after manager Antoine Kombouaré relegated him to a replacement's role in the 2010–11 season. Sessègnen accused Kombouaré of insulting him during a one-on-one interview ahead of the team's match against Nancy on December 19th. Sessègnon expressed his desire to leave the club in the January window but, as a sign of his commitment, he refused to join Paris Saint-Germain on the winter training camp in Morocco.

Sessègnon left Paris Saint-Germain on January 29 for Sunderland, an English club. He signed a three-and-a-half-year deal and the transfer fee was £6 million, and made his debut against Chelsea on February 1st. In a 3–2 away loss to Stoke City on February 5, 2011, he made his second appearance for the Black Cats in his second start. Sunderland's first good game for the club since a rough start to the season on Sunday, where he scored his first goal for the club in the 4–2 victory over Wigan Athletic. In the 73rd minute, he converted a penalty of his own making, defeating Ali Al-Habsi after being tripped by Antoln Alcaraz. Sessègnon was forced to play in an unfamiliar role as a lone striker after suffering injury to strikers Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan during the match.

Sessègnon scored in Sunderland's home loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers and then again in the season's final match, a 0-3 victory at West Ham United, and also in a 0-3 victory.

Sessègnon scored his first goal of the season against Bolton Wanderers on October 22 in his second season at Sunderland. Aston Villa's 89th-minute equalizer prompted him a week later, with his assistant and winning man of the match.

Sessègnon scored a spectacular late winner against Middlesbrough in the 113th minute during extra time on February 8, 2012, taking Sunderland into the fifth round of the FA Cup for the fourth round repeat. He was suspended in the match against Newcastle United for an elbow to the chest of Cheick Tioté's chest, with Sunderland leading the Tyne-Wear derby 1–0. Newcastle continued to equalize in stoppage time. Sessègnon was on a three-match suspension after scoring his third goal in Sunderland's 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers at the Stadium of Light on March 24. Despite Manchester's failure to score in the game, he did have two assists, one for a Sebastian Larsson header deep in the first half of injury time, making the match 2–1 for Sunderland at halftime. The match ended in a 3-3 draw, with Larsson scoring in the 55th minute to put Sunderland 3–1 ahead, and Aleksandar Kolarov scoring in the 85th minute to put the team up 3-1. Sessègnon received the Player of the Season award for the season.

Sessègnon said on August 30, 2012, that he would remain at the Stadium of Light until 2015.

Sessègnon scored against Sunderland's fiercest rivals Newcastle, putting Sunderland 1–0 up in Paolo Di Canio's second match as Sunderland's second match as Sunderland's manager on April 14, 2013. Sunderland defeated their rivals 3–0, with Sessègnon assisting David Vaughan for the third goal. Sunderland defeated Everton 1–0 at home the following week, with Sessègnon scoring the only goal. After being sent off during Sunderland's 6–1 loss to Aston Villa, his season came to an end. He appeared in 2 games of the 2013-14 season, but his time at the club was short due to a falling out with Paolo Di Canio and a drink driving crash.

Sessègnon joined West Bromwich Albion for a club record fee of £5.5 million, with additionals, on September 2, 2013. Sessègnon scored the first goal in a 3–0 victory against Sunderland, his previous club. In a tumultuous 2–2 draw at Stamford Bridge on September 9, he scored against Chelsea. Sessegnon scored the first Albion goal of a 1–2 victory over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on March 15, 2014, assisting Pepe Mel in his first game as head coach. Sessègnon has been a fan favorite at the club thus far, and his absence in matches has often resulted in a negative reaction from the fans. With a well-taken strike against Manchester United in a 2–2 draw at The Hawthorns, he scored his first goal of his second season with the club against Manchester United.

Sessegnon will return to the first team in the 2015–16 season after almost leaving the club at the end of the season after falling out with boss Tony Pulis due to selection issues.

Sessègnon and Victor Anichebe will leave the club on May 18, 2016.

Sessègnon signed a two-year contract with Montpellier on September 26, 2016.

Sessègnon signed a one-year deal with Süper Lig's Gençlerbirli on January 23, 2018.

Sirens F.C. became a F.C. in the summer of 2022. Stéphane Sessègnon was a member of the Maltese Premier League and has managed to sign him.

International career

Sessègnon made his Benin debut in a 2006 World Cup qualifier against Cameroon, beginning in the team's 2–1 loss.

Sessègnon was the captain of Benin's fruitful 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign, where his team progressed to the quarterfinals.

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