10 things you might not know about Iliman Ndiaye | OneFootball

Iliman Ndiaye is a City player!

Men's Team

Ndiaye signs for City

The versatile forward has joined City after two years at Everton.

Here’s a few things to help you get to know our new man a little better…

Birthplace

Ndiaye hails from Rouen in the north west of France.

The city was one of the most powerful in Europe during medieval times and was where Joan of Arc was tried and executed. It remains an architectural hotspot for tourists, despite being damaged during World War II.

Ndiaye spent the first 11 years of his life there before moving to the south of France with Marseille and then to Senegal as a teenager.

Unusual route

Our new man has taken the path less trodden to the very top table of European football.

After returning to Europe following two years as a teenager in Dakar, he wound up in the youth side at non-league north London outfit Boreham Wood.

That’s where he got his first contract before catching the eye of Sheffield United scouts and then eventually moving on to Marseille and Everton.

Men's Team

10 things you might not know about Iliman Ndiaye

Bouncing back

Beyond that very specific path into football, Ndiaye has had to have a thick skin throughout his life.

In an interview with Everton last year, he told of all the clubs who passed up the opportunity to sign him as a youngster.

“I went to trial with Southampton, Reading, Tottenham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace. I used to be very small and they said they had similar players. People told my dad to his face that I will never be a football player.”

Moves like Ndiaye

Iliman is the son of a dancer and choreographer and, in an interview with Sky Sports, our new man put a lot of his silky skills and eccentric movements with the ball at his feet down to his dad’s influence.

“He told me everything I know,” he said.

“With his dancing and choreography, he added it into the way I do things like stepovers. He used to tell me when you do stepovers, your body can still go like this and that.”

Big family

Ndiaye is one of nine siblings.

He shared a house with seven sisters and one brother growing up but he says that shaped a lot of who he has become.

“Family is important to me,” he said in an interview with Everton.

“They’ve always been behind me through everything. The hard times and the good times and now I’ve got my own family. I love it.”

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Rising Ballers

Ndiaye also spent time with Rising Ballers, the famous YouTube team, during his development.

During one particular video with them seven years ago, footage of his famous skills and mind-blowing control of the ball can be seen on a cage in London.

In that video, he credits his time in Senegal and the uneven surfaces there with teaching him how to adapt to unfamiliar and difficult conditions.

Choices

Born in France to a Senegalese father and French mother, Ndiaye could have represented either nation.

However, he chose Senegal and has gone on to play for them 44 times since his debut in 2022.

In that time, they’ve finished third at AFCON 2024 and he’s been to both the 2022 and 2026 World Cups.

Breakthrough year

As City were winning an historic Treble in 2022/23, Ndiaye was enjoying a season that very much put him on the map.

He was named in the Championship Team of the Year and as Sheffield United’s Player of the Year as the Blades earned promotion to the top-flight.

There was plenty of excitement at Bramall Lane about how he’d fare in the Premier League but he wouldn’t get the chance to show what he could do, leaving for Marseille that summer.

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Record v City

City fans may remember one stunning goal that Ndiaye struck at the Etihad Stadium.

With City 1-0 up on Boxing Day in 2024, Ndiaye controlled a cross with his right foot, allowed it to bounce and immediately took a snapshot with the same peg.

It flew into the top corner before anyone could react and was a perfect example of the unorthodox but wildly entertaining way in which he plays the game.

That’s his only goal in five games against us – four coming for Everton and one for Sheffield United.

Squad number history

Ndiaye has worn lots of different squad numbers during his career.

He’s had 10 since arriving at Everton in the summer of 2024 but before that, he wore 29 at Marseille and Sheffield United as well as 25 with Boreham Wood.

For Senegal, he dons the number 13.