Franck Yannick Kessié (born 19 December 1996) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli and the Ivory Coast national team.

After advancing through Atalanta, Kessié joined AC Milan in 2017 on loan, securing a permanent move two years later and playing a pivotal role in their Serie A success in the 2021–22 season.

[9] After appearing with the main squad during the pre-season, he made his debut for La Dea on 13 August 2016, starting and scoring the last in a 3–0 Coppa Italia home win against Cremonese.

[11] Kessié made his debut in the main category of Italian football on 21 August 2016, as he started and scored a brace in a 4–3 home loss against Lazio.

[16] On 2 June 2017, Kessié joined fellow Serie A side AC Milan on a two-year loan deal with the obligation to buy.

[17][18] Originally, he chose 19 as his shirt number but soon was persuaded by the club's management to leave it for Leonardo Bonucci, who transferred to Milan a few weeks later; as a result, Kessié changed it to 79.

He made his debut for Milan and helped the club to win the first leg of Europa League qualification match against CS U Craiova on 27 July.

[23] Milan finished the 2020–21 Serie A season in second place, with Kessié scoring 13 times in 37 appearances, and qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League after an eight-year absence.

[28] On 28 September, in a UEFA Champions League match against Atlético Madrid, as Milan was leading by 1–0, Kessié was sent off in the 29th minute, his side eventually lost 1–2.

[36] On 19 March 2023, Kessié scored the winning goal against Real Madrid in El Clasico, his first for the club, hitting home Alejandro Balde's cutback in the 92nd minute to make it 2–1 for the Blaugrana.

During the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite on 16 September 2024, Kessié scored the only goal in the match against Iranian club Persepolis to secured the 3 points for Al-Ahli.

[41] On 4 January 2017, he was included in Michel Dussuyer's 23-man squad ahead of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations,[42] starting in all matches as his side was knocked out in the group stage.

[43][44][45] Kessié started in all four of the Ivory Coast's matches at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations,[46] scoring once in a 3–1 win over Algeria in Group E.[47] He was substituted with an injury 30 minutes into the round of 16 loss to Egypt.