Moussa Sissoko (born 16 August 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains EFL Championship club Watford.

Sissoko began his football career playing for local youth clubs in the Île-de-France region, such as Espérance Aulnay and Red Star.

In the following season, Sissoko earned award nominations for his performances and also helped Toulouse qualify for the newly created UEFA Europa League.

[4] At the age of six, Sissoko joined the youth academy of Espérance Aulnay, based in nearby Aulnay-sous-Bois, a suburb in northeastern Paris.

[5] Prior to signing his professional contract with Toulouse, he garnered interest from English clubs Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers.

[7] He was subsequently promoted to the club's senior team in the ensuing summer and assigned the number 22 shirt by manager Elie Baup.

[12] In late September, he began featuring in the team as a regular starter playing in the defensive midfielder role alongside attackers Achille Emana and Fodé Mansaré, and captain Nicolas Dieuze.

[13] Despite the promising individual season from Sissoko, Toulouse finished one place above relegation and Baup was sacked and replaced by Alain Casanova.

It was a memorable goal with Sissoko running nearly the entire pitch with the ball at his feet, eluding several Schirrhein players, before finishing at the six-yard box.

Prior to the start of the 2009–10 season, Sissoko drew strong interest from Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur.

[33] On 21 January 2013, English side Newcastle United confirmed they had signed Sissoko on a six-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £1.5 million.

[34] It was rumoured that Sissoko waived any signing on fee from his new club in order to push the move through after Toulouse were unwilling to let him leave until the summer, when his contract expired.

[36] In his second match, his first at St James' Park, Sissoko scored both the equalising and winning goals in a 3–2 comeback victory against Chelsea.

[39] In the closing minutes of a game against Southampton in December, he was involved in an incident in which he accidentally hit referee Mike Jones in the face when trying to pull away from the opposing goalkeeper.

[40] He scored twice in a 4–1 win away at Hull City in March 2014, in what the Chronicle reporter, Neil Cameron, described as an "utterly superb" performance.

[44] On 13 April 2015, Sissoko was sent off in an away match at Liverpool, receiving a second yellow card from referee Lee Mason, after a dangerous tackle to Lucas Leiva.

[45] On 24 May 2015, the final day of the season, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 home victory over West Ham United, which helped Newcastle clinch their Premier League safety.

[47] This sparked a six-game unbeaten run in Newcastle's relegation battle, which included creditable draws against Liverpool and Manchester City, and a final day 5–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

[49][50] Tottenham, who beat out Everton for his signature on the final day of the transfer deadline, gave Sissoko his debut away at Stoke City on 10 September 2016.

[60] In the 2020 New Year's Day match against Southampton, Sissoko damaged the medial collateral ligament of his right knee, which required surgery resulting in him being out of action for more than three months.

[71] With the under-17 team, Sissoko's playing time increased as France attempted to qualify for the 2006 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship.

[72] On 26 February 2006, Sissoko scored his first youth international goal in the team's second group stage match of the Algarve Cup against the Netherlands.

[75] Due to his increased playing time domestically with Toulouse, Sissoko missed the 2007 edition of the Sendai Cup in Japan and numerous other under-19 tournaments and only featured in 2008 UEFA U-19 Championship qualification matches.

On 3 August 2009, Sissoko earned his first call up to the senior team for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against the Faroe Islands.

On 6 October, he was named to the senior squad for the second time for the team's final World Cup qualification matches against the Faroe Islands and Austria.

Sissoko earned his first cap in the match against the Faroe Islands appearing as a substitute for Jérémy Toulalan in the second half.

However, with a good club performance in the 2018–19 season, he was again back in the national squad, and played a role in the Euro 2020 qualifiers for France.

[94] A large, fast, physically powerful, hard-working, and energetic player,[95][96][97][98][99] with an ability to run long distances and cover a lot of ground,[97] Sissoko has been described as a "well-rounded central midfielder" who is "tall, rangy, and strong in the tackle".

[89][94][99] Regarded as a promising prospect in his youth,[99] in 2010 he was included in Don Balón's list of the 100 best young players in the world born after 1989.