Alidu Seidu #2

Profile

Educated at the Jean-Marc Guillou Academy in Ivory Coast, Seidu joined Clermont Foot in 2019, and made his first-team debut a year later. In 2024 he moved to Rennes on a four-year deal, but suffered an ACL injury that November. It has been a long road back. “It was tough because I was in a lot of pain,” he told Ouest France. “But I quickly saw it as a challenge. I have been through worse … I grew up in a very tough, very violent area. Being around friends who were into that lifestyle and hanging out on the streets made me a bit aggressive, mean. We walked the streets with knives or machetes, I committed thefts, vandalism, and small-time trafficking. My mother was always crying, and sometimes I ran away at night to avoid my father punishing me.” When he was attacked with a machete during a fight he had to spend three months in hospital. “I lost a lot of blood, I couldn’t speak… Everyone thought I was going to die. So I’m lucky to have become a player, to be here. I always try to turn the negative side into something positive, it’s in my character. My uncle pushed me towards football because he knew I had something. He always supported me, and football saved my life.”

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