Pape Cheikh Diop
Quick Facts
Biography
Pape Cheikh Diop Gueye (born 8 August 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for RC Celta de Vigo on loan from French club Lyon as a central midfielder.
Born in Senegal, in September 2018 he declared his international allegiance to Spain.
Club career
Youth
Born in Dakar, Diop arrived in Spain in 2011 at the age of 14. After representing Club Internacional de la Amistad and Montañeros CF, he joined Celta de Vigo's youth setup in 2013.
Celta
Diop made his senior debut with the reserves on 23 August 2014, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 Segunda División B away win against CD Lealtad. He scored his first goal eight days later, netting the last in a 5–0 home routing of UP Langreo.
On 11 August 2015, Diop signed a new five-year deal with the club, running until 2020. He made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 12 December of that year, replacing Nolito in the dying minutes of a 1–0 home success over RCD Espanyol.
Diop scored his first goal in the main category on 27 November 2016, netting the last in a 3–1 home win against Granada CF. The following 31 January, he extended his contract until 2021 and was definitely promoted to the main squad, being assigned the number 4 jersey.
Lyon
On 29 August 2017, Lyon announced the signing of Diop on a five-year deal. The transfer fee paid to Celta was reported as €10 million with €4 million of possible bonuses. On 14 August 2019, after featuring sparingly, he returned to his former side Celta on loan for the 2019–20 campaign.
International career
In September 2018 he declared his international allegiance to Spain.