Milan’s new star with African roots: who is Alphadjo Cisse and why all of Italy is watching him
A new name has emerged in Italian football — one worth remembering. Alphadjo Cisse is a 20-year-old attacking midfielder for Milan, born in Treviso to a family of Guinean immigrants. Until recently, he was gaining experience in Serie B. Now, he is making a powerful statement at the highest level.
Once, the Rossoneri’s goal-scoring exploits were led by legendary strikers such as Andriy Shevchenko, Filippo Inzaghi and Zlatan Ibrahimović. Now, the spotlight is on a young Italian. At the start of the season, Cisse became the team’s top scorer, and in October 2026 he hit a hat-trick against Salzburg in the Europa League, becoming the youngest Italian ever to achieve the feat in a major European club competition.
The midfielder’s rapid rise has been driven in large part by the trust of head coach Ruben Amorim, who recognized the potential of a future star. But behind Cisse’s headline-grabbing achievements lies a story that deserves just as much attention as his goals.
From Guinea to Treviso: the family story
Alphadjo Cisse was born on October 22, 2006, in Treviso, in northeastern Italy. His parents, Saloussi and Habibatu, came to Europe from Guinea in search of a better life. They chose Italy as the place to build their family’s future, while their son grew up between two cultural worlds.
The family was not wealthy. His father worked in manufacturing, while his mother was employed at a hotel. To support their son’s footballing dream, his parents had to sacrifice both time and energy. After a day at work, his father would rush home to drive Alphadjo to training, while his mother would often take the bus with him to the football pitch before walking a considerable distance to get there.
Cisse has never hidden how grateful he is to his parents. He has said they did an enormous amount for him, while never allowing him to feel inferior to his peers. Today, one of the footballer’s main personal goals is to repay his father and mother for all their years of hard work and buy them a new home so that one day they will no longer have to work.
This desire says a great deal about the character of the young player. Away from the pitch, Cisse is described as a fairly modest and reserved person who tries not to get ahead of himself and instead focuses on the work required every day.
Two months in Africa that he never forgot
Although Cisse was born and raised in Italy, Guinea is more than just the country of his parents’ origin. When Alphadjo was around eight years old, the family travelled to their historic homeland. The boy spent roughly two months there, met relatives and saw the places connected to his parents’ childhood.
In interviews with the Italian press, the footballer recalled the trip as an important family experience. His parents showed him the house where they had once lived and the places that hold special meaning for the family. Cisse said he would like to return to Guinea one day. At the same time, he also considers Treviso his home. It was there that he went to school, first started playing football and developed as both a person and an athlete.
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That is why Cisse’s story is not so much about choosing between Africa and Europe as it is about how family roots remain part of a person’s life, even when their own career unfolds in another country.
From a modest football pitch to Milan
Cisse took his first steps in football at local clubs Indomita 21 and Giorgione. In 2020, his talent was spotted by representatives of Verona, and he subsequently joined the Serie A club’s academy. The young midfielder progressed rapidly through the age groups. In the 2023/24 season, he scored 16 goals for Verona’s youth team and earned the chance to make his first-team debut. His first Serie A appearance came in May 2024 against Inter.
The next important step was a loan spell at Catanzaro, who were competing in Serie B. In the 2025/26 season, Cisse made 22 league appearances, scored six goals and attracted the attention of bigger clubs. In February 2026, Milan officially bought his contract from Verona. According to Italian and international sports media, the deal was worth around eight million euros in guaranteed payments, plus bonuses. The footballer remained at Catanzaro until the end of the season before being given the opportunity to prove himself at the Milan giants.
That decision is already looking like a promising investment. In August 2026, Cisse scored on his Serie A debut for Milan against Torino, then found the net again against Juventus. In October, he caused a sensation in the Europa League by scoring three goals against Salzburg. He followed that up in a recent Serie A match against Bologna, where the 20-year-old scored twice to take his season tally to seven goals.
What sets Cisse apart is that he does more than simply operate behind the striker and provide passes. The young footballer can accelerate attacks, carry the ball forward, drift in from the wing, and finish moves himself. He is confident in one-on-one situations and can threaten goal from a variety of distances. That said, it is still too early to label him a fully fledged superstar. The player still needs to improve his physical conditioning, off-the-ball work and consistency. But the potential is already there for all to see.
Messi, Yamal and the dream of making it big
Cisse makes no secret of the fact that he looks up to the best players in the world. In an interview with La Repubblica, he spoke about his admiration for Lionel Messi and also noted similarities with Paul Pogba during his Juventus days in certain aspects of their games. When the young Italian began to be compared with Lamine Yamal, he refused to get carried away by the hype. Cisse made it clear that he wants to follow his own path, even though he dreams of one day reaching a comparable level.
There is another detail that says a lot about the footballer: in his spare time, he plays EA Sports FC and, by his own admission, usually chooses Liverpool. His personal ambitions extend beyond footballing success, too — he wants to give his parents a peaceful life.
Racism and his response on the pitch
Cisse’s story has not been without hardship. In interviews with Italian journalists, he revealed that he faced racist abuse on football pitches as a teenager. According to the player, those incidents caused him pain, but he tried not to let his abusers dictate the course of his life. Something similar later happened to his younger brother Karamba, who also plays football. Alphadjo tried to support him and explain that life includes unkind people whose words should never define someone else’s self-worth.
This part of his biography gives the story an added dimension. Cisse wants to be an example for children who see football as a chance to change their lives, regardless of the family they come from.
Italy or Guinea: which national team could he play for?
This is one of the most intriguing questions in the young midfielder’s biography. Cisse was born in Italy and came through the country’s U16, U18 and U19 teams. In November 2025, he made his debut for Italy U21, and in October 2026 he scored his first goal for the under-21 side in a match against Armenia.
However, through his parents, the footballer has Guinean roots and is potentially eligible to represent Guinea. The Italian press has already reported that representatives of the West African country tried to convince him to play for their national team.
For now, Cisse has chosen Italy. In interviews, he has stressed that he feels Italian because he was born and raised in the country, while representing the national team holds special significance for him.
FIFA regulations must also be taken into account. Merely appearing for youth national teams does not mean that a player is permanently tied to one country. The possibility of switching national teams depends on citizenship, a player’s appearance history, the nature of the matches and other regulatory conditions. If a footballer has not definitively committed his sporting allegiance at a level that rules out a switch, a change may be possible provided all the requirements are met.
So Italy remains Cisse’s current international choice, while Guinea is a potential alternative thanks to his family background. But there is currently no basis for claiming that he has decided to switch national teams or is engaged in confirmed talks over such a move. On the contrary, calls for him to be included in Italy’s squad for the November UEFA Nations League matches are growing increasingly loud in the press.
Why should you keep an eye on him?
Alphadjo Cisse embodies several stories at once: the talent of a young footballer breaking into a major club at remarkable speed; the journey of a family that came from West Africa in search of a better life; the personal experience of confronting racism; and the question of which country he will eventually represent at senior international level.
For Milan, he could become one of the key players of the future. For Italy, he represents another source of hope for the emergence of a vibrant generation of homegrown footballers. For Guinea, he is a reminder of how many talented players of African origin are growing up beyond the continent’s borders.
But Cisse himself is in no hurry to make grand statements. His immediate task is both simpler and more difficult: to keep scoring, keep developing and prove that his October hat-trick in Europe was not a flash in the pan, but the beginning of a major career.
Jan Novak
Dailysports's expert
