# Lassina Traoré

Lassina Chamste Soudine Franck Traoré (born 12 January 2001) is a Burkinabé professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk and the Burkina Faso national team.

## Club career
### Rahimo

Traoré began his football career in the youth ranks of Rahimo in his hometown of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. He was scouted by Ajax and brought to South Africa, where was stalled at the clubs' satellite club Ajax Cape Town until he was old enough to legally transfer to Amsterdam.

### Ajax Cape Town

Shortly after his 18th birthday, Traoré moved to Europe joining Ajax in January 2019, on a three-and-a-half-year contract. He had previously played for Rahimo in Burkina Faso and was on the books of Ajax Cape Town in South Africa where he finished as top scorer of the reserves team before departing for the Netherlands.

### Ajax

Traoré was named on the bench for the first time in Ajax's fateful second leg defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League on 8 May 2019, before making his debut in the final seconds of their 4–1 win over Utrecht in the league four days later. He would have to wait over five months for his next first-team appearance as a late substitute in a 4–0 win against Feyenoord on 27 October 2019.
On 24 October 2020, Traoré scored five goals and assisted a further three in a record-breaking 13–0 league victory over VVV-Venlo. Three days later, Traoré earned a penalty-kick and scored his first goal in European competition in a 2–2 draw away to Atalanta in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

### Shakhtar Donetsk

On 18 June 2021, it was announced that Traoré had joined Ukrainian Premier League side Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of €10 million. On 22 September, Traoré scored twice in Shakhtar's 3–0 win against rivals Dynamo Kyiv in the 2021 Ukrainian Super Cup.

## International career

Traoré made his international debut for Burkina Faso on 4 May 2017, during a friendly match against Benin.

## Playing style

Lassina Traoré is not remarkably tall at 1.83 m, but his muscularity makes him well suited for a physical playing style. As a team player, he is technically competent beyond being a typical ‘target man’.

## Personal life

Traoré's mother was a former professional footballer and captained the Burkina Faso women's national football team. His cousin, Bertrand Traoré, is also a professional footballer, who plays as a right winger for AFC Ajax.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 11 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Jong Ajax | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 8 |
| Jong Ajax | 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 13 |
| Jong Ajax | 2020–21 | Eerste Divisie | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 2 |
| Jong Ajax | Total | Total | 42 | 23 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 42 | 23 |
| Ajax | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Ajax | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| Ajax | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 18 | 8 |
| Ajax | Total | Total | 22 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 12 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 2021–22 | Ukrainian Premier League | 7 | 6 | — | — | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 9 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 2022–23 | Ukrainian Premier League | 21 | 5 | — | — | 10 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 6 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 2023–24 | Ukrainian Premier League | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 4 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 2024–25 | Ukrainian Premier League | 17 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 3 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | Total | Total | 61 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 89 | 22 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 125 | 49 | 5 | 3 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 162 | 57 |
* ↑ Includes KNVB Cup, Ukrainian Cup
* 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Five appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearance in Ukrainian Super Cup
* ↑ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, Four appearances in UEFA Europa League

### International

    As of match played 18 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Burkina Faso | 2017 | 4 | 3 |
| Burkina Faso | 2019 | 4 | 0 |
| Burkina Faso | 2020 | 4 | 2 |
| Burkina Faso | 2021 | 5 | 2 |
| Burkina Faso | 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Burkina Faso | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| Burkina Faso | 2024 | 10 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 28 | 11 |
    Scores and results list Burkina Faso's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Traoré goal.
List of international goals scored by Lassina Traoré :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 4 May 2017 | Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | Benin | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 21 May 2017 | Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin | Benin | 1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | 21 May 2017 | Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin | Benin | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 12 November 2020 | Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | Malawi | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 12 November 2020 | Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | Malawi | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 6 | 5 June 2021 | Stade National, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | Ivory Coast | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 2 September 2021 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco | Niger | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 6 June 2024 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | Egypt | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 10 June 2024 | Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali | Sierra Leone | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 10 September 2024 | Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali | Malawi | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 11 | 10 September 2024 | Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali | Malawi | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |

## Honours

Ajax
* Eredivisie: 2018–19, 2020–21
* KNVB Cup: 2018–19, 2020–21
Shakhtar Donetsk
* Ukrainian Premier League: 2022–23, 2023–24
* Ukrainian Cup: 2023–24
* Ukrainian Super Cup: 2021
Individual
* Eredivisie Player of the Month: October 2020