Irvin Cardona

Irvin Charly Jose Cardona (born 8 August 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne. Born in France, he plays for the Malta national team.^[1]

Irvin Cardona

Cardona with Saint-Étienne in 2025
Personal information
Full name	Irvin Charly Jose Cardona
Date of birth	(1997-08-08) 8 August 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth	Nîmes, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Forward, winger
Team information
Current team	Saint-Étienne
Number	7
Youth career
2003–2012	Le Pontet
2012–2017	Monaco
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2017	Monaco B	21	(15)
2017–2019	Monaco	3	(0)
2017–2019	→ Cercle Brugge (loan)	35	(12)
2019–2023	Brest	99	(18)
2022	Brest B	2	(1)
2023–2025	FC Augsburg	13	(1)
2023–2025	FC Augsburg II	2	(1)
2024	→ Saint-Étienne (loan)	19	(8)
2024–2025	→ Espanyol (loan)	16	(1)
2025	→ Saint-Étienne (loan)	15	(5)
2025–	Saint-Étienne	8	(2)
International career‡
2015	France U18	3	(0)
2016–2017	France U20	7	(2)
2025–	Malta	2	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:00, 4 October 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 September 2025

Club career

Monaco

Cardona made his professional debut on 2 February 2017 in the Coupe de France round of 32 against Chambly. He replaced Pierre-Daniel N'Guinda after 78 minutes in a 5–4 away win.^[2] He made his Ligue 1 debut ten days later coming on for Radamel Falcao to play the last 9 minutes of a 5–0 home thrashing of Metz.^[3]

Cercle Brugge (loan)

On 18 July 2017, Cardona extended his Monaco contract until 2021 and was immediately loaned to the club's Belgian satellite club Cercle Brugge for the following season.^[4] Although he missed a couple of weeks by an injury, he still was a major key player in the team that became champion of the 2017–18 Belgian First Division B. He scored an important penalty in the last minute in the champion's game against Beerschot-Wilrijk.^[5] He was voted second best player in the league, after teammate Xavier Mercier.^[6]

Brest

On 12 August 2019, Cardona signed with Ligue 1 promotees Brest.^[7] On 13 September 2020, he scored an acrobatic volley goal in a 2–0 away win over Dijon which was described as a "Puskás Award contender."^[8][9]

FC Augsburg

On 18 January 2023, Cardona signed a contract with German club FC Augsburg until 30 June 2027.^[10]

Loan to Saint-Étienne

On 3 January 2024, Cardona returned to France, joining Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne on loan with an option-to-buy.^[11]

Loan to Espanyol

On 10 August 2024, Cardona moved on a new loan to Espanyol in La Liga.^[12]

Return to Saint-Étienne

On 28 January 2025, Cardona returned to Saint-Étienne on a new loan, with an option to buy.^[13] On 2 June 2025, Saint-Étienne exercised the option to buy and signed a three-year contract with Cardona.^[14]

International career

Born in France, Cardona is of Maltese descent through a great-grandfather. He is a former youth international for France, having played up to the France U20s.

On 28 August 2025, he was called up to the Malta national team upcoming games in September.^[15] He made his debut on 4 September 2025, in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Lithuania which ended in a 1–1 draw.^[16]

On 9 September 2025, on his second cap, he scored his first international goal with Malta, the opener in a 3–1 friendly win against San Marino. Before half-time, Cardona was sent off following an altrecation with Filippo Berardi.^[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 October 2025^[1][18]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Monaco B	2015–16	CFA	4	1	—		—		—		4	1
	2016–17	CFA	17	14	—		—		—		17	14
	Total		21	15	—		—		—		21	15
Monaco	2016–17	Ligue 1	3	0	3	0	1[a]	0	0	0	7	0
Cercle Brugge (loan)	2017–18	Belgian First Division B	15	6	1	1	—		2[b]	1	18	8
	2018–19	Belgian First Division A	20	6	0	0	—		—		20	6
	Total		35	12	1	1	—		2	1	38	14
Brest	2019–20	Ligue 1	21	6	1	0	1[a]	1	—		23	7
	2020–21	Ligue 1	36	8	2	0	—		—		38	8
	2021–22	Ligue 1	32	4	3	0	—		—		35	4
	2022–23	Ligue 1	10	0	0	0	—		—		10	0
	Total		99	18	6	0	1	1	—		106	19
Brest B	2021–22	Championnat National 3	2	1	—		—		—		2	1
FC Augsburg	2022–23	Bundesliga	10	1	0	0	—		—		10	1
	2023–24	Bundesliga	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
	Total		13	1	0	0	—		—		13	1
FC Augsburg II	2023–24	Regionalliga	2	1	—		—		—		2	1
Saint-Étienne(loan)	2023–24	Ligue 2	19	8	0	0	—		3[c]	2	22	10
RCD Espanyol(loan)	2024–25	La Liga	16	1	2	1	—		—		18	2
Saint-Étienne(loan)	2024–25	Ligue 1	15	5	—		—		—		15	5
Saint-Étienne	2025–26	Ligue 2	8	2	0	0	—		—		8	2
Career total			233	64	10	1	2	1	5	3	252	70

1. Appearance(s) in the Coupe de la Ligue
2. Appearances in Belgian First Division B promotion play-offs
3. One appearance and one goal in the Ligue 2 promotion play-offs, two appearances and one goal in the Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-offs

International

As of match played 9 September 2025^[1]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Malta	2025	2	1
Total		2	1

Scores and results list Malta's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cardona goal.

List of international goals scored by Irvin Cardona

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	9 September 2025	National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	San Marino	1–0	3–1	Friendly

Honours

Monaco

• Ligue 1: 2016–17^{[citation needed]}

Cercle Brugge

• Belgian First Division B: 2017–18^{[citation needed]}