Sessi D'Almeida

Sessi Octave Emile D'Almeida (born 20 November 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Neftçi in the Azerbaijan Premier League.^[3] Born in France, he represents Benin at international level.

Sessi D'Almeida

D'Almeida with Valenciennes in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Sessi Octave Emile D'Almeida[1]
Date of birth	(1995-11-20) 20 November 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Bordeaux, France
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Neftçi
Number	6
Youth career
	AL Dupaty
	US Bouscat
2005–2008	Bordeaux
2008–2009	FCE Mérignac Arlac
2009–2013	Bordeaux
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Bordeaux B	33	(1)
2014–2015	Bordeaux	2	(0)
2015–2016	Paris Saint-Germain B	16	(0)
2016–2017	Barnsley	3	(0)
2017–2018	Blackpool	23	(0)
2018–2019	Yeovil Town	35	(1)
2019–2022	Valenciennes	55	(1)
2022	→ CD Tondela (loan)	8	(0)
2022–2024	Pau	68	(1)
2024–2025	Apollon Limassol	29	(0)
2025–	Neftçi	0	(0)
International career‡
2014–	Benin	40	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 08:32, 5 June 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:17, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

Club career

D'Almeida made his debut for Bordeaux on 12 December 2013 in the UEFA Europa League group stage against Maccabi Tel Aviv, playing the first 75 minutes in the 1–0 away defeat before being substituted for Théo Pellenard.^[4]

On 23 August 2014, he made his Ligue 1 debut for Bordeaux, replacing André Biyogo Poko for the last 9 minutes of a 3–1 away win at OGC Nice.^[5]

After a successful trial with Barnsley in the summer of 2016, D'Almeida signed a two-year deal with the Championship club.^[6]

He was released by Blackpool at the end of the 2017–18 season.^[7]

On 13 July 2018, D'Almeida signed for League Two side Yeovil Town on a one-year deal with an option of extending for a second year.^[8] At the end of the 2018–19 season, D'Almeida was released by Yeovil following the club's relegation from the Football League.^[9]

On 24 July 2019, D'Almeida returned to France to sign for Ligue 2 side Valenciennes on a two-year contract.^[10]

On 5 June 2025, Azerbaijan Premier League club Neftçi announced the signing of D'Almeida to a two-year contract, with the option of a third, from Apollon Limassol.^[11]

International career

D'Almeida was called up to the Benin national team squad in 2014 for their matches 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification against Sao Tome.^[12] He made his debut for Benin in a 1–1 tie against Equatorial Guinea in 2015.^[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 May 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[a]		League Cup[b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bordeaux II	2013–14[3]	CFA	12	1	—		—		0	0	12	1
	2014–15[3]	CFA	21	0	—		—		0	0	21	0
	Total		33	1	—		—		0	0	33	1
Bordeaux	2013–14[14]	Ligue 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[c]	0	1	0
	2014–15[15]	Ligue 1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
Paris Saint-Germain II	2015–16[3]	CFA	16	0	—		—		0	0	16	0
Barnsley	2016–17[16]	Championship	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Blackpool	2017–18[17]	League One	23	0	0	0	0	0	4[d]	1	27	1
Yeovil Town	2018–19[18]	League Two	35	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	37	1
Valenciennes	2019–20[3]	Ligue 2	24	1	0	0	0	0	—		24	1
	2020–21[3]	Ligue 2	23	0	3	0	—		—		26	0
	2021–22[3]	Ligue 2	8	0	1	0	—		—		9	0
	Total		55	1	4	0	0	0	—		59	1
CD Tondela (loan)	2021–22[3]	Primeira Liga	8	0	2	0	0	0	—		10	0
Pau FC	2022–23[3]	Ligue 2	35	0	4	0	—		—		39	0
	2023–24[3]	Ligue 2	33	1	0	0	—		—		33	1
	Total		68	1	4	0	0	0	—		72	1
Apollon Limassol	2024–25[3]	Cypriot First Division	29	0	3	0	—		—		32	0
Career total			255	4	12	0	1	0	5	1	274	5

1. National competitions include the FA Cup, Coupe de France, Taça de Portugal and Cypriot Cup
2. League Cup competitions include the EFL Cup
3. Appearance in the Europa League
4. Appearances in the EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 18 November 2024^[19]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Benin	2014	1	0
	2015	2	0
	2018	3	1
	2019	10	0
	2020	3	0
	2021	3	0
	2022	3	0
	2023	5	0
	2024	10	0
Total		40	1

As of match played 18 November 2024

Scores and results list Benin's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each D'Almeida goal.^[19]

List of international goals scored by Sessi D'Almeida

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 October 2018	Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin	4	Algeria	1–0	1–0	2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification