Cheikh Sabaly has completed a permanent move from FC Metz to Vancouver Whitecaps FC, signing from the Ligue 1 side for a fee of €1.00m. The Senegalese left winger joins the MLS club with his contract starting on 2026-02-05; the deal is scheduled to run until 2026-12-31.
The 26-year-old attacker arrives in Canada with a current market value listed at €3.50m, meaning Vancouver have secured the former Metz man for a fee notably below his most recent valuation. Sabaly leaves the French top flight for Major League Soccer, where Vancouver compete in the league’s Western Conference, marking the latest step in a career that has steadily climbed across France after beginning in Senegal.
Born on 04/03/1999 in Kolda and standing 1.68 m tall, Sabaly is primarily a left winger but is broadly listed as an attacking player on the flank, operating from the left and favouring his right foot. He has been tied to FC Metz since moving to Europe from AS Académie Génération Foot in 2018, following the well-established pathway between the Senegalese academy and the French club. Since then, his development has been punctuated by loan spells and gradual increases in market value as he adapted to different levels of French football.
Before his switch to Vancouver, Sabaly’s club career in France took him through Ligue 2 and Ligue 1, as well as the lower tiers, via Pau FC and Quevilly-Rouen Métropole. After arriving at Metz from Académie Génération Foot, he was loaned to Pau FC in 2019-20 and again in 2020-21, before another loan to Quevilly-Rouen in the 2021-22 season. Each return from loan saw him go back to Metz, where his valuation rose from €150k in early 2019 to a peak of €4.00m in mid-2025, reflecting his growing influence and consistency.
That trajectory makes his latest valuation of €3.50m and transfer fee of €1.00m particularly notable. Vancouver are acquiring a player whose market value has climbed year on year, moving from €1.00m in 2021 with Pau FC to €2.00m and then €3.00m while at Metz between 2023 and 2024, before reaching €4.00m in 2025 and settling at €3.50m later that year. The Canadian club therefore appear to be capitalising on a window in which Metz were prepared to sell at a price below the winger’s last recorded market estimation.
For Sabaly, this transfer represents his first move outside France since he left Senegal. Having played domestically for Académie Génération Foot before heading to Metz, he now shifts continents to join Vancouver in MLS, swapping Ligue 1 for North America’s top division. The move confirms that his next competitive minutes will come abroad rather than in his home country Senegal or in French football, underlining how firmly his career is now anchored to the international stage.
Vancouver, listed in his profile as his current club, are also associated with him at national team level in the provided data, where “Vancouver Whitecaps FC” appears as his national team entry. While that reflects database categorisation rather than international caps, it underlines that his professional identity is now closely tied to the Canadian franchise.
Sabaly’s contractual situation at Metz prior to this transfer is not specified in the available data, nor are any appearance or goal tallies for his recent seasons, but his rising market values suggest sustained contributions at club level. From his early days in France, where he was valued at €150k in 2019, to his progression through Pau FC and Quevilly-Rouen, every step has coincided with an uptick in valuation that typically follows regular playing time and impact.
With the deal now completed and the contract running until 2026-12-31, Sabaly’s immediate future is clearly defined. The move to Vancouver places him in a growing league that has increasingly become a destination for players from Europe and Africa seeking a different competitive environment. For the 26-year-old winger, this confirmed transfer offers the platform to establish himself as a key attacking figure in MLS and to further enhance his reputation on a new continent during the prime years of his career.
