Sometimes, it’s puzzling why Ismaila Sarr remains underrated despite his incredible acceleration, speed, shot power, and dribbling skills. While football fans appreciate his on-field performances, we’re here to dive deeper into the story of Abdoulaye Sarr Naar Gaad and Marieme Ba’s footballing son, beginning with his childhood.
Our biography of Ismaila Sarr explores his early years, including his upbringing, the influence of his parents—Marieme Ba and Abdoulaye Sarr Naar Gaad—his family background, and his rise in football. We also cover his personal life, including his wife, children, net worth, and lifestyle. Join us as we uncover the journey of this remarkable talent from his formative years to his current success.
Ismaila Sarr: A Comprehensive Look at His Life and Growth Path
In a nutshell, this article delves into the life story of Ismaila Sarr, the talented Senegalese professional footballer. We start by highlighting key events from his early years and then trace his journey to achieving fame in football. To give you a taste of his story, we’ve included a “grass-to-grace” gallery—a concise overview of Ismaila Sarr’s biography.
Ismaila Sarr Biography – Behold his Early Life and Rise.
It’s well known that Ismaila Sarr possesses incredible speed, skill, and goal-scoring ability—key traits for a standout FIFA game forward. In our extensive experience writing about Senegalese footballers, we’ve noticed a gap in detailed accounts of their lives. Despite his impressive skills, few football fans have explored an in-depth biography of Ismaila Sarr. So, without further ado, let’s dive into his story.
Ismaila Sarr Childhood Story:
To start with, he’s known by the nickname “Isma.” Ismaïla Sarr was born on February 25, 1998, to his mother, Marieme Ba, and father, Abdoulaye Sarr Naar Gaad, in the coastal city of Saint Louis, Senegal.
Ismaila Sarr’s city of birth, Saint Louis (founded in 1659), is regarded as one of the oldest colonial cities on the western African coast, sometimes referred to as the French headquarters of West Africa.
Below is a view of the West African coastal city where Ismaila Sarr has his family roots.
Getting to know Ismaila Sarr’s Family Roots- Saint-Louis, Senegal. Image Credit: Wikipedia
Ismaila Sarr Early Years:
The speedy footballer from African family origins spent the earliest part of his years at Saint Louis. He grew up alongside four of his siblings born to his parents namely, Papis, Kiné, Ndèye Ami, and Badara.
Ismaila Sarr hails from an upper-middle-class family background operated by his dad, who was a former footballer.
Did you know? Ismaila Sarr’s father, Abdoulaye Sarr Naar Gaad, was a former Senegalese retired footballer who played for the national team in the late ’80s.
This connection suggests that football talent runs in the family, thanks to his dad.
Ismaila Sarr Education:
For more than 20 years after retirement from football, it was fairly easy for Abdoulaye Sarr Naar Gaad to move on to other jobs and deal with retirement.
The super dad, despite grazing the football fields, held on to the view that his sons must not compromise their education for football.
Early on, he enrolled his children, including Ismaila Sarr at Oumar Syr Diagne School located at St Louis, Senegal.
Hatred for School:
Ismaila Sarr detested school and wasn’t pleased with his parent’s decision to send him to school.
In fact, reading school books was never his thing. And too many who knew him in his neighbourhood observed that his going to school was just a mere formality.
On most occasions, he would skip school in order to go and play football with his friends.
Ismaila Sarr’s parents received several bad reports from his school teachers. And upon observing this act themself, they decided to take action against their son.
They made him stop schooling and forcibly took him to a master tailor in his neighbourhood so he could learn to tailor (the activity or trade of a tailor).
Like any good apprentice, Ismaila Sarr was humble enough to learn the basics of tailoring, which he did in a diligent way. However, his football conscience couldn’t allow him to continue serving his master. Simply put, his heart wanted football.
In the end, the brave boy followed his heart as he abandoned tailoring and forcefully went on to live his passion initially, without his parent’s approval.
Ismaila Sarr Biography – Early Career Life:
Ismaila Sarr was supposed to have graduated in his fifth year in Oumar Syr Diagne School before he abandoned the cause and enrolled on trials with AS Génération Foot. After a successful trial, the young lad got enrolled in football classes.
Ismaila Sarr Identity Card at AS Génération Foot. Credits: Alchetron
Sarr started at the same Academy as Sadio Mane. He learned the basics of the profession at AS Génération Foot as he every day as a chance to make the best out of my profession.
He helped the club progress from the second tier to the top flight of the Senegalese League. His huge interest and enthusiasm for football saw him dreaming of getting to Europe.
Ismaila Sarr Bio – Road to Fame:
Like most footballers who are lucky to get out of the country to play in Europe, the frequent destination is always their French Colon- France. The year 2016 saw Ismaila leaving his family behind and signing his first professional contract with FC Metz.
I had to adapt to a new environment, which wasn’t easy for young Ismaila, who had never left his country and played on foreign soil.
Due to the need to impress, Sarr suffered from recurring injuries due to excess engagement in the field, which is often the cause of his physical glitches.
Getting injured repeatedly made his family fear for his career. It got so serious that Sarr’s dad had to intervene. According to the footballer,
“Even my father often called me, screaming at me to change the way I play, in order to avoid getting injured often. But I couldn’t help it. I kept fighting and engaging my opponents until I became stronger and more resistant to injuries”
Ismaila Sarr’s progress with FC Metz saw him getting called up by his country’s national team- a dream come true for him. Getting called by his national team was followed by the biggest shock of his life.
Did you know?… Ismaila Sarr could have gone to Spain and joined the great Barcelona. The promising footballer rejected Barcelona claiming it was too early for his career.
Was Sarr that good to be called by the Spanish Giant? The video below explains why he deserved a call by FC Barcelona. See some of his goal highlights.
Ismaila Sarr Biography – Rise to Fame:
Ismaila Sarr ignored great Barcelona to join Rennes, where he continued his great goal-scoring form (some of his goals) as observed in the video above. This feat saw him getting named in the Senegalese squad of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
While at Rennes, Ismaila Sarr began watching videos of Sadio Mane – his accelerations, his dribbling, and his goals.
On 13 December 2018, Sarr’s goals helped Rennes clinch their place in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League knockout phase. Being rewarded the UEFA Europa League Goal of the Season (2018–19) saw clubs chasing for his signature.
On 8 August 2019, Sarr joined the Premier League club Watford for a club-record transfer fee. Since his coming to the Premier League scene, there has been a bit of extra romance for both FIFA gamers and Watford fans, who are very impressed with Ismaila Sarr’s speed and trickery.
At the time of writing, Sarr’s standout moment in a Watford shirt has been in the game against United, where he scored a volley and caused a penalty that helped his team defeat United 2-0.
Without a doubt, Ismaila Sarr has proven to the world that he is the next beautiful promise of his Senegalese generation after Sadio Mane. As they say, the rest is history for Michael Olise, who has become a key figure in replacing his predecessor at Crystal Palace.
About Ismaila Sarr’s Wife:
With his rise to fame and rising to the expectation of the Premier League, it is certain that some fans must have begun pondering whether Ismaila Sarr has a girlfriend or if he is actually married.
The truth is, there is no denying the fact that his tall-handsome looks, attractive face, and heart-melting smile, coupled with his success as a footballer, wouldn’t place him in the wish list of potential girlfriend and wife materials.
However, behind the successful footballer, there exists a glamorous girlfriend who became the lucky wife of Ismaila Sarr. Below is a photo of Ismaila Sarr and his wife, who, according to DakarBuzz, goes by the name Fat Sy.
Meet Ismaila Sarr’s wife.
Ismaila Sarr took the decision to get married at a very young age- before he made it as a professional. Speaking about the support he gets from his wife, Ismaila once said in an interview with DakarBuzz;
“Fat Sy supported me a lot, long before I made it as a professional player. She made considerable contributions to my career plan as she is the one who manages my diet, my hours of training, and rest too.
I wanted to get married very early, to have stability because the temptations are huge for a football player.”
The video below sums up the deep love Ismaila Sarr has for his wife Fat Sy. Companionship is indeed one of the main reasons why he got married at a very young age.
Personal Life:
Getting to know Ismaila Sarr’s personal life away from football would help you get a complete picture of his personality.
Getting to know Ismaila Sarr Personal Life
Starting off, we begin with his decision to settle down on time. Ismaila Sarr is someone who believes that any prospective young person who wants to have a stable career should endeavour to get married early.
This is needed in order to avoid the temptations of having affairs that will ruin their careers.
Secondly, he is like Paul Onuachu, someone who employs a methodological approach to life. Sarr is not used to forcing things, believing the right thing would come at the right time. He also likes to get things done at his own pace.
Lastly, in his personal life, Ismaila Sarr, at the time of writing, did not believe that the ‘Tattoo Culture’ was very popular in today’s football world.
He portrays his religion in his mosque and keeps his family’s love at heart and not on his body at tattoos.
Ismaila Sarr Family Life:
Despite the initial scuffle, Ismaila Sarr’s parents were glad to have allowed their son to follow his passion, which has indeed paid off. Practising the tailoring profession still helped him in his career. According to Sarr,
“Despite leaving the tailoring profession, I kept in touch with my master tailor and today, he has become my family’s a fashion designer.”
Before travelling to France, Ismaila swore to make his parents proud, especially for the sacrifices they made for him.
It was hard for his dad, Abdoulaye Sarr Naar Gaad, to deal with retirement from football. Today, he is glad to be living his dreams again.
About Ismaila Sarr’s Siblings:
According to research, Ismaila Sarr grew up alongside four of his siblings.
He has a brother who goes by the name Papis Sarr, who acts as his career counsellor and also a sister named Kiné, who is like a second mother to him. Another of his siblings is named Ndèye Ami, and the youngest is Badara.
Lifestyle Facts:
After doing several kinds of research on Ismaila Sarr’s lifestyle, we realize he is just a simple guy. A guy who holds on to practical needs that don’t cost much.
Below is the footballer with his countryman, Cheikhou Kouyaté. We know little about the ownership of the car behind them.
Getting to know Ismaila Sarr’s Lifestyle.
Deciding between practicality and pleasure is presently not a difficult choice for Ismaila Sarr.
At the time of writing this Ismaila Sarr biography, we have not seen him flaunt exotic cars. Neither have we seen him showcase big mansions to his fans. This is something that is easily noticeable by footballers who live flamboyant lifestyles.
Ismaila Sarr Untold Facts:
He once worked alongside Sadio Mane on Charity:
Ismaila Sarr is a footballer who not only shines in the field but also in Senegalese society. In the photo below, the Palace Baller who has something special was seen working alongside Sadio Mane on charitable causes as they help the most disadvantaged.
Ismaila Sarr pays back to his people.
His Pace and Dribble- A Blessing to FIFA Gamers:
In FIFA, nobody seems to favour slow players. Using a player that has Pace is a prerequisite whether you’re attacking or chasing an attacker.
Sarr was 21 years old at the time he wrote his biography. He is a blessing to FIFA gamers when it comes to pace and dribbling ability.
For his age, Ismaila Sarr’s Pace and Dribble is a blessing to FIFA Gamers.
Did you know?… Only Sadio Mane made more successful dribbles than Sarr’s 27 at the 2018 Africa Cup of Nations.
Fact Check:
At our core, we are committed to providing fair and engaging Senegalese football stories.
Stay tuned for more captivating tales from Senegalese soccer, including the life histories of Bamba Dieng, Iliman Ndiaye, and Aliou Cissé, Senegal’s manager.
If you notice anything that seems off or have any feedback, please let us know in the comments below. We value and appreciate your input.
