Maxwel Cornet
Gnaly Albert Maxwel Cornet is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a left winger and full-back for Serie A club Genoa, on loan from West Ham United and the Ivory Coast national team. He has previously played in France for Metz and Lyon and in England with Burnley.
Club career
Metz
Cornet is a youth exponent from Metz. Aged 15 years and 11 months, he made his debut for Metz in the third-tier of French football, the Championnat National in a game on 31 August 2012. Cornet was an 85th-minute substitute for Alhassane Keita in Metz' 6–3 win against Quevilly. He made his Ligue 2 debut on 2 August 2013 against Laval. He replaced Yeni Ngbakoto after 79 minutes in a 1–0 home victory.Lyon
On 16 January 2015, Cornet signed for Ligue 1 club Lyon. He made his league debut for the club against his former club Metz on 25 January 2015, replacing Alexandre Lacazette after 34 minutes due to an injury, in an eventual 2–0 home win. Cornet scored his first goal for Lyon on 23 October 2015 as an 89th-minute substitute in a 3–0 home win over Toulouse.In January 2020, Cornet was tested at the left-back position by Lyon's coach Rudi Garcia following the injuries of Youssouf Koné and Fernando Marçal. After his good performances, he became the club's starting left-back for the rest of the season. On 15 August 2020, Cornet scored a goal against Manchester City in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals which Lyon won 3–1 and progressed to the semi-finals.
Burnley
On 29 August 2021, Cornet signed for Premier League club Burnley for a €15 million fee on a five-year deal. On 18 September, he made his Burnley debut as a substitute, replacing Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson in a 1–0 defeat against Arsenal. Cornet scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against Leicester City on 25 September. Although the season culminated in relegation for Burnley, Cornet finished the season as the team's top scorer with nine goals in 26 appearances.West Ham United
On 5 August 2022, Cornet joined West Ham United, signing a five-year contract with a further one-year option, for an undisclosed fee from Burnley. He made his debut on 14 August 2022, in a 0–1 away loss to Nottingham Forest. Cornet also made seven appearances during West Ham's successful 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League campaign, though he was an unused substitute in the final victory over Fiorentina.Loans to Southampton and Genoa
On 30 August 2024, Cornet joined newly-promoted Premier League club Southampton on a season-long loan. He made his debut for the club on 14 September in a 3–0 home defeat against Manchester United after he replaced Lesley Ugochukwu in the 64th minute. On 20 January 2025, he was recalled from loan.The same day, Cornet joined Genoa on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season.
He played seven games for Genoa before returning to West Ham and on 1 September 2025, he returned for a second loan spell with the club.
International career
Cornet was born in Ivory Coast, and emigrated with his family to northern France at the age of three. He was a youth international for France at every level but declared for the Ivory Coast national team on 5 April 2017. He made his senior debut for Ivory Coast in a 5–0 friendly loss to the Netherlands on 4 June 2017.Personal life
Cornet has three children. Growing up, he idolised Didier Drogba due to his Ivorian birth and subsequent move to France. Outside of football, he enjoys playing tennis.Career statistics
Club
International
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 5 September 2017 | Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast | 3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 2 | 12 October 2018 | Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast | 6 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 3 | 23 March 2019 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 9 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 4 | 19 June 2019 | Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | 12 | 3–1 | 4–1 | Friendly | |
| 5 | 1 July 2019 | 30 June Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | 15 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations | |
| 6 | 13 November 2021 | Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin | 24 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Metz- Ligue 2: 2013–14
- Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 2019–20
- UEFA Europa Conference League: 2022–23