Imourane Hassane

Imourane Hassane made his mark on Benin's record books before he had even played a full season in Switzerland. Grasshopper Club Zürich activated the purchase option on the midfielder on 11 April 2025, converting a loan into a permanent deal running to 2028. The Beninese newspaper La Nation reported the fee at more than 248 million CFA francs, around €378,000. That final word matters: Hassane went through Académie Poté Joseph and Soleil FC before Morocco's SCC Mohammédia academy took him in during December 2020, and he turned professional with Loto-Popo FC in 2022. The move to Zürich was not straightforward. Grasshopper first tried to sign him on loan from Loto-Popo in August 2024, but the deal collapsed over a contract dispute involving Modern Future FC, the Egyptian club that had taken him on loan the previous year. Hassane returned to Loto-Popo that September without playing a match. The switch to Grasshopper finally went through on loan in January 2025, before the permanent transfer three months later. At international level, Hassane has become a fixture for Benin since his senior debut in 2023, having already featured at the 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations. He scored his first senior goal on 11 October 2024 against Rwanda in a 2025 AFCON qualifier, a 3-0 win, and added another against Lesotho a year later in a 2026 World Cup qualifier. He was part of Benin's squad at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, playing in the group games against DR Congo, Botswana and Senegal, and in the round-of-16 tie against Egypt.