Suleiman Bassé

Souleymane Basse, also written Suleiman Bassé, moved to Pau FC in January 2026 on a free transfer after a standoff with his previous club, Valenciennes FC. In the summer of 2024 he skipped preseason training to force a move away, and manager Stéphane Moulin responded by excluding him from the squad. The dispute dragged on for around six months and cost him the entire 2024–25 season before it was resolved with his switch to Pau, where he signed a contract running to 2028.

Basse is a left-footed defender from Thiès, Senegal, who started out at CNEPS Excellence in his home city before joining AS Génération Foot in Dakar in 2021. He made 19 official appearances there before Valenciennes signed him on a free transfer in September 2023. Across Ligue 2 and National, he played 44 times for the French club, and was part of the side that reached the Coupe de France semi-finals in 2024 — a stage Valenciennes had not reached since 1970.

At youth international level, Basse was a regular starter for Senegal's U-20 side, playing all five matches as the team won the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, with assists in the semi-final against Tunisia and in the final. He also featured in all three group matches at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He has not yet been capped by the senior Senegal national team.