Baba Ndiaye

Ndiaye's route to Chelyabinsk ran through three countries before he turned nineteen. Born in Côte d'Ivoire, he started out at Lanfiara Sport d'Attecoube before moving to Russia to join the academy at FDC Vista Gelendzhik. From there he crossed to Bulgaria in January 2024, signing for Botev Plovdiv, where his time was mostly spent with the reserves — three appearances, 177 minutes — and a single 30-minute outing for the first team. No trophies came with the move.

In August 2025 he returned to Russia, this time to the First League, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal with Chelyabinsk after passing a medical. The transfer was announced in the days that followed, and reports around the move framed it as a matter of persuasion rather than money: Chelyabinsk moved ahead of Krasnodar's interest to get his signature, with no significant fee attached to the deal.

At Chelyabinsk he wears the shirt for a club competing in the Russian First League, arriving with only a handful of senior minutes to his name. What he showed at Botev Plovdiv to draw that competing interest is not spelled out in the reporting around the move, but the scramble between two Russian clubs suggests the midfielder was seen as worth the wait rather than the fee.