Kanouté is a French born striker playing for Spanish side Sevilla. He started his professional career for Lyon before heading to West Ham in England. After 84 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 29 goals, he brought his services to Tottenham Hotspur. He had mixed success during two years at Tottenham and was sold to Sevilla in August 2005 for €6.5 million. At Sevilla Kanouté has played his best football. He has also played 41 times for his country, Mali, and scored 29 goals. In 2007 he was named African footballer of the year.