Mahdi Camara

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Mahdi Cherno Philippe Camara (born 30 June 1998) is a French footballer who plays as a midfielder for Rennes in Ligue 1. He is 1.78 meters tall and was born in Martigues, France. Camara came through the Saint-Étienne youth system and signed his first pro contract with the club in March 2018. He made his first-team debut in August 2018 in a 2–1 win over Guingamp.

Camara spent time on loan at Laval in 2019. He rose to captain Saint-Étienne under manager Claude Puel, but was stripped of the armband in December 2021 after the arrival of coach Pascal Dupraz. In August 2022, he joined Brest on a season-long loan with an option to buy for about €3.5 million. He later joined Brest permanently.

While with Brest, Camara scored his first hat-trick on 24 February 2024 in a 3–0 victory at Strasbourg. He played a key role as Brest finished third in the 2023–24 season, earning their first-ever qualification for the UEFA Champions League. In August 2025, Camara moved to Rennes for about €8 million on a four-year contract.

Internationally, Camara has represented France at youth levels (U16 and U19). He is of Gambian descent and was called up to the Gambian provisional squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, though he did not make the final list. In April 2022, Camara was suspended for five days by Saint-Étienne after a fight involving reserve goalkeeper Yanis Bourbia, an incident tied to tensions between the Camara and Bourbia families.