page_title: Arouna Koné
section_title: Sevilla
hierarchical_section_title: Arouna Koné / Club career / Sevilla
caption_attribution_description: English: Ivorian player Arouna Koné during match of his team - Levante UD
context_page_description: Arouna Koné is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Sivasspor, and is a former Ivory Coast national team international.
  After making a name for himself in the Eredivisie, with Roda JC and PSV, he signed with Sevilla in 2007, where he rarely appeared due to injury and loans. In 2012, he moved from Levante to the Premier League, where he represented Wigan Athletic and Everton, winning one FA Cup with the former.
  Koné appeared for the Ivory Coast at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, as well as three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
context_section_description: On 30 August 2007, after reported interest from English Premier League side Middlesbrough, Sevilla signed Koné on a five-year deal for a reported €12 million transfer fee. He made his Liga debut on 16 September as a second-half substitute for Frédéric Kanouté in a 4–1 win against Recreativo de Huelva – he won a penalty in the game, but fellow striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov failed to convert. Nine days later, he scored his first goal for the Spaniards, helping the team come from behind 0–2 against Espanyol to tie it 2–2 in an eventual 2–3 home loss. On 2 October, he netted his first UEFA Champions League goal for the club in a 4–2 group stage win against Slavia Prague after just ten minutes on the pitch.
  In April 2008, it was reported that Koné was to be shown the door at Sevilla in the summer of 2008 after a disappointing first season. His lack of playing time, partly due to the form of strikers Luís Fabiano and Kanouté, and an argument on the training ground with a member of the training staff that was caught on Spanish television, made for some intense speculation about the player's future. In the run-up to the 2008–09 campaign, he suffered a serious injury while playing for the Ivory Coast against Guinea on 20 August, and a subsequent scan showed he had suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in his left leg. He underwent surgery to repair the damage the following week, returning to training in February 2009.
  Koné subsequently fell out of favour at Sevilla and, after much transfer speculation, in February 2010 he joined Bundesliga club Hannover 96 on loan until the end of the season.
  Koné only appeared once for Sevilla in 2010–11, playing one minute against Villarreal. For the following season, he was loaned to Levante, starting often and scoring his first goal of the campaign on 18 September 2011 in a surprise 1–0 home win over Real Madrid.
  Koné was rested for the final three games of the season due to a minor injury, and also because he was "scoring too many goals", as if he reached 18 he would have to return to Sevilla automatically, something he did not desire. Instead, he moved to Levante on a permanent basis, though the club were reported to be keen to sell him immediately for a profit.
caption: Koné in Levante colours.
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