Irvin Cardona
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Irvin Charly Jose Cardona (born 8 August 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne. Born in France, he represents the Malta national team.
Club career
Monaco
Cardona made his professional debut on 2 February 2017 in the Coupe de France round of 32 against Chambly. He replaced Pierre-Daniel N'Guinda after 78 minutes in a 5–4 away win. He made his Ligue 1 debut ten days later coming on for Radamel Falcao to play the last 9 minutes of a 5–0 home thrashing of Metz.
Cercle Brugge (loan)
On 18 July 2017, Cardona extended his Monaco contract until 2021 and was immediately loaned to the club's Belgian satellite club Cercle Brugge for the following season. Although he missed a couple of weeks by an injury, he still was a major key player in the team that became champion of the 2017–18 Belgian First Division B. He scored an important penalty in the last minute in the champion's game against Beerschot-Wilrijk. He was voted second best player in the league, after teammate Xavier Mercier.
Brest
On 12 August 2019, Cardona signed with Ligue 1 promotees Brest. On 13 September 2020, he scored an acrobatic volley goal in a 2–0 away win over Dijon which was described as a "Puskás Award contender."
FC Augsburg
On 18 January 2023, Cardona signed a contract with German club FC Augsburg until 30 June 2027.
Loan to Saint-Étienne
On 3 January 2024, Cardona returned to France, joining Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne on loan with an option-to-buy.
Loan to Espanyol
On 10 August 2024, Cardona moved on a new loan to Espanyol in La Liga.
Return to Saint-Étienne
On 28 January 2025, Cardona returned to Saint-Étienne on a new loan, with an option to buy. On 2 June 2025, Saint-Étienne exercised the option to buy and signed a three-year contract with Cardona.
International career
Born in France, Cardona is of Maltese descent through a great-grandfather. He is a former youth international for France, having played up to the France U20s.
On 28 August 2025, he was called up to the Malta national team upcoming games in September. He made his debut on 4 September 2025, in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Lithuania which ended in a 1–1 draw.
On 9 September 2025, on his second cap, he scored his first international goal with Malta, the opener in a 3–1 friendly win against San Marino. Before half-time, Cardona was sent off following an altercation with Filippo Berardi.
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 11 April 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Monaco B | 2015–16 | CFA | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | CFA | 17 | 14 | — | — | — | 17 | 14 | ||||
| Total | 21 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 15 | ||
| Monaco | 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Cercle Brugge (loan) | 2017–18 | Belgian First Division B | 15 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 18 | 8 | |
| 2018–19 | Belgian First Division A | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 6 | |||
| Total | 35 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 14 | ||
| Brest | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 23 | 7 | |
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 8 | |||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 4 | |||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 99 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 19 | ||
| Brest B | 2021–22 | Championnat National 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| FC Augsburg | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |||
| FC Augsburg II | 2023–24 | Regionalliga | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| Saint-Étienne (loan) | 2023–24 | Ligue 2 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 2 | 22 | 10 | |
| Espanyol (loan) | 2024–25 | La Liga | 16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 18 | 2 | ||
| Saint-Étienne (loan) | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 15 | 5 | — | — | — | 15 | 5 | |||
| Saint-Étienne | 2025–26 | Ligue 2 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 253 | 68 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 273 | 74 |
International
As of match played 31 March 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malta | 2025 | 6 | 2 |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 8 | 2 |
Scores and results list Malta's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cardona goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 September 2025 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | San Marino | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 17 November 2025 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | Poland | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Monaco
Cercle Brugge
- Belgian First Division B: 2017–18[citation needed]
External links
- at the French Football Federation (in French)
- at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)
- at L'Équipe Football (in French)