Early career Cissokho was born and raised in
Blois, the capital city of the
Loir-et-Cher département, to Senegalese parents. He grew up learning the sport of
football from his three older brothers who are also football players. Mamadou, the eldest, and Demba remain in Blois playing for local amateur clubs AFM Blois and
Blois Foot 41, respectively, while
Issa plays for professional club
Nantes in
Ligue 1. Cissokho began his football career at the age of eight playing for AMJ Blois. He spent four years in the club's
benjamins section and, in 1999, joined the biggest club in the city, Blois Foot 41. While at the club, Cissokho settled into his role as a left back with his coaches describing him as a player with great potential. After four years at Blois, Cissokho had a year's stint at FCO
Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle. In 2004, while playing with Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, Cissokho was spotted by the assistant manager of professional club
FC Gueugnon Jean Acédo who recommended the player join his club, who were playing in the second division of
French football,
Ligue 2. He made his debut for the club on 22 August 2008 in a match against
Vitória de Guimarães playing the entire match in a 1–1 draw. Cissokho appeared in 15 league matches for the club and, also, made his European debut in a
UEFA Cup match against Dutch club
SC Heerenveen.
Porto After positive displays for Vitória de Setúbal, on 9 January 2009, the
defending champions Porto announced the club had acquired 60% of Cissokho's rights for a modest fee of €300,000. Upon his arrival, Cissokho was given the number 28 shirt and immediately inserted into the starting lineup by manager
Jesualdo Ferreira making his debut 17 January in a
Taça da Liga match against
Académica de Coimbra. In the league, Cissokho appeared in 15 matches with the club going undefeated in that span. In the quarter-finals, Porto faced English club
Manchester United and Cissokho was tasked with the objective of containing the
2008 FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite putting up a strong effort in the first leg, which ended 2–2 at
Old Trafford, Porto were defeated 3–2 on aggregate after losing 1–0 at the
Estádio do Dragão. On 31 May, Porto completed the
league and cup double after defeating
Paços de Ferreira 1–0 in the 2009 final of the
Taça de Portugal. Cissokho played the entire match.
Transfer saga On 14 June 2009, Italian club
A.C. Milan announced the club had signed Cissokho, subject to medical, with a reported deal of €15 million. Cissokho underwent his medical on 16 June, but the next day, it was revealed he had failed it due to a problem with his teeth that could indicate potential spinal problems, and that the move was in jeopardy of collapse. Later that day, Cissokho declared he had passed a second medical he undertook, and that he had subsequently signed a pre-contract. In the meantime, Milan tried to re-negotiate the bid on a loan basis due to Cissokho's health concerns. As the parties failed to reach an agreement, Milan general manager
Adriano Galliani announced the deal was cancelled.
Lyon in 2010|150px On 18 July, French club
Olympique Lyonnais announced the club had reached an agreement with Porto for the transfer of Cissokho, in a deal which equaled Milan's €15 million bid. However, Porto remain eligible to receive 20% of the added value/differential value if Lyon sold him for a higher price. Cissokho successfully passed his medical and agreed to a five-year contract. He was presented to the media, along with fellow new signing
Michel Bastos, on 20 July and was assigned the number 20 shirt. as a Valencia player Cissokho was immediately inserted to the starting 11 by manager
Claude Puel, replacing the
Italian international Fabio Grosso, who departed for
Juventus. He made his debut for Lyon in the team's opening league match of the season, a 2–2 draw with
Le Mans in which Cissokho played the entire match. On 26 September 2009, Cissokho assisted on the
equalizing goal, scored by
Yannis Tafer, in the 52nd minute of a league match against
Toulouse. Lyon later won 2–1 with a goal from
Bafétimbi Gomis. On 9 December, he scored his first professional goal in Lyon's 4–0 thrashing of Hungarian club
Debrecen. Two weeks later, he provided his second league assist of the season on Lyon's only goal in the team's 2–1 loss to
Montpellier.
Valencia On 23 August 2012,
Valencia CF announced on their official website they had completed a deal to sign Cissokho for the next four seasons, in exchange for a €5 million and €1 million variable and a portion of future transfer fee Valencia received. He made his official debut against
FC Barcelona, at an eventual 1–0 away loss. On 15 September, Cissokho's 25th birthday, he scored his first goal, which also turned out to be the winning goal, for Valencia in a 2–1 win over
Celta de Vigo at the
Mestalla Stadium.
Liverpool (loan) challenging
Cardiff City's
Kenwyne Jones in 2014 On 20 August 2013, Cissokho signed for English side
Liverpool on a season-long loan deal. He made his
Premier League debut four days later away to
Aston Villa, being substituted on in the 69th minute. He was ruled out for six weeks after an injury which caused him to be taken off after ten minutes in the
League Cup match against
Notts County. He made his first assist for
Luis Suárez's second goal in a 4–1 victory over
West Bromwich Albion, via an inadvertent rebound. He soon fell out of favour after making six appearances for the senior team. Cissokho returned to first-team action on 26 December against
Manchester City in the absence of injured
Jon Flanagan in a narrow 2–1 defeat at the
City of Manchester Stadium. Cissokho made his second and final goal contribution for Liverpool at
Stoke City in January, when his shot deflected off the groin of
Ryan Shawcross for an
own goal after five minutes to open a 5–3 win.
Aston Villa On 8 August 2014, Cissokho signed a four-year deal with Premier League club Aston Villa. He impressed during his debut – the first match of the
2014–15 Premier League season against Stoke City, which Villa won 1–0. On 23 August 2014, in the match against
Newcastle United, Cissokho suffered an ankle injury, sidelining him for one week. On 20 September 2014, he scored an own goal while attempting to clear
Arsenal's
Kieran Gibbs' shot. On 24 February 2015, he sustained a groin/pelvis injury during training, sidelining him for two months. He made a total of 27 appearances and helped Villa reach the
FA Cup final.
Loan to Porto and premature return On 5 August 2015, Cissokho returned to Portuguese club Porto on a
season-long loan, rejoining the side after a short spell in 2009. However, on 18 December, after only two appearances in the
Primeira Liga, he was recalled to Aston Villa by new Villa manager
Rémi Garde – who had managed him at Lyon – to cover after
Jordan Amavi was ruled out for the season, although Cissokho was not eligible to play until the new year. He was eventually issued squad number 43 and went straight into the starting 11 against fellow relegation candidates
Sunderland in a 3–1 defeat on 2 January 2016.
Loan to Olympiacos On 14 January 2017,
Olympiacos officially announced Cissokho had joined the club on a six-month loan from Aston Villa, with the option of permanently purchasing the player during the summer 2017 transfer window, subject to satisfactory performances. At the end of season, Cissokho returned to Aston Villa.
Yeni Malatyaspor On 2 August 2017, Cissokho signed for Turkish
Süper Lig newcomers
Yeni Malatyaspor.
Antalyaspor On 27 July 2018, he signed for
Antalyaspor for an undisclosed fee.
Lamphun Warriors On 27 June 2021, Cissokho signed with
Lamphun Warrior of the
Thai League 2. Lamphun Warriors have entered as the promoted teams from the
2021–22 Thai League 2 as a champions. In the
2022–23 Thai League 1, he was appointed captain of the team. On 23 May 2023, Lamphun Warrior announced a contract renewal with Cissokho, Out until the
2023-24 season. On 19 June 2024, Lamphun Warriors announced he would be leaving the club in the summer when his contract expires.
Muangthong United On 5 July 2024, Cissokho signed with
Muangthong United of the
Thai League 1. On 8 February 2025, Cissokho scored his first and decisive late goal for the club against
Chiangrai United in a 2–1 win. ==International career==