Keïta, also known as 'Popito', began his career at homeland club
Africa Sports, before moving on to Tunisian Club
Etoile du Sahel. Following spells in United Arab Emirates with
Al Ain and Qatar with
Al Sadd, he moved to France with Ligue 1 club
Lille in 2005.
Lyon On 31 May 2007,
Lyon chairman
Jean-Michel Aulas revealed that the club had made bids for both Keïta and his teammate
Mathieu Bodmer. On 16 June 2007, Lyon confirmed the signing of Keïta from Lille for €18 million, with Bodmer also moving to Lyon. During his two seasons at the club, he made 52 appearances in all competitions, scoring 5 goals.
Galatasaray On 2 July 2009,
Galatasaray officially announced that Keïta joined the Turkish club and signed a three-year contract, for €8.5 million transfer fee plus €500,000 variable. He scored his first goal for Galatasaray in a
UEFA Europa League qualification match against
Maccabi Netanya in the 5th minute. On 12 December, Keïta scored for Galatasaray in a 3–2 victory over
Antalyaspor. On 18 February 2010, Keïta scored a late equalizer to secure a 1–1 away draw for Galatasaray against
Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Europa League. Later, in the second leg he equalized again to make it 1–1, but Galatasaray failed to qualify. On 28 February, he scored the second and fourth goals in a 4–1 victory over
Kasımpaşa. His first goal was a volley from just inside the penalty area. In Galatasaray's 3–0 victory over
MKE Ankaragücü in March, Keïta scored the second goal as well as assisting the final goal. On 11 April 2010, he assisted two of
Milan Baroš' goals in a 4–1 victory over
Diyarbakırspor. A week later, he scored the first goal in a 1–2 victory over
Manisaspor.
Al Sadd Keïta rejoined his previous club
Al Sadd in July 2010, for €8.15 million. Keïta was involved in a melee which ensued on 19 October in the
2011 AFC Champions League semi final first-leg between
Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Al Sadd. Suwon player
Choi Sung-Hwan was inadvertently kicked in the head by an Al Sadd defender, and Suwon's Yeom Ki-hoon let the ball out after Choi Sung-hwan went down with a head injury inside Al Sadd's box. While Choi was being tended to by medics, Keïta took the free kick quickly, and passed it to teammate
Mamadou Niang unknowingly to the Suwon defense who thought possession would be returned to them according to FIFA fair play rules. Niang sprinted down the center half past the goalkeeper to score a second goal for Al Sadd. The chaos was further elevated when a Suwon fan ran onto the pitch, causing a brawl to erupt between the two teams. Afterwards, Keïta received a red card, allegedly for running towards the fan, slapping him in the back of the head and grabbing him by his throat. His teammate
Lee Jung-Soo had told the press that Keïta had apologized for assisting Niang in scoring the goal, and admitted it was wrong. Al Sadd's coach, Jorge Fossati, suggested that Al Sadd was annoyed that Suwon had not immediately put the ball out of play, and decided to take actions into their own hands. Keïta was later suspended by AFC for the return leg. Keïta scored a goal in the
AFC Champions League Final on 5 November, as his side defeated
Jeonbuk Motors on penalties after the match ended 2–2 and was named as
Man of the Match. He left the team at the end of the 2011–12 season, and was linked with several teams in England and stated his interest of playing in the
Premier League. ==International career==