Daisuke Sakai (坂井 大将, Sakai Daisuke; born 18 January 1997) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Liga 1 club PSM Makassar.
Sakai spent his youth career at Oita Trinita. After coming up through various ranks, he was promoted into senior team of the club in 2014. He spent loan spells at different clubs including the Japanese clubs Albirex Niigata, Thespakusatsu Gunma, Gainare Tottori and the Belgian side Tubize.[1]
In June 2021, Sakai ended his six-year association with Oita Trinita and signed for the Thai League 1 club Samut Prakan City. He made 28 appearances for the club in the league and scored 4 goals.[2]
In July 2022, Sakai signed for the Thai League 2 club Customs United. He played in 37 games and scored 10 goals.[3]
On 2 September 2023, Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters announced the signing of Sakai. With this move, he became the first Japanese player to sign with the club.[4] Sakai made his debut for the club on 21 September, in the season opener against Bengaluru at home, which the Blasters won 2–1.[5] He provided his first assist for the club on 27 October against Odisha and helped in a 2–1 victory.[6] On 4 November, Sakai scored his debut goal for the Blasters during the match against East Bengal in the 32nd minute and helped them in 1–2 victory away from home.[7]
In October 2013, Sakai was elected Japan U-17 national team for 2013 U-17 World Cup. He played all 4 matches and scored a goal against Tunisia. In May 2017, he was elected Japan U-20 national team for 2017 U-20 World Cup. At this tournament, he played 2 matches as defensive midfielder.
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goal | Apps | Goals | ||
| Oita Trinita | 2014 | J2 League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2015 | J2 League | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | J3 League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | J2 League | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Total | 19 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 26 | 2 | ||||
| J.League U-22 (loan) | 2015 | J3 League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Tubize (loan) | 2017–2018 | Belgian First Division B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Albirex Niigata (loan) | 2018 | J2 League | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
| Thespa Gunma (loan) | 2019 | J3 League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Gainare Tottori (loan) | 2020 | J3 League | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 6 | ||
| Samut Prakan City | 2021–22 | Thai League 1 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 4 | ||
| Customs United | 2022–23 | Thai League 2 | 37 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 10 | ||
| Kerala Blasters | 2023–24 | Indian Super League | 21 | 3 | — | — | — | 21 | 3 | |||
| PSM Makassar | 2024–25 | Liga 1 | 29 | 3 | — | — | 5[c] | 1 | 34 | 4 | ||
| 2025–26 | Liga 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 187 | 26 | 12 | 3 | — | 7 | 1 | 206 | 30 | |||
Japan U19
