Cedric Bakambu retires from international football
Congo Kinshasa π¨π© international and Ligue 1 side Olympqyie Marselle forwardCedric Bakambu has announced his retirement from international football after The Leopards failed to qualify for FIFA world πΆπ¦ Qatar 2022, Felele247.com understands.
He made his professional debut forΒ SochauxΒ in 2010, and played 107 official games for them over five seasons, scoring 21 goals. He then moved toΒ BursasporΒ for β¬1.8 million, finishing as top scorer as his team came runners-up in theΒ Turkish Cup, before signing forΒ VillarrealΒ a year later.
Born in France, he represented them internationally at the youth level up to theΒ under-20s, scoring eight goals in 38 games and winning theΒ 2010 UEFA European ChampionshipΒ for theΒ under-19s. In 2015, he made his senior debut for the DR Congo national team.
On 1 September 2014, Bakambu left France for the first time, moving on a four-year transfer to Turkey’sΒ BursasporΒ for a fee of β¬1.8 million and an annual salary of β¬800,000. He made his debut in theΒ SΓΌper LigΒ twelve days later, replacingΒ Ozan Δ°pekΒ in the 55th minute of a 2β1 win atΒ GenΓ§lerbirliΔi. His first goals for the “Green Crocodiles” came on 19 October, in either half of a 2β2 draw againstΒ EskiΕehirsporΒ at theΒ Bursa AtatΓΌrk Stadium, and six days later he scored a first professionalΒ hat-trickΒ in a 5β0 win atΒ BalΔ±kesirspor.
He finishedΒ his only league seasonΒ inΒ BursaΒ with 13 goals in 27 games.
He later joined Spanish Laliga side Villareal on 19 August 2015, Spanish sideΒ VillarrealΒ announced the signing of Bakambu on a five-year contract. He made hisΒ La LigaΒ debut four days later, replacingΒ LΓ©o BaptistΓ£oΒ in the 61st minute of a 1β1 draw atΒ Real BetisΒ in the first game ofΒ the season; on the 28th he came on for the same player and scored two goals in the closing minutes of the fixture againstΒ EspanyolΒ atΒ Estadio El Madrigal, to secure a 3β1 victory for the “Yellow Submarine”.
On 28 February 2018, the final day of the Chinese transfer window, Bakambu’s protracted transfer from Villarreal to Beijing Sinobo Guoan was finally confirmed with the club paying his β¬40million release clause,
before returning to France π«π· to join Olympique Marseille
Bakambu was aΒ French youth internationalΒ and has represented the country at bothΒ under-18Β andΒ under-19Β levels. He was a part of the team that won theΒ 2010 UEFA European Under-19 ChampionshipΒ on home soil. On 18 July, he scored twice in a 4β1 opening win over theΒ NetherlandsΒ inΒ Caen, and the 2β1 winner against Croatia in the semi-finals nine days later, also at theΒ Stade Michel d’Ornano.
In March 2015, he opted to representΒ DR CongoΒ at the senior level.
On arrival inΒ Kinshasa,Β he was greeted by fans with banners of him, later reflecting “I hadn’t even played a match yet they made banners for me. It’s something else. It was through football that I discovered my country.”
The 30 years old forward currently play for French π«π· Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille.
